The dispute began when two female athletes filed a lawsuit alleging that school administrators prohibited them from wearing T-shirts that read “Save Girls’ Sports” and “It’s common sense XX doesn’t equal XY,” comparing the shirts to swastikas.
Students at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, are planning weekly protests in defiance of school rules following controversy over a transgender-identifying athlete's participation on the girls' cross-country team.
The dispute began when two female athletes filed a lawsuit alleging that school administrators prohibited them from wearing T-shirts that read "Save Girls’ Sports” and “It’s common sense XX doesn’t equal XY,” comparing the shirts to swastikas. The lawsuit claims the shirts were worn in protest of a biological male joining the team, taking a varsity spot away from a female athlete.
Additionally, another member of the cross-country team, Rylee Morrow, sparked attention with a speech at a school board meeting expressing discomfort about sharing a locker room with a biological male. Speaking to Fox News, Morrow criticized school staff for their handling of the situation and said, "It was honestly disappointing in our staff at our school; that's a mass genocide, and to compare such a very broad term to such a horrible time in history is quite disappointing."
The conflict escalated when students at the school began wearing "Save Girls’ Sports" shirts in protest, prompting the school to enforce a dress code against them. A TikTok video, now deleted, captured students describing the administration's response. The video’s caption read, “When our school won't let a girl wear this shirt who lost her varsity spot for a biological male so everyone wears them and they try to not let us into school, dress code us and keep us out of class for voicing our opinion and supporting a friend. Crazy how the world works.”
Sophia Lorey, outreach director for the California Family Council, told Fox News that over 150 students have worn the shirts to school, with some spending hours in the principal’s office for refusing to comply with the dress code. Lorey noted that students plan to continue their protests weekly.
"I’m deeply disappointed in the school administration for trampling on their First Amendment rights,” Lorey said in a statement. "Issuing dress code violations and comparing ‘XX does not equal XY’ to wearing a swastika, simply because the students are standing up for biological reality, is disgusting. Schools should protect free speech, not punish students for defending what is right. I am looking forward to hopefully more students joining the lawsuit, and truth prevailing.”
“Even if the school doesn’t like the message, this does not give them the ability to violate their students' First Amendment right. Earlier this year, I won my First Amendment right case, after a librarian silenced me for stating, ‘Men do not belong in women’s sports,’ and I believe we will see the same results here,” Lorey added.
In response, the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) issued a statement defending the inclusion of the transgender athlete but did not address the controversy surrounding the T-shirts.
"While these rules were not created by RUSD, the District is committed to complying with the law and CIF regulations,” the district said in a statement to Fox News. “California state law prohibits discrimination of students based on gender, gender identity and gender expression, and specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in physical education and athletics. The protections we provide to all students are not only aligned with the law but also with our core values which include equity and well-being.”
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