Stone Ridge Christian School has forfeited a California Interscholastic Federation playoff game to protest the inclusion of a transgender player on the opposing team. The school refused to compete against a ‘male athlete‘ on the San Francisco Waldorf School roster. Julie Fagundes, a campus administrator, admitted that this was the second playoff game SRCS has forfeited this season.
She released a statement on the forfeiture where she explained her reasoning. “We will always stand for Biblical truth and what is right. Girls must compete against girls for fairness, safety, and truth” says Fagundes. The San Francisco Waldorf School has made no comment on the controversy. Rebecca Brutlag, a media spokeswoman for the CIF confirmed the forfeiture.
Brutlag also said that Stone Ridge could face punishments for withdrawing from the game. The spokeswoman wrote “Any team that withdraws from CIF playoffs is subject to sanctions at both the Section and State levels. No decision has been made at this time regarding future sanctions.” The California Interscholastic Federation has yet to decide if they will punish the team.
In the same statement, she announced ” All students should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records. The CIF provides students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete in education-based experiences.”
Tony Huong, who is the director of Equity California, a far-left LGBTQAI+ advocacy group, weighted in as well. Huong stated that ” School sports should be about teaching kids important life lessons … All kids, including transgender kids, deserve the same chance to learn these valuable lessons. It’s disappointing that this school would deny their students the opportunity to grow and learn together and instead embrace the divisive and hateful rhetoric of extremists like Donald Trump.”
Riley Gaines, a former NCAA All-American swimmer, visited Stone Ridge Christian School to lend her support to the embattled team. Gaines rose to national prominence after she criticized the presence of a transgender athlete in her locker room. Since then she has spoken out a number of times on the issue of male-to-female transgender competitors in women’s sports. At an assembly she remarked how other teams had taken inspiration from the decision SRCS made to forfeit. Gaines said “I was talking with the girls afterward. You know what is it that inspired you to do this? I know you’ve already done it once at one point in the season, but you had so much to lose. This game in particular, what gave you the courage? “You know they told me? They said Stone Ridge Christian.”
Ryan Tucker, Senior Council at Alliance Defending Freedom, announced he would defend the school in any legal battles. “If the state of California decides that they want to punish these fine girls, then we’re going to be there to defend their rights…If we need to litigate, we will,” says Tucker. He went on to describe the unfair physical advantage transgender players have in competition.
Several Students at SRCS were excited that their school could serve as an inspiration to others. Rennah Friedman, a senior said “The fact that they’re looking at little old Merced as an inspiration to them. I feel this is all so worth it in the end.” She hopes that this will inspire a movement so that women won’t have to face this issue going forward.