Summarised by Centrist
The US President, Donald Trump, has warned California that it could face a possible loss of federal funding after a transgender athlete, AB Hernandez, won gold in both the triple jump and high jump at the state high school girls’ track and field finals.
The California Interscholastic Federation allowed Hernandez to compete and even added extra lanes in some events to accommodate the backlash from protesters at the event.
“A Biological Male competed in California Girls State Finals, WINNING BIG,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, accusing state officials of ignoring his directive. “Large-scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently,” he said, if the order is not followed.
The order in question is a February 5 executive order titled Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. It says the federal government will rescind funding from schools that “deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities,” including loss of privacy and increased risk of injury.
Photos from the event showed parents and spectators protesting with signs and pink wristbands saying “Save Girls’ Sports.”
Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, followed up with a formal warning letter to California schools.
A recent AP-NORC poll found 69 percent of Americans oppose transgender athletes competing in female sports categories, including 90 percent of Republicans and nearly half of Democrats.
Trump did not specify the timing or legal basis for the penalties.
