By Christian Headlines | Created at 2024-11-18 18:25:43 | Updated at 2024-11-21 20:42:00
3 days ago
A California girl's high school volleyball team has chosen to end its season rather than face a team with a biological male in the state tournament. Two days after winning a first-round state tournament match, Stone Ridge Christian High announced Friday it would forfeit a second-round match against San Francisco Waldorf, which has a biological male player who identifies as a trans female. The match was set to take place the next day at Waldorf.
Stone Ridge Christian High ended its season 20-12 and finished second in the Southern League at 12-2, according to the Merced Sun-Star.
"At SRC, we believe God's Word is authoritative and infallible. It is Truth," Stone Ridge Christian administrator Julie Fagundes said in a statement. "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."
Fagundes called it a "heartbreaking end to our season" but added: "I hope you will join me in congratulating these outstanding student-athletes. SRC is proud of them."
That same trans player was the subject of controversy during the 2023-24 basketball season when he played on the girl's team.
Julie Lane, a representative of the advocacy group Women Are Real, watched him in person and told Outkick.com he had a major edge over other basketball players.
"The boy had an obvious advantage," Lane said. "[Waldorf] didn't necessarily run their offense through him, probably because they didn't want to be targeted. But he got most rebounds and was able to jump much higher than the girls."
The girls on the other basketball teams, Lane added, "were at a complete disadvantage."
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Stone Ridge Christian
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
