A Christian school in the Central Valley forfeited a girls volleyball playoff game to San Francisco’s Waldorf High School due to suspicions that a player on the local team is transgender.
Julie Fagundes, academic dean at Stone Ridge Christian School in Merced, told families that the decision to withdraw from Saturday’s California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) NorCal Division VI volleyball match was based on “God’s Word,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
“At SRC we believe that 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,” Fagundes said. “We do not believe sex is changeable and we do not intend to participate in events that send a different message.”
CIF spokesperson Rebecca Brutlag told The Standard the school could face sanctions for forfeiting the game, noting that state law provides all students with the opportunity to participate in CIF competitions “in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity.”
“Any team that withdraws from CIF playoffs is subject to sanctions at both the Section and State levels,” Brutlag said in a statement. “No decision has been made at this time regarding future sanctions.”
Stone Ridge and the Waldorf High School did not immediately respond to The Standard’s requests for comment Tuesday.
The incident comes amid a slew of actions against transgender inclusion in girls and women’s sports in the Bay Area and across the country. More than 20 states have laws banning transgender students from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity.
In September, San Jose State University women’s volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit against the NCAA challenging its transgender inclusion policy. In court documents, Slusser claimed one of her teammates is transgender and said she shouldn’t be allowed to play.
Since then, several schools have withdrawn from games against SJSU’s volleyball team in protest. President-elect Donald Trump referenced the case last month when he vowed to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.