AB Hernandez, a 16-year-old transgender athlete from Southern California, has spoken out after winning a state track-and-field title amid ongoing public debate and protests surrounding her participation.<\/p>\n
Hernandez, who competes for Jurupa Valley High School, earned gold in the triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state championship on May 31, finishing with a jump of 42 feet 2 inches. She tied for first place with Kira Grant Hatcher, who recorded a 40-foot-5-inch jump.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the competition, CIF implemented a policy to preserve rankings for cisgender female athletes competing alongside transgender athletes. The updated rule ensures that any student who placed behind a transgender athlete would retain their position in the rankings. It also allowed for an additional cisgender female competitor in each event Hernandez entered.<\/p>\n
Despite these measures, Hernandez\u2019s participation sparked protests at multiple meets, including the state championship. Demonstrators gathered outside the venue, criticizing CIF\u2019s policy and arguing it compromises fairness in girls\u2019 sports.<\/p>\n
In an interview with KCRA, Hernandez addressed the backlash directly: \u201cIt\u2019s definitely crazy. I get a lot of hate comments, but I\u2019m like, \u2018I don\u2019t care.\u2019 I\u2019m a 16-year-old girl with a mad attitude, you think I\u2019m going to care?\u201d<\/p>\n
She also described the protestors at high school sporting events as \u201cjust weird,\u201d adding that the atmosphere inside the stadium was overwhelmingly supportive: \u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting any of it, to be honest. I was just expecting to go out there and compete alone, but the support was amazing. They really made my experience perfect. I\u2019ll forever be grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n