California teen urges school to protect female athletes: 'It's not okay'
High school student Rylee Morrow joined 'Fox & Friends' alongside attorney Julianne Fleischer to discuss why some students don't feel safe and what prompted some to take legal action as a result.
A school board meeting descended into a parade of competing hysterical rants between concerned parents and transgender activists on Thursday night amid a national controversy over a transgender athlete on the cross-country team.
The Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) held a board meeting at its office in Riverside, California, to address concerns over the student-athletes at Martin Luther King High School and students being punished for wearing shirts that read "Save Girls' Sports."
The meeting came after weeks of build-up as hundreds of students at Martin Luther King High School and other schools in the district wore the T-shirts against the school's wishes. Hundreds of students have rallied to wear the T-shirts every Wednesday, and many were placed in detention for wearing them, until the schools gave up on disciplining the students the week of Dec. 11.
Ahead of the meeting, competing protests between pro-transgender activists and "Save Girls' Sports" activists rallied outside the RUSD District Office.
Once the meeting began, speakers were invited to share their thoughts on the situation. Many of the parents who spoke out against the district for allowing the trans athlete to compete with girls came wearing the T-shirts themselves.
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One of the first parents to speak out against the district for allowing trans inclusion was a mother identified only as Sandy R. The mother hysterically complained about her name being revealed to the pro-trans activists outside the assembly room. She feared being "doxxed" for her stances and said she intends to file a harassment complaint.
Sandy then lambasted the entire board for defying Title IX in favor of California State law.
Another parent pointed out that the school district's science curriculum even includes text books that teach the genetic differences between biological males and females. The mother brought out the school's ninth-grade biology textbook and read a passage that explained that males are born with the XY chromosomes while females are born with XX chromosomes.
She then held up photos of the students who were punished for wearing shirts that read "XX (does not equal) XY."
"This is what you did to students who wore the shirt I'm wearing tonight, for claiming a biological fact that's in your textbook, that's part of your curriculum. Are we going to put tape on the textbooks next? Is that what's going to happen, we're not going to teach science?" she yelled. "You are denying biological facts to not hurt someone's feelings, and that's not okay!"
The mother then referenced an allegation in a recent lawsuit filed by two of the school's girls' cross-country runners that the school compared their T-shirts to swastikas.
Another mother, who was only identified as Colleen, was already screaming before she approached the podium, criticizing the board for allowing pro-trans activists in the office to cheer for pro-trans sentiment, and she compared it to their handling of young males who want to transition to female sports for a competitive advantage.
"Your job is to teach these people self-control, and you're not doing that!" she yelled. "It's all about their self-esteem, and you're setting them up for failure! They're not going to have the world handed to them. The world's not going to adjust because ‘I can’t succeed in this sport, so now I'm going to join this sport because I can do better there. It's ridiculous! Do your job! Teach these children self-control before it's too late!"
Later, a mother named Maria Karillo began her speech by warning all children in the room to leave. She then recited sexually explicit lines from school-approved books available at RUSD middle schools to make a point, before lambasting the school for labeling the concerned parents as "agitators, MAGA disruptors."
"We are parents here who care for our children, and we are using our constitutional right to speak to you guys, the leaders of our community about our children's issues," she said. "I want to know why the teacher's union is sending us emails for calling us cruel."
One mother named Patty Clauda, who spoke in Spanish with the assistance of an English translator, began her tirade by mocking the school board for not knowing the difference between a man and a woman before expressing fear of girls having to share locker rooms with biological males.
"They are changing in front of men!" she said through the translator.
Students at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, wear T-shirts that read "Save Girls' Sports" to protest a trans athlete on the cross-country team. (Courtesy of Sophia Lorey)
At the end of her tirade, Clauda abandoned use of her translator to speak in English directly to the board, screaming at the top of her lungs.
"What I actually find more concerning is that there are actual biological women standing in front of me, and you are not advocating for the young ladies in this school district, and you are allowing these young ladies to be mistreated, harassed and discriminated! You are creating a hostile environment for these children to get their education! Shame on all of you!" Clauda screamed.
Multiple concerned parents called for the resignation of Superintendent Renee Hill during their respective speeches.
At one point, a female student-athlete even got the chance to speak and became emotional as she expressed the fact that she, as a biological female, has no realistic chance to compete with biological males.
"In no universe will the most-dedicated woman beat the most-dedicated man," she said as she choked up.
However, pro-transgender activists were also given the opportunity to speak. Multiple speakers who expressed support for trans inclusion thanked the board for allowing the trans athlete to compete with girls and encouraged it to continue to enable and protect that athlete.
One trans activist event went so far as to make the false claim that the XY chromosome is disappearing from the human gene pool and that all humans will eventually be born with the XX chromosome.
Many of the pro-trans speeches were met with high-pitched cheers and the waiving of LGBTQ pride flags by those in attendance.
California has had laws in effect to protect transgender athletes in women's sports since 2014. That year, AB 1266 took effect, giving California students at scholastic and collegiate levels the right to "participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records."
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In a statement previously provided to Fox News Digital, RUSD said it has allowed the transgender athlete to compete on the team because it must comply with California state law.
"It is important to remember that RUSD is bound to follow California law which requires that students be 'permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records,'" the statement said.
The school said those who are upset by it should direct their anger to state and federal lawmakers.
"As these matters play out in our courts and the media, opposition and protests should be directed at those in a position to affect those laws and policies, including officials in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento," the statement said.
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