Two California transgender female high school athletes who qualified for the state track championship meet are facing vitriolic attacks, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Athena Ryan and Lorelei Barrett, who attend private schools in different parts of the state, both qualified in 1600-meter race, accomplishments that The Chronicle’s Marisa Ingemi writes “have now been woven into broader conservative campaigns targeting trans youth.”
Barrett competes for Buckley School of Sherman Oaks (Los Angeles County) and Ryan for Sonoma Academy of Santa Rosa (Sonoma County).
The meet is scheduled to be held in Clovis (Fresno County) May 26-27.
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the governing body for sanctioned high school athletics in the Golden State, adheres to “Gender Identity Participation” rules established in 2013 that state “Athletes will participate in programs consistent with their gender identity or the gender most consistently expressed."
Right-wing media have amplified the voices of those who favor banning transgender athletes from participating in high school and collegiate sports.
State Sen. Scott Wiener told The Chronicle that protecting California’s trans youth is critical, citing “a real uptick in threats and potential violence against LGBTQ people.”
“It’s a very dangerous time for LGBTQ young people in the U.S., and especially for trans young people,” Wiener told the outlet.
“In California, it absolutely needs to go in the other direction and we support these kids and embrace them to succeed.”
The Chronicle reports that members of “Woman Are Real,” a conservative group that supports banning transgender athletes, were removed from a North Coast Section meet in Dublin on Saturday “after they were seen at the track holding banners that read ‘protect women’s sports.’ The protesters repeatedly misgendered Ryan including on social media posts after the race.”
The CIF told The Chronicle it does not plan to add additional security for the state meet.
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“There are 1,400 student-athletes competing at the 2023 CIF Track and Field State Championships,” a CIF spokesperson reportedly wrote in an email to The Chronicle.
“Our security and staffing of the event will be consistent for a championship event of this size," they said.
