California high school runner to face trans athlete in state meet for third straight year

Crean Lutheran High School girls track and field athlete Olivia Viola will compete against a trans athlete in the state tournament for the third year in a row.

Viola watched a trans competitor break her personal record and knock her out of the state tournament last season. She has also faced criticism for speaking out in support of herself and other female athletes.

As a Christian, Viola said the issue matters to her, but she believes it affects women of all beliefs. She said Christians are being unfairly singled out in the backlash against Save Girls Sports activism.

"I would say it’s unfair to everyone, I wouldn’t say it’s specific to Christians, I would say it’s unfair to all women who have to compete against [trans athletes]. But what I do think is unfair is pegging Christians as the bad guys or the bigots for not wanting a male in our spaces," Viola said.

This year Viola can vote for the first time. With the state’s gubernatorial election approaching and protecting girls’ sports at the top of her list, she plans to vote for Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

"He’s shown support for us, like, there’s been not very many people who are willing to make a public stance on it, and he’s shown very strong support for us and for women, which is great," Viola said.

Bianco told Fox News Digital in February that he would use force as governor to keep males out of girls’ sports. "You force people to not," he said. "In our high schools and in our school system, if they are going to allow it, we will not fund that. We will not fund the school, we will not provide them with their money."

Viola has been publicly active in the Save Girls Sports movement since last year. She said she has received mostly positive feedback from people who say they are grateful for the effort.

A bipartisan survey by the Public Policy Institute of California found that most California residents oppose biological males competing in women’s sports. The poll showed 65 percent of adults and 64 percent of likely voters support requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching the sex they were assigned at birth. Among public school parents, support reached 71 percent.

Viola’s parents, Tracy and Juan Luis, said they are frustrated with Gov. Gavin Newsom after a statement from his office last week that rejected what it called a right-wing attempt to weaponize the debate. The parents said Newsom used aggressive language aimed at intimidating 17-year-old girls into silence.

"Newsom used aggressive and weaponizing language against 17-year-old girls. In my opinion, his words were aimed at intimidating female athletes into compliance," the parents said in a statement. "These girls complicate things for him, so he would prefer them to stay quiet. That is a terrible thing for a governor to do."

The parents added that Newsom offered no response on Title IX or on fixing California policies that allow biological males to compete in female divisions without clear biological rules. They said athletic categories must be based on biological sex and that more people who agree with them need to speak out.