Ab Hernandez Clovis row explained: Why Trump wants transgender athlete banned from California State Championship for girls?

The California State Athletics Championships finds itself in the middle of a storm after US President Donald Trump threatened to withdraw federal funding for the state over the participation of a transgender athlete in the high school girls' event. Clovis, the venue of the state meet, is slowly turning into a battleground, with the police being forced to step in to prevent any untoward incidents.

 

 

 

The athlete in question is AB Hernandez, a 16-year-old student who was born a boy but became a girl clinically. Hernandez, representing the Jurupa Valley High School, reportedly is the clear favourite in the long jump and the triple jump events. The youngster is also competing in the high jump event, making it a closely fought affair.

 

What is the AB Hernandez controversy in Califorina?

However, the parents of other girls participating in the events are unhappy with the development, arguing that Hernandez is physically male and not a woman. They claim this gives her an unfair advantage over the other competitors. Protests are intensifying, and some activist groups even went so far as to hire an aeroplane to fly a banner over the Buchanan High School's Veterans Memorial Stadium during Hernandez’s competition that read, “No boys in girls’ sports.”

 

 

According to Sky News, a video of Hernandez's mother being harangued by mothers of girls pitted against her had gone viral on the internet. Pro-LGBTQI groups are also showing up at the stadiums to support AB Hernandez, the report added. However, they are numerically inferior to the group that wants her banned from participating in the girl's events.

Donald Trump and LGBTQ+ rights in US

The Trump Presidency is also in the mix of things. On expected lines, the POTUS, who campaigned with a promise to "kick out men from women's sport", has warned California of repercussions if Hernandez is allowed to contest with girls in the state meet. "As a Male, he was a less than average competitor. As a Female, this transitioned person is practically unbeatable," the US President, who signed an executive order seeking to ban transgender women from fighting events for women, said in a social media post.

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