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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
3 California student athletes file federal lawsuit over transgender
athlete’s participation in women’s sports
By Dakin Andone, CNN
Updated:
6:02 PM EDT, Wed September 10, 2025
Source: CNN
Three female student athletes sued their Southern California school
district and state Department of Education, claiming they suffered sex
discrimination under Title IX and civil rights violations when the
defendants allowed a transgender athlete to compete on their high
school track and volleyball teams.
The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the
Central District of California, comes as the inclusion of trans women
and girls in sports has emerged as a central focus in a broader,
national targeting of the transgender community by Republican leaders
and .
While the complaint does not name the transgender athlete, the
description matches that of , a Jurupa Valley High School senior who
was thrust into the spotlight after President Donald Trump threatened
to withhold California’s federal funding over her participation in
the state track and field championships in late May.
The plaintiffs claim the trans athlete made competition unfair,
resulting in lower track and field rankings for those competing against
her. The suit also says at least six schools forfeited volleyball
matches rather than compete against the team that some of the
plaintiffs, along with Hernandez, play on. They also claim an invasion
of privacy due to sharing a locker room with the student and allege
school officials ignored or dismissed their complaints.
Through the trans athlete’s participation, the plaintiffs claim they
experienced “unfair athletic competition, safety risks, sexual
harassment, and deprivation of equal educational opportunities
resulting in harm to Plaintiffs and many other female athletes.”
Some arguments in the lawsuit – which comes mere weeks into the
academic year and months after Trump signed an executive order from
competing in women’s sports – largely reflect those expressed by
trans athletes’ critics’ in the larger debate.
have unfair physical advantages that hurt cisgender women’s
opportunities for success in sports. Trans athletes and their
advocates, meanwhile, say there is a lack of consistent, conclusive
research to support this claim and argue trans people deserve the right
to compete with their peers.
Aside from the California Department of Education and the Jurupa
Unified School District, the defendants also include the California
Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports
across the state. A spokesperson for the California Department of
Education said it had not yet seen the lawsuit. Spokespeople for all
three defendants declined to comment on pending litigation.
In an email, Nereyda Hernandez, A.B. Hernandez’s mother, urged
“everyone to remember there is a real child at the center of this
issue.”
“Regardless of personal opinions, no child should be subjected to
public scrutiny, targeted, or used as a political symbol,”
Hernandez’s mother said.
“I respectfully ask that privacy, dignity, and compassion guide this
conversation moving forward.”
Of the plaintiffs, only one is named in the lawsuit: Madison McPherson,
a now-collegiate volleyball player who previously competed in varsity
track and field, soccer and volleyball at Jurupa Valley High School.
Two other plaintiffs, both minors, are identified only by their
initials. But Julianne Fleischer, one of their attorneys, confirmed
they are Alyssa McPherson, Madison’s younger sister, and Hadeel
Hazameh, both of whom still compete for Jurupa Valley High School. The
athletes’ mothers, Maribel Munoz and Hanan Hazameh, are also named
plaintiffs.
“California continues to ignore the rights and protections federal
law affords female athletes, sidelining them in the name of
‘inclusion,’” Fleischer said in a statement. “But the rights of
female athletes are not second-class. This is not about politics—it
is about protecting fairness, safety, opportunity, and the hard-won
rights of young women in sports.”
Lawsuit alleges female athletes lost out on podium spots and volleyball
games
The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages, as well as an
injunction stopping the Jurupa Unified School District from “allowing
any male student to participate or compete in any female sports,”
among other avenues for relief. It claims violations of Title IX, the
Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the free speech
and exercise clauses of the First Amendment.
The lawsuit says the plaintiffs were deprived of fair competition by
Hernandez’s inclusion on their sports teams, claiming a Title IX
violation.
Madison McPherson refused to participate in the track season during her
senior year because she had consistently lost out on higher placements
during track and field events during the previous two seasons, the
lawsuit says, with Hernandez placing higher.
“McPherson grew frustrated and angry that, despite her high athletic
ability, she was losing many placements – often first place – to
A.H.,” the lawsuit says, referring to Hernandez by the student’s
initials.
Hazameh also lost placements to Hernandez through the 2024-2025 season,
the lawsuit says, going on to claim the plaintiffs “could not
overcome the apparent biological advantages” of Hernandez despite
their own training.
Hernandez, the lawsuit notes, also competes on the high school
volleyball team. But since the start of the 2025-2026 season, six
schools have either forfeited or canceled matches against the team. The
lawsuit claims these cancellations were due to Hernandez’s inclusion,
arguing it deprives the athletes of “meaningful athletic
opportunities.”
The complaint says the plaintiffs were made uncomfortable by their
trans teammate allegedly touching their buttocks – described as
“butt tapping” after earning a point – also citing the trans
athlete’s use of the girl’s locker room and bathroom. Hazameh and
her mother are Muslim, the lawsuit notes, arguing their religious
obligations prevent Hazameh, who wears a hijab, from exposing her hair
or body to men. The lawsuit also cites the McPhersons’ and their
mother’s Catholic faith.
The plaintiffs repeatedly raised their concerns with school
administrators, the lawsuit says, but were told the school was
following state law. The lawsuit claims their concerns were dismissed
or ignored, and that they suffered retaliation.
Alyssa McPherson and Hazameh, the lawsuit says, were removed from
varsity volleyball group chats last Friday after they separately told
their coach “they could no longer participate in games or practices
that included a male athlete.”
The lawsuit also cites comments by , who said on a podcast earlier this
year that transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports is
“deeply unfair.”
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