A California girls' track and field state championship not only faced warranted criticism for a transgender athlete winning not one, but two titles over the weekend, but was also labeled racist by the parent of one competitor.
Transgender student athlete AB Hernandez took first place in the girls' high jump and triple jump during the meet held at Memorial Stadium in Clovis, Calif., but another controversy unfolded during the girls' 400-meter finals.
North Salinas High School sophomore Clara Adams finished runner-up during the preliminary race and followed that up by crossing the finish line first during the finals. After earning the victory to become a state champion, Adams celebrated with her father and brought out a fire extinguisher to spray her shoes to joke that her feet were on fire after running a fast race.
This resulted in Adams being disqualified from the race she had just won and kept her from competing in the 200-meter race later in the day as well.
Adams' father, David, explained to the Monterey Herald that the celebration "wasn't disrespecting anyone" and was done away from the opponents. He then went on to tell the outlet that he believed the decision to disqualify his daughter was "racially motivated" as his daughter is black.
The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) made the call to disqualify Adams for what they deemed to be an unsportsmanlike celebration.
So, not only did the CIF allow a biological male to compete and dominate female competitors at the state championship, but also took an opportunity away from another young girl because she had fun celebrating an accomplishment.
The CIF is a laughing stock. Further proof of that is the organization's announcement days prior to the championship meet that any female who finished behind a biological male would be appropriately rewarded a medal based on where they placed among female competitors.
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