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A school board meeting turned into a parade of hysterical rants competing with each other worried parents and transgender activists 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 to its office in Riverside, Calif., to address concerns about student-athletes at Martin Luther King High School and students being punished for wearing “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirts.
The rally came after weeks of build-up, as hundreds of students at Martin Luther King High School and other district schools wore the shirts against the school’s wishes. Hundreds of students rallied to wear the shirts every Wednesday, and many were arrested for wearing them, until schools gave up disciplining students the week of Dec. 11.
Before the meeting, competing protests between pro-transgender activists and “Save Girls’ Sports” activists gathered 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 allowing the trans athlete to compete with the girls came with the shirts.
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One of the first parents to speak out against the district allowing trans inclusion was a mother identified only as Sandy R. The mother complained hysterically about her name being revealed to pro-trans activists outside the classroom assemblies She feared being “doxxed” for her stances and said she intends to file a harassment complaint.
Sandy criticized the entire board for challenging Title IX in favor of California state law.
Another parent pointed out that the school district’s science curriculum even includes textbooks that teach the genetic differences between biological males and females. Mom took out her ninth grade biology textbook from school and read a passage that explained that males are born with XY chromosomes while females are born with XX chromosomes.
He then showed photos of students who were punished for wearing T-shirts that read “XX (does not equal) XY.”
“That’s what you did to the students wearing the shirt I’m wearing tonight, to claim a biological fact that’s in your textbook, that’s part of your curriculum. Next, we’re going to tape the textbooks? Is that what will happen, will we not teach science?” she shouted. “You’re denying biological facts so you don’t 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 cross-country girls that the school compared their shirts to swastikas.
Another mother, who identified herself only as Colleen, was already shouting before she approached the podium, criticizing the board for allowing pro-trans activists in the office to applaud pro-trans sentiment, and she compare to their treatment of young men who want to move into women’s sports to gain a competitive edge.
“Your job is to teach these people self-control, and you’re not!” she shouted. “It’s all about their self-esteem, and you’re setting them up for failure! They won’t have the world for them. The world won’t fit because ‘I can’t succeed in this sport, so now I’m joining this sport because there I can do better. Do your work!
Later, a mother named Maria Karillo began her speech by warning all the children in the room to leave. He then recited sexually explicit lines from school-approved books available at RUSD high schools to make a point, before criticizing the school for labeling concerned parents “agitators, MAGA disruptors.”
“We are parents here taking care of our children and we are using our constitutional right to speak to you, the leaders of our community about our children’s issues,” he said. “I want to know why the teachers union is sending us emails to call us cruel.”
A mother named Patty Clauda, speaking in Spanish with the help of an English translator, began her rant by mocking the school board for not knowing the difference between a man and a woman before expressing the fear that girls have to share dressing rooms with biological men. .
“They’re changing in front of men!” he said through the translator.
Students at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, Calif., wear T-shirts that say “Save Girls’ Sports” to protest a trans athlete on the cross country team. (Courtesy of Sophia Lorey)
At the end of her rant, Clauda abandoned the use of her translator to speak in English directly to the board, shouting at the top of her lungs.
“What I actually find most troubling is that there are actual biological women in front of me, and you’re not standing up for the girls in this school district, and you’re allowing those girls to be abused, harassed, and discriminated against! We’re creating a hostile environment because these children have their education!” cried Clauda.
Several concerned parents called for Superintendent Renee Hill’s resignation during their respective speeches.
At one point, a student-athlete was even given the opportunity to speak and became emotional as she expressed the fact that she, as a biological female, has no real chance of competing with biological males.
“In no universe will the most devoted woman beat the most devoted man,” he said as he choked.
However, pro-transgender activists also got a chance to speak. Several speakers who expressed their support for trans inclusion thanked the board for allowing the trans athlete to compete with girls and encouraged it to continue to empower and protect this athlete.
One trans activist event went so far as to falsely 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 loud cheers and the waiving of LGBTQ pride flags by those in attendance.
California has had laws in place to protect transgender athletes in women’s sports since 2014. That year, AB 1266 took effectgiving California students at the school and college levels the right to “participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including sports teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with their gender identity, regardless of the gender on their records of the student.”
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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 required to follow California law that requires students to have” permission to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including sports teams and competitions consistent with their gender identity, regardless of gender indicated in the student’s file,'” the statement said.
The school said those upset about it should direct their anger at state and federal lawmakers.
“As these matters play out in our courts and in the media, opposition and protests should be directed at those in a position to affect these laws and policies, including officials in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento,” the statement said.
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