3 California student athletes file federal lawsuit over transgender athlete’s participation in women’s sports

By Dakin Andone, CNN

(CNN) — Three female student athletes sued their Southern California school district and state Department of Education, claiming they suffered sex discrimination under Title IX and civil rights violations when the defendants allowed a transgender athlete to compete on their high school track and volleyball teams.

The federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Central District of California, comes as the inclusion of trans women and girls in sports has emerged as a central focus in a broader, national targeting of the transgender community by Republican leaders and the Trump administration.

While the complaint does not name the transgender athlete, the description matches that of A.B. Hernandez, a Jurupa Valley High School senior who was thrust into the spotlight after President Donald Trump threatened to withhold California’s federal funding over her participation in the state track and field championships in late May.

The plaintiffs claim the trans athlete made competition unfair, resulting in lower track and field rankings for those competing against her. The suit also says at least six schools forfeited volleyball matches rather than compete against the team that some of the plaintiffs, along with Hernandez, play on. They also claim an invasion of privacy due to sharing a locker room with the student and allege school officials ignored or dismissed their complaints.

Through the trans athlete’s participation, the plaintiffs claim they experienced “unfair athletic competition, safety risks, sexual harassment, and deprivation of equal educational opportunities resulting in harm to Plaintiffs and many other female athletes.”

Some arguments in the lawsuit – which comes mere weeks into the academic year and months after Trump signed an executive order banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports – largely reflect those expressed by trans athletes’ critics’ in the larger debate.

Opponents argue transgender women have unfair physical advantages that hurt cisgender women’s opportunities for success in sports. Trans athletes and their advocates, meanwhile, say there is a lack of consistent, conclusive research to support this claim and argue trans people deserve the right to compete with their peers.

Aside from the California Department of Education and the Jurupa Unified School District, the defendants also include the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports across the state. A spokesperson for the California Department of Education said it had not yet seen the lawsuit. Spokespeople for all three defendants declined to comment on pending litigation.

In an email, Nereyda Hernandez, A.B. Hernandez’s mother, urged “everyone to remember there is a real child at the center of this issue.”

“Regardless of personal opinions, no child should be subjected to public scrutiny, targeted, or used as a political symbol,” Hernandez’s mother said.

“I respectfully ask that privacy, dignity, and compassion guide this conversation moving forward.”

Of the plaintiffs, only one is named in the lawsuit: Madison McPherson, a now-collegiate volleyball player who previously competed in varsity track and field, soccer and volleyball at Jurupa Valley High School.

Two other plaintiffs, both minors, are identified only by their initials. But Julianne Fleischer, one of their attorneys, confirmed they are Alyssa McPherson, Madison’s younger sister, and Hadeel Hazameh, both of whom still compete for Jurupa Valley High School. The athletes’ mothers, Maribel Munoz and Hanan Hazameh, are also named plaintiffs.

“California continues to ignore the rights and protections federal law affords female athletes, sidelining them in the name of ‘inclusion,’” Fleischer said in a statement. “But the rights of female athletes are not second-class. This is not about politics—it is about protecting fairness, safety, opportunity, and the hard-won rights of young women in sports.”

Lawsuit alleges female athletes lost out on podium spots and volleyball games

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages, as well as an injunction stopping the Jurupa Unified School District from “allowing any male student to participate or compete in any female sports,” among other avenues for relief. It claims violations of Title IX, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and the free speech and exercise clauses of the First Amendment.

The lawsuit says the plaintiffs were deprived of fair competition by Hernandez’s inclusion on their sports teams, claiming a Title IX violation.

Madison McPherson refused to participate in the track season during her senior year because she had consistently lost out on higher placements during track and field events during the previous two seasons, the lawsuit says, with Hernandez placing higher.

“McPherson grew frustrated and angry that, despite her high athletic ability, she was losing many placements – often first place – to A.H.,” the lawsuit says, referring to Hernandez by the student’s initials.

Hazameh also lost placements to Hernandez through the 2024-2025 season, the lawsuit says, going on to claim the plaintiffs “could not overcome the apparent biological advantages” of Hernandez despite their own training.

Hernandez, the lawsuit notes, also competes on the high school volleyball team. But since the start of the 2025-2026 season, six schools have either forfeited or canceled matches against the team. The lawsuit claims these cancellations were due to Hernandez’s inclusion, arguing it deprives the athletes of “meaningful athletic opportunities.”

The complaint says the plaintiffs were made uncomfortable by their trans teammate allegedly touching their buttocks – described as “butt tapping” after earning a point – also citing the trans athlete’s use of the girl’s locker room and bathroom. Hazameh and her mother are Muslim, the lawsuit notes, arguing their religious obligations prevent Hazameh, who wears a hijab, from exposing her hair or body to men. The lawsuit also cites the McPhersons’ and their mother’s Catholic faith.

The plaintiffs repeatedly raised their concerns with school administrators, the lawsuit says, but were told the school was following state law. The lawsuit claims their concerns were dismissed or ignored, and that they suffered retaliation.

Alyssa McPherson and Hazameh, the lawsuit says, were removed from varsity volleyball group chats last Friday after they separately told their coach “they could no longer participate in games or practices that included a male athlete.”

The lawsuit also cites comments by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who said on a podcast earlier this year that transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports is “deeply unfair.”

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