In a move that sparked outrage in some corners and standing ovations in others, Riverside Poly High School in California made headlines by forfeiting a girls’ volleyball match against Jurupa Valley High School due to the presence of a biological male competing on the girls’ team. The forfeit was recorded as a non-league loss, but the message went far beyond the scoreboard. While the school’s official statement tried to play it neutral – talking about “safety” and “positive environments” – parents and students made it crystal clear: this was about fairness, biology, and standing up for women’s sports.
The father of one Riverside Poly player, Fred Brayton, nailed it: “Trans people still have rights – but not the right to play sports against the opposite sex.” And with that, the curtain got yanked off the polite charade. This wasn’t about “hate.” It was about truth, and a team of teenage girls and their families decided to take the stand that the adults in the room should have taken years ago.
The Bullet Point Brief
- Riverside Poly forfeited a match against Jurupa Valley High School rather than play against a trans-identified male athlete competing on the girls’ team.
- Parents and players made the call, not administrators. They cited safety and fairness, not politics, not “hate speech,” just basic biology.
- School board member Amanda Vickers backed the team, citing prior incidents, like Payton McNabb’s brain injury from a similar situation, as clear reasons to protect female athletes.
- The trans athlete’s mother invoked state law, arguing the move undermined inclusion. Meanwhile, conservative parents wore “Save Girls Sports” shirts and brought actual courage.
- This isn’t Riverside’s first rodeo – last year’s controversy led to lawsuits and students being compared to Nazis for wearing shirts defending women’s sports. Welcome to California.
My Bottom Line
Let’s not sugarcoat it: this is a win. A small one, but it counts. In an era where calling a man a man is practically a hate crime, this team – and their parents – drew the line. They didn’t scream. They didn’t hold a press conference. They just said: “We’re not playing pretend. Not today.”
And guess what? They’re right. This isn’t about “AB” or any one trans athlete. This is about the truth, which, by the way, is not some postmodern mushpot of “lived experiences.” It’s not “my truth.” It’s not whatever TikTok says is valid today. It’s God’s truth – fixed, unchangeable, and entirely unbothered by hashtags or hormones.
To every father out there: imagine training, sacrificing, cheering for your daughter only to watch her be sidelined, spiked at, or replaced by a dude in a ponytail. You don’t need a gender studies degree to see the injustice – you just need a spine.
Good on Riverside Poly. Good on Fred Brayton. Good on the moms and dads who refused to clap along to a lie. If schools and legislators won’t protect women’s sports, the grassroots must. And we will.
