President Donald Trump was unsuccessful in his efforts to block transgender California high schooler AB Hernandez from competing in the state’s track and field finals a year ago.
This season, with the Jurupa Valley senior on the verge of qualifying for the state finals once again, AB has been even better prepared for the protestors and politicians trying to block trans athletes from female sports.
As AB’s mother, Nereyda, told the Los Angeles Times in an exclusive interview, she and her daughter anticipated more protests and political backlash this year due to the ongoing midterm campaigns.
‘I told AB, this is a [midterm] election year,’ Nereyda said. ‘They’re gonna hit us hard, because they’re using us for their campaigns.’
They even took a much-needed vacation before the season to clear their heads for what promised to be several grueling months.
‘In November, we took a trip,’ Nereyda said. ‘We went to New York and Cancun, we had a blast. We knew we had to get ready, we had to have that peace, because they were going to do this again.’
AB Hernandez, a transgender student at Jurupa Valley, is pictured at a 2025 meet
AB Hernandez has been successful at all three jumping events at the high school level
As AB’s mother, Nereyda, told the Los Angeles Times in an exclusive interview, she and her daughter anticipated more protests and political backlash this year due to the midterms
‘They’ in this case, are conservative politicians and organizations opposed to transgender athletes in female sports.
A year ago, Trump called on California officials to stop AB from competing in the 2025 state finals, where she nonetheless finished first in the triple and high jump. So, when California’s two top Republican gubernatorial candidates took aim at her in separate statements this year, it wasn’t anything new.
There have been more protests, too, like the one at Saturday’s CIF Southern Section Division 3 preliminaries, where California state superintendent candidate Sonja Shaw was reportedly on hand.
Still, AB persevered, tying for first in the high jump while winning the triple and long jump competitions outright.
‘Once they started posting [online] about their protest, I thought, ‘Wow, it’s going to be another crazy year,’ Nereyda told the LA Times. ‘But no, on the outside, they had maybe, maybe 10 people. … They’re there to target one child, but they affect all of them.’
Of course, Hernandez’s success has only intensified the uproar over her inclusion in the meets. One group, Save Girls’ Sports, has been seen demonstrating at several of AB’s meets to argue that she’s irreparably harming California girls.
AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley competes in the girls high jump during the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High School, May 24, 2025, in Moorpark, California
Save Girls Sports outreach director and former NCAA soccer player Sophia Lorey told the crowd outside Saturday’s meet that the presence of transgender athletes in girls’ sports will result in lost scholarship opportunities. Citing the CIF bylaw allowing participation based on gender identity, Lorey claimed ‘girls across California will continue losing placements, safety and opportunities that they rightfully earned.’
Meanwhile, a smaller counterprotest was also seen at Saturday’s meet, where demonstrators fought back against the argument that transgender athletes were depriving female rivals of opportunities.
For starters, CIF changed policy at last year’s state meet to extend access and awards to biological females displaced by transgender competitors.
And with the NCAA complying with Trump’s executive order threatening the funding of organizations that permit transgender athletes to compete in female sports, scholarships are no longer in play.
CIF changed policy last year to extend access and awards to biological females displaced by transgender competitors. Now, nobody can miss out on the podium over the controversy
People hold Save Girls Sports signs in protest of transgender athlete AB Hernandez in 2025
‘Let’s talk fairness,’ one counter protestor said at the rival demonstration in Yorba Linda. ‘Last year, under CIF’s policy, transgender athletes were not permitted to displace the cisgender athletes who placed after them. If they came in first, they shared that award with the runner up.
‘And guess what, trans athletes are currently barred from competing in college. They are not taking anybody’s scholarships. They can’t. They are not allowed to play. Their chance to be on a team and experience the camaraderie and the thrill of sports ends in high school.
‘Despite these cold, hard facts, this hate coalition has continued to bully, stalk and harass the tiny handful of transgender students who play at the high school level in California.’
‘It’s just the outsiders,’ Nereyda said. ‘They’re infiltrating, pretending they’re parents or they know people, but I’m the mom. I know who they are.’
Like last year, Hernandez’s inclusion in the state meet will not displace any other competitors
Last July, the Justice Department filed suit against California state agencies regarding alleged Title IX violations linked to the issue. The US Department of Education has since expanded that investigation to include 17 other institutions for potential civil rights breaches across the state.
The Governor’s office has defended the status quo, citing a 2013 law that requires students to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity.
For AB, this means Saturday’s Southern Section finals as well as the ensuing state track and field championships in Clovis will see more of the same protests. But according to her mother, many of those demonstrators are political foot soldiers and not directly impacted by the controversy.
‘It’s just the outsiders,’ Nereyda said. ‘They’re infiltrating, pretending they’re parents or they know people, but I’m the mom. I know who they are.’
