High school girls’ volleyball team forfeits semifinal match against team with male player

CV NEWS FEED // A Christian high school girls’ volleyball team in California forfeited a semifinal match against another girls’ team that reportedly has a male player, citing the “Biblical truth” that a person cannot change their sex.

A November 15 statement from Stone Ridge Christian School that was shared on X by MaxPrep announced the school’s decision to forfeit the match against San Francisco Waldorf, which was scheduled for November 16. In the statement, the school said they believe “God’s Word is authoritative and infallible.”

“[A]s Genesis makes clear, God wonderfully and immutable [sic] created each person as male or female,” the school stated.

The school later added, “Standing for Biblical truth means more than the outcome of a game.”

The statement also affirmed the school’s commitment to protecting the “health and safety” of the girls on the team.

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

Citing a January 2024 OutKick article, Fox News reported that the male player is reportedly a three-sport athlete and led San Francisco Waldorf to a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) North Coast Championship during the 2023 volleyball season.

In the OutKick article, the player is referred to as Henry Hanlon, who apparently also plays on girls’ basketball and soccer teams. 

OutKick also reported that a primarily Islam college preparatory school forfeited a basketball game against Waldorf in January because the school “did not want its female athletes to play a contact sport against a male or be forced to share locker room facilities with him.”

The school’s decision was supported by swimmer and women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines, who called attention to the situation on X.