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A girls’ high school volleyball team in California has had two more games scratched from its schedule after other schools forfeited, escalating an already contentious situation over a transgender athlete on the team.

Maribel Munoz, the mother of one of the Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball team players, told Fox News Digital that this was the case after the team’s coach, Liana Manu, informed parents that two more matches would be canceled. Those forfeits include matches against Rim of the World High School on Aug. 25 and Orange Vista High School on Aug. 29.

Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD) shared a statement regarding the recent forfeits, noting that it was not the decision of the district or the JVHS team. “We understand and acknowledge the disappointment of our Jurupa Valley High School athletes who are ready and prepared to play. Decisions to cancel matches were made by teams in other districts,” the statement read.

The new forfeits came after Riverside Poly High School backed out of a scheduled Aug. 15 match against the Jurupa Valley team, with a parent of players on the Poly team and a local school board member telling Fox News Digital the decision had been made specifically over the inclusion of the team’s transgender player, senior AB Hernandez.

Mom of Trans Athlete Addresses Backlash

Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, shared a statement addressing the recent controversy over her daughter. “I understand the discomfort some may feel, because I was once there, too. The difference is, I chose to learn, to grow, and to open my heart,” she said.

She went on to say that her daughter is small, adding that her daughter is not any bigger or stronger than her teammates. “This is a child, and I can assure you that she sees your daughters as peers, as teammates, as friends, not through a lens of anything inappropriate,” she said. Hernandez also said that her daughter was not aware of the forfeited matches until after the fact.

Hernandez previously came under national scrutiny over the spring track and field season when she won two California state titles in the long jump and triple jump. The victories prompted complaints from female track athletes and parents, some of whom wore shirts with the slogan “Save Girls’ Sports.” It was also brought up when former President Donald Trump posted a message to Truth Social before the state finals, asking the state not to allow a trans athlete to compete, though he did not specifically mention Hernandez.

The controversy heated up further in July when the U.S. Department of Justice sued the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over its policies allowing transgender students to participate on girls’ sports teams. This was despite Trump having signed an executive order in February aimed at banning such participation.

For Hernandez, it was another step in the national spotlight, while her senior high school volleyball season should be about playing volleyball, but instead is becoming marked by forfeits and a divide in her community.

Munoz, whose daughter has played volleyball with Hernandez for three years, said she was upset by the situation. “It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” Munoz said.

Parents have been speaking out at recent local school board meetings over the issue. At a Riverside Unified School District meeting, parents split into camps with some supporting the Riverside Poly students for refusing to play, while others expressed support for the rights of transgender students to play on sports teams.

At that meeting, Nereyda Hernandez also called out Riverside board member Amanda Vickers for speaking to Fox News Digital about the Poly forfeit. “You actually entertained and welcomed harassment to my child. You are a board member. You have an oath to protect, to support all children, not just the ones that fit your ideas, your beliefs,” she said.

She added that the effort against her daughter and other trans students is being orchestrated and designed to pit parents against each other on religious grounds rather than a fair application of sports rules. “This has nothing to do with fairness in sports and everything to do with erasing transgender children,” she said.

Parents like Maria Carrillo, who spoke at the same meeting in support of the Poly parents, had the opposite perspective. “Poly girls, we stand with you. Keep fighting, because these parents who support their confused child are the problem,” Carrillo said.

Jurupa Valley’s girls’ volleyball regular season is scheduled to run through mid-October, so more forfeits remain a possibility. While the athletes want to play, the national conversation over transgender athletes in girls’ sports appears to be continuing.

Trump returned to the issue earlier this month with a Truth Social post in which he singled out California, saying school districts across the state will no longer get federal money under his administration if they do not reverse their policies on transgender athletes.

With state law, federal guidance, community tensions, and national politics all colliding over one team, the rest of the season for Jurupa Valley’s volleyball team appears likely to remain contentious, leaving both the athletes and their families uncertain of what is to come.