Controversy over transgender athletes sparks protests at school board meeting in California

Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) in California held a board meeting on Thursday. Amid the controversy over a transgender cross country runner at Martin Luther King High School, students have come under fire for protesting the athletes’ participation.

The board meeting will address recent allegations in a lawsuit that school administrators compared “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirts to swastikas.

Protesters gathered outside the RUSD district office to support and oppose transgender inclusion.

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Video of the meeting provided by parents to Sophia Lorey, Director of Family Outreach of California. It shows a group of people raising transgender pride flags and wearing shirts of similar colors.

Lorey told Fox News Digital that a few people wore “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirts outside the venue. But they are outnumbered by pro-trans activists.

California Family Council Together with the religious rights law office Advocate for Faith and Freedom organized a Press conference Outside the district office before a committee meeting to resolve an ongoing conflict.

Ryan Starks, the father of a girl at the school named Taylor, is involved in a lawsuit against the school. Said at the press conference The lawsuit alleges that Taylor lost her varsity position to a transgender athlete. And her T-shirt expressing opposition to competing athletes has been compared to a swastika.

“It was heartbreaking to see what my daughter had to go through this season,” Starks said.

Father of female runner forced to compete with trans athlete shares rage of situation: ‘Indistinguishable’

“This is not fair. It’s not fair. It breaks my heart as a father to see my daughter go through this and have her undressed. Let her come to me and hug me. And there was nothing I could do” about it. It was really heartbreaking.”

Julianne Fleischer, the lawyer representing Taylor in the lawsuit, previously told Fox News Digital that the rhetoric from school administrators was “Extremely dangerous.”

“When you have adults comparing the message ‘Save Girls’ Sports’ that promotes equality, fairness and common sense. When you have adults comparing that message to a swastika. which represents the genocide of millions of Jews. There really isn’t. I don’t know how you’d respond,” Fleischer said.

Hundreds of students at Martin Luther King High School began wearing T-shirts every Wednesday. The school responded with a dress code that resulted in several students being sent to prison. But that didn’t stop them. Students still wear the shirts every week.

The school recently stopped enforcing the dress code for shirts.

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Sources told Fox News officials at nearby Arlington High School, Riverside Polytechnical High School and Romona High School. Students were also seen wearing these outfits.

In an earlier statement provided to Fox News Digital, RUSD said it was allowing transgender athletes to compete on teams because they were required to comply with California law.

Students at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside. California Wore a T-shirt that said “Save Girls’ Sports” to protest the transgender athletes on the cross country team. (Courtesy of Sophia Lorey)

“It is important to remember that RUSD must comply with California law. which requires students to ‘are allowed to participate in gender-segregated school programs and activities including sports teams and competitions that align with one’s gender identity regardless of gender stated in the student record,” the statement said.

“While these matters are happening in our courts and media, Resistance and protest should be directed at those in a position to affect those laws and policies. This includes officials in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento.”

California has had laws in place to protect transgender athletes in women’s sports since 2014, that year. AB 1266 is effective.It gives California students at the academic and college level the right to “Participate in gender-segregated school programs and activities. including sports teams and competitions and use facilities consistent with their gender identity regardless of the gender stated on the student’s record.”

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