Christian high school forfeits volleyball match over transgender player (2024)

A Christian high school forfeited a girls' volleyball match—and the rest of its sporting season—after refusing to play against a rival team's transgender player in state playoffs.

"Standing for Biblical truth means more than the outcome of a game," Stone Ridge Christian High School (SRC) said in a letter reportedly issued to parents on Friday to explain why they had pulled out of Saturday's event.

The school in Merced, California, was due to face-off against San Francisco Waldorf School, but quit when they learned it had what they described as "a male athlete" on its girls' team, the letter alleged, according to screenshots shared online.

Newsweek has reached out by email to both schools seeking further information and comment.

A spokesperson for SRC replied: "We will always stand for Biblical truth and what is right. Girls must compete against girls for fairness, safety and truth."

The episode comes amid increasing debate about the rights of transgender athletes and their inclusion in women's sports.

Critics argue it is unfair for biological women to go head-to-head with transgender women because they cannot compete on an even playing field, particularly if the transgender sportswomen have undergone male puberty. Some have safety concerns, including fears that women could be at risk of serious injury in a boxing ring or in other contact sports.

However, others argue that trans athletes should enjoy the same opportunity to participate in sport as anyone else, and insist trans' rights are human rights.

SRC's decision to walk away from the match was reported by local newspaper the Merced Sun-Star. The outlet reported that SRC gave it a statement explaining the school believes that sex cannot be changed because God created each person to be either male or female.

Identical wording was used in a longer missive emailed to parents on Friday, according to a screenshot of the message shared on social media site X (formerly Twitter.)

Beth Bourne, whose X profile says she is a "mom questioning gender ideology in CA schools.... the biggest medical scandal of our times," told her 12,000 followers that the message had come from a father of one of Stone Ridge's players. Bourne added that she has "so much gratitude for these courageous girls who were willing to sacrifice the end of their season in this way."

"As many of you know, our girls won on Wednesday and advanced to the state playoffs," the letter to parents reportedly began. "Unfortunately, we were just informed that our opponent, San Francisco Waldorf, has a male athlete playing for their team.

"At SRC, we believe God's Word is authoritative and infallible. It is Truth. And as Genesis makes clear, God wonderfully and immutably created each person as male or female. We do not believe sex is changeable and we do not intend to participate in events that send a different message. We also have a duty and responsibility to care for the health and safety of our athletes. So after consulting with our students, coaches, and staff, we have made the difficult decision to forfeit Saturday's game. Standing for Biblical truth means more than the outcome of a game.

"This is a heartbreaking end to our season, but I hope you will join me in congratulating these outstanding student-athletes. SRC is proud of them."

Former college swimmer Riley Gaines, who campaigns against transgender athletes following her own battle within her sport, shared details of the story on X. She asked her followers to give the schoolgirls "some love for standing firm!"

However, elsewhere on the internet, the same story was met with a different reaction. "Shame to see such hateful bigotry close to home," wrote one commentator on Reddit, whose profile said they were a "trans femme scholar."

Feminist website Reduxx reported on the incident and claimed that the same transgender player is also on Waldorf's basketball team—allegedly prompting an Islamic school to refuse play against the team in January.

Reddux alleged that Averroes High School forfeited the match due to religious objections about the Muslim girls risking close physical contact with a player they viewed as male, although the outlet said the school declined to confirm whether the trans athlete was the reason for them refusing to play.

Newsweek has reached out to Averroes High School via email for comment.

The issue of transgender athletes in women's sport continues to be a major talking point.

President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly vowed to "keep men out of women's sports" during his election campaign.

And Massachusetts Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton recently spoke out in The New York Times to say he wouldn't want his two daughters "getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete."

His comments sparked controversy and protests in Salem over the weekend. Kyle Davis, a Democratic Salem city councilor, took to X, to say: "Please join us in a celebration of the trans and queer community. Our aim for this event is to communicate loud and clear to that we love and stand in solidarity with the trans community."

Update 11/19/24 11:49 a.m. ET: This article has been updated to include a statement from Stone Ridge Christian High School.