Three current and former members of the Jurupa Valley High School girls volleyball team filed a federal lawsuit in California this week seeking monetary damages and new policies that would bar transgender athletes from competing on girls' teams and from female locker rooms, according to court papers and media reports.
The complaint, filed in federal court and obtained by news outlets, names the school district, the California Interscholastic Federation and the state Department of Education as defendants, and also names a transgender student athlete by initials. The plaintiffs — identified in news accounts as Hadeel Hazameh, Alyssa McPherson and Madison McPherson but identified only by initials in the complaint — say the district and state entities have ‘‘knowingly permitted a male student to compete on the JVHS varsity girls’ track and field and volleyball teams, access female locker rooms and bathrooms, and engage in harassing conduct toward female athletes.’’
The lawsuit alleges that the transgender student, identified only by initials in the filing and previously named in news reports as AB Hernandez, repeatedly engaged in ‘‘unwelcomed and offensive contact, including slapping and/or placing his hands on female players’ buttocks, including Plaintiffs, during practices, games, and huddles.’’ The filing says the plaintiffs ‘‘felt violated and objectified by A.H.’s repeated inappropriate touching.’’ The complaint seeks damages and an injunction that would institute blanket prohibitions on transgender athletes’ participation in girls’ sports and access to female locker rooms.
The plaintiffs are represented by Julianne Fleischer of Advocates for Faith & Freedom, who said in a statement quoted in the complaint: "Girls' sports are for girls. No policy can erase the biological differences between males and females, and forcing young women to compete against boys is both unfair and unsafe."
The transgender student at the center of the lawsuit spoke to CBS News days before the suit was filed, saying she felt mischaracterized and that she was ‘‘just a normal kid going to school, playing sports.’’ The student told the network that the attention and protests related to her participation have been difficult, and said some visiting teams have forfeited rather than play Jurupa Valley.
Hernandez, who was identified in earlier media reports, won state medals in the long jump and triple jump and drew national attention in recent years after those performances. The filings and articles say protests accompanied some of Hernandez’s state-level competitions and that at least three high school teams recently forfeited volleyball matches rather than face Jurupa Valley.
Hernandez’s mother, identified in news reports as Nereyda Hernandez, told the East Bay Times that the lawsuit contains "defamation, false claims, fabricated evidence, harassment and perjury," though the news account did not include details of specific rebuttals to the allegations named in the filing.
The complaint also cites the inclusion of a team photo showing players with their arms around one another’s hips and describes broader harms the plaintiffs say flow from the district’s policies. In addition to seeking monetary relief, the suit asks the court to require changes to school and statewide athletic policies that the plaintiffs say are unlawful under Title IX and related statutes.
The California Interscholastic Federation and the state Department of Education are named as defendants alongside the school district and the individual student. The filing alleges the organizations permitted the transgender student’s participation and access to facilities.
The filing sets the dispute squarely at the intersection of school sports policy, federal civil rights law and ongoing public debate about the participation of transgender athletes in girls’ athletics. The lawsuit will be resolved in federal court; court filings do not yet show a scheduled hearing or ruling date.