Women Removed from California High School Track Event for Protesting against Male Participation in Girls’ Sports

Security removed members of the group Women Are Real from California state championship track-and-field qualifier session on Sunday.

The women picketing the event were removed after bringing attention to the fact that a male athlete, Athena Ryan, had taken a female runner’s spot in the state championship by finishing second in the “Girls 1600m” event.

The security guard who removed the protesters said he didn’t have a problem with their activism but that signs were only permitted outside the event.

However, according to members of Women Are Real, other signage was permitted at the event and they were the only group removed.

Minutes before the group was ousted from the competition grounds, an irate woman was filmed calling the signs “disgusting.”

“I find that f***ing offensive,” the lady screamed.

Asked to clarify what part of the statement was off-putting, the woman refused to elaborate. “It shouldn’t even f***ing matter. And it’s none of your business what someone else does.”

At the same event on Sunday female runner Adeline Johnson gave a thumbs down after learning that she had failed to qualify for California’s state championship after losing to Ryan in the race.

The clip, which was first circulated by the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS), went viral and drew condemnations from former student-athletes, including Darren Marble, a California state high jump champion.

“As a former CA state champion high jumper, I think this is complete and utter nonsense. I’m embarrassed for our state and feel sorry for the girls who were cheated in the process. Fair rules need to [be] implemented NOW to protect the integrity of Track & Field and other sports,” Marble tweeted late Sunday evening following the news.

Ryan is joined by another transgender competitor, Lorelei Barrett, in qualifying to race at the California state championship held later on this May in Clovis.

According to ICONS, Barrett formerly competed at the female state cross-country championship in the fall of 2022.

The California Interscholastic Federation implemented rules overseeing “Gender Identity Participation” in 2013, granting student-athletes eligibility to compete in groups based on their gender self-identification.