Transgender Athlete AB Hernandez Wins Girls State Titles Amid Backlash

The Los Angeles Times ran a headline celebrating AB Hernandez as a triumphant figure who “defeated vitriol stoked by Trump,” and the piece set off a fierce backlash. Critics on social media blasted the paper for celebrating a transgender-identifying athlete competing in girls’ events, arguing it undercuts fairness and robs biological girls of opportunities. The story touches off a larger fight about state sports policy, federal threats, and how the culture wars play out in high school athletics.

The paper’s headline, “Shielded by love, transgender athlete AB Hernandez defeated vitriol stoked by Trump,” framed Hernandez as a hero who overcame political attacks. That framing didn’t sit well with many readers who see the core issue as fairness in competition, not political martyrdom. Hernandez did win multiple girls’ track titles, and that fact is central to why this story exploded online.

The reaction was sharp and often blunt. ‘LA Times, you are a woke joke and a disgrace to journalism.’ Critics accused the paper of editorial cheerleading instead of objective reporting, saying the piece ignored the voices of the girls who competed against Hernandez. For many conservatives, the Times’ tone felt like another example of media bias that celebrates identity politics over common-sense fairness.

“This boy is the CA state champion in two girls’ track and field events. And the @latimes chose this as their headline. Hernandez beat Trump. That’s their takeaway. What a truly broken brain wrote this,” Jennifer Sey, the founder of XX-XY Athletics. The online outrage ranged from sharp ridicule to calls for policy change, and high-profile critics piled on with biting one-liners. “Hey, crappy @LATimes, let me fix the title for you.. ‘S****Y FAILED MALE ATHLETE ALLOWED TO BEAT GIRLS…’ There!! Fixed!!” comedian Rob Schneider.

Other commenters pointed to the visible disappointment on the faces of some competitors and argued that the emotional toll on those girls matters. “Well it’s Pride month so the .@latimes sucks up to the #LGBTQIA in spite how these girls show how they feel by the looks on their faces that they were cheated because of this boy in makeup,” another detractor wrote. For many, this is not a free-speech debate but a basic fairness debate about who should be allowed to compete in single-sex sports.

“The vitriol was stoked by cowards who refuse to do right by actual girls. L.A. Times, you are a woke joke and a disgrace to journalism,” another user said. Others raised the economic stakes, noting that sports scholarships are a lifeline for many students. “He’s male & he’s stealing female successes & opportunities. In a country where many disadvantaged students can only achieve university education via sports scholarships, this is daylight robbery,” another commenter added.

There is also a legal and political angle. The president previously threatened to cut off federal funding to California over rules that allow transgender-identifying athletes to compete in girls’ sports. “California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newscum, continues to ILLEGALLY allow ‘MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS,'” the president declared, and that threat pushed state athletic bodies to rethink some policies.

California’s current approach allows transgender-identifying athletes to compete, but it includes a provision that if a trans athlete wins a title, the displaced female athlete keeps the same record in final standings as if she had won. That compromise was adopted after pressure and threats at the federal level, and it leaves both sides unsatisfied. The dispute is now a national flashpoint that cuts straight into how we balance inclusion with protecting girls’ sports.

https://x.com/JenniferSey/status/2062723591985394153

At its heart, this controversy is about competing values: inclusion and compassion on one side, and fairness and opportunity on the other. The LA Times chose to tell it as a human triumph over political attacks, and conservatives saw a missed chance to engage the real tension in plain terms. Whatever label you use, the debate is far from settled and will keep playing out in schoolyards, courts, and statehouses.