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A California girls’ high school volleyball team was scratched from two more games last week after opposing schools decided to forfeit, a point of increased frustration in a simmering controversy over a transgender athlete on the roster.

Maribel Munoz, the mother of one of the Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball team players, confirmed the news to Fox News Digital after the head coach, Liana Manu, sent an email to parents informing them of the upcoming forfeits. The matches being called off include those against Rim of the World High School on August 25 and Orange Vista High School on August 29.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD) addressed the new forfeits, saying it does not make decisions to cancel matches. “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,” it said.

The district noted that it is “required” by state law to prevent discrimination against students on the basis of their gender identity. Under Education Code 221.5 (f), it is stated that a school must “allow students to participate on athletic teams in accordance with their gender identity.” Officials said this is the guidance issued 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. It is also working to reschedule games so the players “do not miss a single opportunity to compete.”

Parents for the Girls Team Say Forfeit Is Over Transgender Player

The recent forfeits come after Riverside Poly High School withdrew from an August 15 game against Jurupa Valley, with the Riverside school’s decision linked to the participation of the team’s transgender player, senior AB Hernandez. Parents of the Riverside players and a local school board member confirmed to Fox News Digital that the decision not to play against the JUSD team was due to the participation of Hernandez.

Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, released a statement in the aftermath of the forfeits and growing controversy, asking for understanding and empathy. “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.

She said that her daughter is petite, and what differentiates her is not size or strength, but her ability. “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 explained. Hernandez added that her daughter was not aware of the forfeits as being related to her.

Last spring, Hernandez claimed two state titles in the long jump and triple jump during the spring track and field season. The wins prompted protests from female athletes and parents, some of whom showed up at the state finals wearing “Save Girls’ Sports” shirts. The controversy became even more high-profile after former President Donald Trump, ahead of the California state finals, posted on Truth Social to say that he hoped the state would not allow a trans athlete to compete. The girls who took second and third place in the events were not trans.

In July, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over the state’s policies that allow transgender athletes to participate in girls’ sports. This was even after Trump signed an executive order in February that sought to ban such participation.

Hernandez is in her senior season of volleyball, but instead of playing in matches, the player has become at the center of a series of forfeits and public debate in the community. The forfeits were expected as the school’s parents and coaches braced for more after last week’s two.

“I feel sad, I feel angry, I feel frustrated, just so many emotions,” Munoz, a Jurupa Valley parent whose daughter has played with Hernandez since they were in middle school, said of the forfeits. “It’s such a disappointment in our community because we live in such close communities.”

School Board Meeting Ends With Parents Split Over Transgender Athlete

The debate has even spilled into local school board meetings. At one Riverside Unified School District school board meeting, a group of parents who support the Riverside Poly girls stood up for the athletes for not playing in the game, while others spoke up for transgender athletes and their right to compete.

In that meeting, Nereyda Hernandez called out Riverside board member Amanda Vickers for previously talking to Fox News Digital about the forfeit. “You actually entertained and welcomed harassment to my child,” Hernandez said of 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.”