An amazing sporting moment during a California high school track meet is leading to fierce debate around the country.
During the CIF Southern Section Finals, Reese Hogan, from Crean Lutheran, stepped onto the top spot on the podium after finishing second in the triple jump.
The reason? The title went to AB Hernandez, a transgender athlete who began life as a male but now competes as a female.
Women’s sports coming under attack?
People across the country are deeply divided by the discussion of transgender people in women’s sports. Backers say it seeks to support inclusivity and equal rights, but opponents say it could ruin fairness and women’s athletics.
Now, the question isn’t just about culture — it affects politics as well. February saw former President Donald Trump sign an executive order that explicitly stops transgender women from playing in women’s sports.
He said, “We are finished with the attacks on women’s sports,” promising to prevent men from dominating over women athletes at the upcoming LA Olympics.
The decision kicked off a nationwide uproar and not every state is going along. Maine has ruled that transgender athletes can take part in women’s sports.
Now, an event in California has sparked the debate all over again.
The footage
On the day of the CIF Southern Section Finals, May 18, Reese Hogan from Crean Lutheran High School stood up for her rights.
Though Hogan finished second in the triple jump, she climbed back to the top step after the awards were given and everyone else left, since the winner, transgender athlete AB Hernandez, had exited.
When the boy got off the podium, she assumed her rightful spot as champion. The crowd erupts with applause.
THIS is the way.
Congrats to Reese Hogan, the REAL champ!!! https://t.co/KiEm2yV2YY pic.twitter.com/hqGdikES29
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 18, 2025
A recording of the scene spread quickly on the internet. A lot of people believe it represents their dissatisfaction with what seems like an unfair system.
Hernandez, a male athlete identifies as female, won the competition after jumping 41 feet, 4 inches far ahead of Hogan.
In addition, from Jurupa Valley High School in California came Hernandez, who took the long jump and put in a solid seventh in the high jump to make the May 24 CIF Masters Meet.
Reactions from the internet didn’t take long to arrive.
“He won first place in the girls long jump and triple jump at a CA track meet over the weekend,” said Jennifer Sey, the founder of women’s sports advocacy group XX-XY.
The triple jump victory came to him by 8ft. He is doing amazing!”
This guy won the girls long jump and triple jump in a CA track meet over the weekend.
He won the triple jump by 8ft. He’s really crushing it!
It’s the giggly “feminine” affectations that make him a girl, right? 😡
— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) March 3, 2025
Being able to do that is quite an achievement. Colin Rugg, the co-founder of Trending Politics, said, “Of course it had nothing to do with biology.”
Others also participated, reflecting the increasing criticism.
“Second place is where the real winner comes from!” was one of the comments. Great job by her! Someone has to stop this from happening,” said one fan.
We spotted a sign at the meet with the message:
The weakest members of society view women as their rivals and the weakest minds approve of this.
Another member joined the discussion.
I’m fed up with what is happening to us. All the champions of women’s rights are now leading the backlash themselves.
The company has been surrounded by controversy after controversy.
The current controversy follows a series of disagreements about transgender athletes competing in women’s categories. There are many who recall other famous cases such as one in North Carolina that still affects those involved.
Payton McNabb, who was 17 in 2022, suffered a serious brain injury after a transgender player accidentally hit her with a spiked ball. Her mother would go on to say:
We couldn’t say anything back then. It wasn’t possible for us to object, ‘She is not challenging a boy, because it could be dangerous.’
As a result of the McNabb case, North Carolina passed laws keeping transgender athletes from joining girls’ and women’s sports teams at the middle, high school and college levels.
However, not all parties accept that kind of approach. Over 400 Olympic athletes, past and present, signed a letter protesting against similar bans from the NCAA because they want to “be on the right side of history” and say “sports should be open to everyone.”
In the meantime, he pooh-poohed the outrage and talked about it as if it were unimportant.
“It is absolutely ridiculous for men and women to compete against one another,” one person said in a comment online. “Trans people need a separate league and everyone else can keep enjoying the usual men’s and women’s sports.”
Trans girls are just girls.
Others felt that the young person ought to be allowed to participate.
According to one user, she obeyed all the rules. If someone doesn’t appreciate the team’s style, it must be the rules that need to change.
Trans girls are just girls, someone else said. Hernandez came out on top the right way.
In a recent chat with Capital & Main, Hernandez explained why she’s gotten pushback during the season which has included a number of impressive results, as well as a couple of tough misses.
Basically, you’re supposed to be the adult and behaving childishly tells me about your personality. I realized there was no point in just sitting there since what they said invalidated every ridiculous thing they had said. Being biologically male is the reason she can’t lose. You no longer have evidence that you can’t beat me.
Award-winning nonprofit Capital & Main points out in their work that studies do not show transgender athletes performance is consistently different from that of cisgender athletes. Indeed, multiple measurements found that transgender women had lower chances than cisgender women.
The problem will probably not disappear in the near future. Since several states aim to place bans and many high-profile sports stars have expressed their views, the debate about women’s sports is not decided yet.
Then, because Reese Hogan demonstrated silently on the podium, everyone started to pay closer attention.