Citizens protesting transgender athletes in girls’ sports were reportedly ushered out of a state high school event on Saturday in California.
Several transgender runners were supposed to be part of the event but failed to attend, the Daily Mail reported Sunday.
According to footage on the Women Are Real social media page, the group was removed by an official with the California Interscholastic Federation State Track & Field Championships.
“The CIF governs interscholastic athletics, promoting equity, quality, character and academic development,” the organization’s mission statement reads.
At the event, the group held banners with phrases on them such as “Protect Female Sports” and “Speak Up 4 Girls.”
In one post, the account said, “CIF is frightened of women holding banners. They told us they would stop the entire meet b/c we had a banner that said: ‘Protect Female Sports.’ CIF allows boys the choice to compete against girls.”
Video footage shows a man telling those holding the banners and cheering that officials are going to stop the meet.
“Outside the stadium. We’re stopping the whole meet,” he says. The group then proceeds to get up from their seats. The man also tells the person recording to “put it away.”
The group’s followers were quick to share their thoughts on what happened, one person writing, “They should have just stopped the meet then. Boys should not be competing with girls!!!”
Others praised their actions.
“Well done. I have tickets for 2023 track cycling world championships in Glasgow. May have to take a leaf out of your book if the UCI doesn’t sort its trans policy out,” the user wrote.
“So proud of you all. Well done,” another commented.
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In the days prior to the incident, the demonstrators protested in support of a girl who lost her chance for the state championships to a transgender athlete, per the Mail:
Notably, Athena Ryan of Santa Rosa Sonoma Academy — the runner who finished second and cost a cisgender girl her spot in the finals — was a no-show at the race, along with one other trans girl and two cisgender girls, according to the Independent Council on Women’s Sports.
The CIF condemned those protesting for what they called ‘harassing behaviors’ that they claim led Ryan and one other transgender athlete — Lorelei Barrett of Sherman Oaks Buckley — to not show up.
In a social media post on Friday, the Women Are Real account said, “Allowing boys to compete against girls hurts everyone — boys & girls. The adults in the room need to put a stop to this mockery of sport.”
The group also said girls experience harm in the form of exclusion and loss, adding the boys are also victims because “cognitive dissonance & committing injustice are emotional burdens.”