3 Female High School Athletes In Riverside County Sue Over Trans Participation In Sport

MURRIETA, CA — A Murrieta-based law firm filed a lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of three Riverside County high school athletes who allege their rights and protections under federal law are being violated.

The three female athletes from Jurupa Valley High School — Hadeel Hazameh, Alyssa McPherson, and Madison McPherson — claim the California Department of Education, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), and the Jurupa Unified School District are violating Title IX by allowing biological boys identifying as transgender to participate in girls' sports.

The lawsuit filed by Advocates for Faith & Freedom in the U.S. District Court, Central California District, seeks to block the enforcement of the state’s AB 1266, CIF policies, and JUSD policies that allow boys into girls’ sports and private facilities.

The lawsuit also asks the court to enjoin Jurupa Unified School District "from continuing to force girls to compete with and against and undress alongside male athletes."

According to the plaintiffs, "school officials knowingly allowed a male athlete onto the girls’ volleyball and track teams, into the girls’ locker rooms, and ignored repeated reports of 'butt tapping,' sexual harassment, and unsafe conditions caused by the male athlete."

The plaintiffs further allege that school administrators retaliated against those who spoke out, threatening suspension from school, accusing the athletes of failing to be team members, and removing them from team communications.

The district could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

"Title IX was passed to stop sex discrimination against women, not to erase them from their own sports," said Advocates for Faith & Freedom President and Chief Counsel, Robert Tyler. "Our daughters are being denied fair play and subjected to sexual harassment all because California insists on putting radical gender ideology ahead of common sense and safety."

This case builds upon a lawsuit on behalf of two California athletes, Taylor Starling and Kaitlyn Slavin, who, in a separate lawsuit, challenged the same policies. Read more about that case:

• Protections For CA's LGBTQ+ Students Under Fire In RivCo-Based Lawsuit
• Battle Over Trans Student-Athletes Roils California High School Sports

"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," said Advocates for Faith & Freedom Senior Counsel Julianne Fleischer. "This case is about restoring dignity to women’s sports and ensuring that the God-given distinctions between male and female are respected, not erased."