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A California girls’ high school volleyball team has lost two more games on its schedule to forfeits after other schools decided not to play, further stoking an already heated controversy involving a transgender athlete on the squad.

Maribel Munoz, the mother of one of the Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball team players, confirmed the forfeits to Fox News Digital after coach Liana Manu sent a message to parents about the upcoming cancellations. Games against Rim of the World High School, set for Aug. 25, and Orange Vista High School, scheduled for Aug. 29, were both scratched, Manu said.

In a statement released to parents on Aug. 24, the Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD) addressed the latest forfeits, making it clear that the choice to cancel those matches was not the district’s. “We understand and acknowledge the disappointment of our Jurupa Valley High School athletes who are ready and prepared to play. Decisions to cancel matches were made by teams in other districts,” the district said.

Jurupa Valley reiterated that it is bound by state law protecting students from discrimination based on gender identity. Under Education Code 221.5 (f), it said, schools must allow students to participate on athletic teams that correspond with their gender identity. District officials noted this guidance has been affirmed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

“We are proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride,” the district added. “We are working diligently to ensure the team has opportunities to compete and is not shortchanged on potential games due to these decisions by other districts.”

The latest forfeits follow a similar move by Riverside Poly High School, which backed out of an Aug. 15 match against Jurupa Valley. Parents of Riverside Poly players and a local school board member told Fox News Digital their decision not to play was in direct response to Jurupa Valley’s inclusion of its transgender athlete, senior AB Hernandez.

Mother of Trans Athlete Pushes Back as Controversy Deepens

Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, responded to the growing backlash with a statement of her own. “I understand the discomfort some may feel, because I was once there, too. The difference is, I chose to learn, to grow, and to open my heart,” she said.

Hernandez noted her daughter is petite and her “build is not of a typical volleyball player.” But the “thing that makes her stand out, apart from her uniform, is not size or strength” but rather her prowess and dedication to the sport, she added. “This is a child, and I can assure you that she sees your daughters as peers, as teammates, as friends, not through a lens of anything inappropriate,” she said. Nereyda Hernandez also noted her daughter was unaware the recent forfeits were being made in response to her participation.

The controversy has long followed Hernandez, who in the spring gained notoriety during her state track and field season, winning two state titles in long jump and triple jump. At the time, female athletes and their parents took to the podium with “Save Girls’ Sports” shirts and chided CIF for its policies. The controversy even reached the top, with former President Donald Trump posting to Truth Social in the days before the state finals, urging the state not to allow a trans girl to compete against girls. (Trump did not mention Hernandez by name.)

In July, the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over its policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports, despite a Trump executive order in February seeking to ban such participation.

For Hernandez, who is in her final season playing volleyball in high school, the desire to compete has been superseded by forfeits and controversies. Munoz, whose daughter has played alongside Hernandez for three years, said she is frustrated with the turn of events. “It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” Munoz said.

Parents and community members have squared off at local school board meetings as well. At a recent Riverside Unified School District meeting, parents of Riverside Poly students, both for and against the decision not to play, took to the podium, with some supporting the decision to stand up for their daughters and others speaking in favor of allowing trans students to play.

At the meeting, Nereyda Hernandez called out Riverside board member Amanda Vickers for speaking to Fox News Digital about the forfeit. “You actually entertained and welcomed harassment to my child,” she said, addressing Vickers. “You are a board member. You have an oath to protect, to support all children, not just the ones that fit your ideas, your beliefs.”