Trans teen athlete speaks out amid backlash: ‘I’m just a normal kid’
Trans teen athlete AB Hernandez. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
The transgender high school volleyball star at the centre of conservative fury has spoken out about the furore, saying: “I’m just a normal kid”.
Jurupa Valley High School, about 45 miles from Los Angeles, has been at the centre of protests over AB Hernandez’s participation in the girls’ volleyball, as well as track-and-field, teams. Three opposing teams have opted to forfeit games rather than play against her.
But Hernandez has hit now hit back at the continuing right-wing backlash, telling CBS Los Angeles: “They swear I’m this crazy danger to society. I’m just a normal kid going to school, playing sports.”
Hernandez has faced the scrutiny of Donald Trump as well as conservative pundits who claimed she had an unfair advantage. The president even threatened to hold back “large-scale” funding for Californian schools if the state refused to comply with his executive order that aimed to prevent trans women taking part in female sports.
‘It’s a little frustrating’
The presidential directive laid out that the “policy of the United States [was] to oppose male competitive participation in women’s sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity and truth”.
Hernandez said of the backlash: “People just see one thing and they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s what you are’. They don’t take the time to get to know me. So, it’s just a little frustrating.”
And after Chaffey High School, in Ontario, California, became one of two schools willing to compete against Hernandez, her mother said: “I’m grateful, thankful. As a mom, it means a lot. Those girls mean a lot because I know it helps AB get through hard times.”
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
