As California continues to defy President Donald Trump’s recent executive order prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in girls’ sports, residents will witness the consequences of that decision on a basketball court this week.
On Saturday, an openly transgender athlete from San Francisco Waldorf will face Cornerstone Christian in a high school girls’ basketball playoff game.
The same trans athlete played for Waldorf’s girls’ volleyball team this fall, forcing Stone Ridge Christian to forfeit a playoff game on November 16.
Cornerstone Christian does, however, intend to play the trans athlete in their upcoming game.
“As long as the parents agree to play the game, we will support the girls’ efforts this season and participate,” Cornerstone Christian athletic director Madison Alexander told Fox News Digital.
The team made this decision following a meeting on Tuesday afternoon.
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is currently being investigated by Trump’s Department of Education (DOE) and the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) for defying the president’s executive order, which continues to instruct schools to allow trans athletes to compete as women.
Candice Jackson, the DOE’s deputy general counsel, told Fox News Digital that the department will monitor the state’s girls’ basketball playoffs while conducting its investigation.
“The CIF establishes the parameters under which schools compete in these playoffs, and it is their responsibility as recipients of federal funds to comply with Title IX.” OCR’s investigation into CIF is ongoing, as it appears that CIF’s disregard for Title IX continues,” Jackson stated.
The CIF has yet to respond to a request for comment on the situation surrounding the upcoming playoff game. The CIF previously told Fox News Digital that it will continue to monitor state legislation on the issue of trans athletes, which has been in place since 2014.
“The CIF provides students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based experiences in compliance with California law [Education Code section 221.5. (f)] which permits students to participate in school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, consistent with the student’s gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the student’s records,” the declaration reads.
Since 2014, AB 1266 has given California students at the scholastic and collegiate levels the right to “participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”
Many California residents have protested and threatened to sue the state over its refusal to comply with Trump’s order.
On Friday, California lawmakers introduced three bills in the state legislature to combat transgender inclusion.
Assemblymember Bill Essayli introduced a bill that specifically addressed sports. His bill would require students to use all school facilities and participate in sports teams based on their biological sex rather than their gender identity, effectively reversing AB 1266.
“We know the state of California is going to do everything it can to resist and avoid compliance with federal law, so it’s our role to try to force change at the state and local level,” Essayli said at a press conference outside the state Capitol building in Sacramento on Friday.
California State Assembly member Kate Sanchez previously announced on Jan. 7 that she will introduce her own bill to prohibit trans athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports.
California’s decision to allow trans athletes to compete alongside girls and women has sparked multiple controversies in the last year alone, with one lawsuit already filed against California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Parents at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, filed a lawsuit against Bonta after a girls’ cross-country runner lost her varsity spot to a trans athlete, and school administrators allegedly compared the girls’ “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirts to swastikas.
In San Diego, a middle school was recently embroiled in local controversy after a transgender student used the girls’ locker room.
San Elijo Middle School issued a statement to Fox News Digital, attributing the transgender student’s access to the girls’ locker room to the school’s obligation to comply with state law.
San Francisco Waldorf became embroiled in a national controversy after Stone Ridge Christian forfeited the volleyball playoffs in November.
Riley Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and OutKick contributor, then honoured Stone Ridge Christian for its decision to forfeit during a ceremony at their high school in early December.
Trump’s executive order promises to cut federal funding to any institution that allows transgender athletes to compete against girls and women.
According to USA Facts, California public schools receive approximately $16.8 billion per year, representing 13.9% or one out of every seven dollars in public school funding, which is significantly higher than the national average.
