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California high school girls’ track and field athletes will compete in the meet of their lives this weekend under the national spotlight at the state championship in Clovis.
The meet will double as a battleground for the ongoing culture war over trans athletes in girls’ sports, with a trans athlete set to compete in multiple girls’ events. Protests and demonstrations are expected by spectators. Whether the athletes protest is yet to be seen.
Several prominent former women’s athletes who have been impacted by trans inclusion in their careers have expressed support for the girls competing to “stand up” against the California Interscholastic Federation during the event:
Paula Scanlan
Scanlan, a former UPenn swimmer, was forced to share a team and locker room with Lia Thomas during the 2021-22 women’s swimming season. Scanland became the first UPenn women’s swimmer to speak out against the school for allowing Thomas to compete with females, after the controversial season ended.
Scanlan skewered California Governor Gavin Newsom for letting the situation in the state get to this point, and encouraged the girls involved to “stand up” on Saturday.
“It’s make or break for California. This is no longer a bipartisan issue, and even democrats see that. Gavin Newsom couldn’t be more out of touch with women. I am beyond grateful that the Trump administration is taking this issue so seriously and I encourage all female athletes to stand up against this. I support them and I know the majority of Americans do too,” Scanlan told Fox News Digital.
Stephanie Turner
Turner made global headlines at the start of April when she refused to compete and knelt in protest of a trans opponent at a fencing match in Maryland.
Turner says she would support the girls competing in Clovis to stand up for themselves as well this weekend.
“I fully support these young women standing up against males in the women’s track and field events. CIF has stolen the precious high school competitive years from these young ladies and compromised their athletic and scholastic trajectories by allowing males in their category,” Turner told Fox News Digital.
Turner praised one young woman who has already spoken out, La Canada High School track and field star Katie McGuinness, who urged the CIF to “take action” in amending its policy after finishing second to the trans athlete at a sectional final on May 17.
“Katie McGuinness is right, this is a time-sensitive issue and CIF would do well to abandon all transgender policies immediately and comply with both the President’s Executive Order and Title IX,” Turner said.
“These women are extraordinarily brave to be speaking out at their age. This is not easy, but women and girls across the United States thank them for their stand!”
Payton McNabb
McNabb suffered permanent brain injuries after she was spiked in the head by a trans opponent during a high school match in 2022. She has since become a leading ambassador for standing up against trans athletes in girls’ and women’s sports, and testified before congress alongside Turner at a recent DOGE hearing earlier this month.
McNabb reminded girls competing in Clovis this weekend that they have the right to stand up or even “walk away” from the competition.
CALIFORNIA TOWN RALLIES BEHIND TRUMP AS IT HOSTS TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP AMID TRANS ATHLETE CONTROVERSY
“To the girls competing in California — I know exactly how it feels to lose to a male athlete. It’s not fair, and it’s not right. You’ve trained for years, and now you’re being pushed aside because officials would rather protect feelings than protect girls. You don’t owe silence to anyone,” McNabb told Fox News Digital.
“If you want to speak up or walk out — do it. You’re not alone, and you’re not crazy for wanting fairness. Women have fought for decades to have equal opportunities in sports. Letting males take over isn’t progress — it’s going backwards. To California officials — you’re failing these girls. You’re letting biological males dominate their sports and take their spots. This isn’t equality — it’s erasure. And we’re done pretending it’s okay.”
Selina Soule
Soule, a former high school track and field athlete herself in Connecticut, was one of the first young women to stand up against systems that allow biological males to compete against women in 2018.
That year, as a four-time National Qualifier, she was forced out of a regional championship due to two trans athletes taking women’s spots and who lost out on the chance to earn attention from college scouts and potential scholarships because of those snubs. Then she began to speak out in interviews with local news outlets.
“I understand exactly how all the girls competing in this upcoming championship meet feel as I was in the same situation for 4 years during high school,” Soule told Fox News Digital.
Soule wouldn’t encourage the California athletes to refuse to compete this weekend, but she would support some sort of demonstration by them.
“It’s easy for people to say that girls should take a stand and refuse to compete against a male athlete but it’s not easy to sit it out when you’ve dedicated long hours training and sacrificed things like parties or sleepovers with friends to qualify for this meet. It’s a devastating and demoralizing choice these girls are facing and my heart breaks for them,” she said.
“If I could say something to each girl in this competition it would be to compete and give it your best. You may have the chance to beat your personal best or break a school record. If you’re robbed of the chance to get a higher place or just miss the podium, you could refuse to stand on the podium next to a male with unfair advantage during the awards ceremony and take your rightful place afterwards. I and the vast majority of this country have your back.”
Soule later sued the state of Connecticut over its gender eligibility policies, and the suit is ongoing.
A Title IX expert warns California about retaliation against athletes who protest
Some California girls’ athletes have already taken steps to stand up against the CIF this track and field postseason.
Crean Lutheran High Schooler Reese Hogan stepped up into the first-place stand on the medal podium for triple jump at a sectional final on May 17 after the first-place winner, trans athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High School, stepped off it. Footage of Hogan’s stunt went viral and helped ignite awareness of the situation in California.
Before that, during the Southern Sectional Prelims on May 10, several athletes wore shirts that read “Protect Girls Sports” and wielded picket signs that called out the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) for its policies, and some even spoke at a press conference that included activists opposing trans inclusion.
However, Fox News Digital previously reported that CIF officials forced multiple girls wearing the shirts to remove them, and the CIF acknowledged the incidents occurred in a statement.
Title IX expert Ryan Bangert senior vice president for strategic initiatives and special counsel to the president at the legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom told Fox News Digital that the girls have every right to peacefully protest during the weekend’s competitions how they see fit. And any retaliation by the CIF against those who protest could be violations of the first amendment.
“California needs to be cautious because every sovereign entity and every government entity has an obligation to follow the commands of the first amendment, and California is no different,” Bangert said, adding that the state is under even more scrutiny if it tramples on the first amendment in defense of the “failing ideology” of biological males competing in girls’ sports.
If CIF officials do try to prevent the girls from competing, Bangert suggested there are legal steps they could take in response.
“I think those girls would be well advised to consider all their legal rights and remedies in that situation,” Bangert said about potential prevention or retaliation against girls who choose to protest this weekend.
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