West
High school facing student uprising over ban of shirts protesting trans athletes after girls beg for safety
Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, is the latest battleground in the ongoing national culture war over trans athletes in girls’ sports.
Students at the school have gone viral on social media in recent weeks amid an ongoing lawsuit over two girls’ cross country runners allegedly being told they can’t wear t-shirts that read “Save Women’s Sports.” The two teenage girls heading the lawsuit allege their shirts were compared to swastikas by school administrators, while a trans athlete competes on their team and took a varsity spot from a female player.
Another student athlete on the school’s cross-country team, Rylee Morrow, brought more national attention to the situation when she gave an impassioned speech at a school board meeting in November in a clip that went viral due to her conveyed fears of having to share a locker room with a biological male.
“Having a male on the team proposes genetic advantages,” Morrow later said during an interview on Fox News, while lambasting her school for comparing the shirts to swastikas. “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.”
This past week, the situation appeared to escalate when students from the school appeared in a viral TikTok in which they said the school has instituted a new dress code to prevent students from wearing the shirts.
“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,” a caption read.
The TikTok has since been deleted from the account, but it still circulates across X.
California Family Council outreach director Sophia Lorey revealed that more than 150 students have worn the t-shirts to school since the incident started, and alleged that students who refused to comply with the new dress code were forced to spend hours in the principal’s office. Lorey says that those students plan to keep doing this on a regular basis despite their school’s new rule.
“I received those numbers from parents directly involved,” Lorey told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “I then have received word on social media that the students plan to continue to do this every Wednesday.”
Lorey added that she hopes this will lead more of the school’s students to join the ongoing lawsuit.
“I’m deeply disappointed in the school administration for trampling on their First Amendment rights, 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,” Lorey said in an exclusive statement.
“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.”
Former NCAA swimmer and OutKick contributor Riley Gaines also spoke out about the situation and encouraged her followers in a post on X to reach out to the school to voice displeasure with the administration.
Julianne Fleischer, Legal Counsel at Advocates for Faith & Freedom, who is representing the two athletes involved in the lawsuit, appeared on Fox News with Morrow on Nov. 26 to speak out against the school for its stance on preventing the girls from wearing the shirts.
SJSU TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: TIMELINE OF ALLEGATIONS, POLITICAL IMPACT AND A RAGING CULTURE MOVEMENT
“They wore [the shirts] to their practice, and the athletic director told them that they needed to hide their shirt or change their shirts because that message, ‘Save Girls’ Sports,’ creates a hostile environment,” she explained.
The Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) provided a statement to Fox News Digital defending the decision to have the student in the school, but has not addressed its stance on the t-shirts. The RUSD also said the reason for this is because of the state laws in California in which public schools are obligated to protect trans athletes.
“While these rules were not created by RUSD, the District is committed to complying with the law and CIF regulations. 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,” the statement read.
The sudden national culture movement to protect women’s and girls’ sports from trans inclusion has been just as much of a youth movement as it has a conservative movement since it picked up steam this year. High school students across New York reportedly planned a mass walkout event to protest trans inclusion in girls’ sports back in October, according to The New York Post.
“It’s not right for boys to compete against girls in sports. It’s a huge disadvantage for girls,” said Hannah Pompeo, a 16-year soccer player at Eden High School near Buffalo, ahead of the students’ planned “Walk Off for Fairness Day.”
California has been a particular hotbed for the movement and controversial instances involving trans inclusion this year, as the state has had laws in place to protect trans athletes that seek to compete against females since 2013.
Stone Ridge Christian High School, located in Merced, forfeited a state playoff volleyball game against a team that was said to have a biological male transgender athlete on its team. Stone Ridge Christian was commended for the decision and even held a ceremony with Gaines to celebrate the decision.
Another trans volleyball player at Half Moon Bay High School prompted the Catholic school Notre Dame Belmont to forfeit a match earlier this season, but they chose to play a rematch. That rematch reportedly included booing of the trans athlete. Notre Dame Belmont was then told it could face “consequences” for the decision of students to boo.
Meanwhile, one of the most polarizing national controversies involving trans athlete inclusion recently played out at San Jose State University this past volleyball season.
Trans player Blaire Fleming and female teammate Brooke Slusser were thrust into the controversy that garnered mainstream attention, and was even used as a campaign point in the recent presidential election, after Slusser filed two lawsuits alleging she had been made to share a bedroom and changing space with Fleming for an entire season without being told the player is a biological male.
The team saw eight of its matches forfeited, including a conference tournament match, amid the controversy, which only brought more national attention to the team as it made it all the way to the Mountain West championship game.
The issue of trans inclusion in girls’ and women’s sports became a massive political vulnerability for Democrats in the recent election. President-elect Trump pounced on the issue, declaring a stance in favor of a national ban on trans athletes in women’s sports.
The opposition has fueled a massive culture movement, especially among young women in Democrat-controlled states with laws in place to enable trans athletes to compete against them.
The movement has become so powerful in recent months that it is now even the basis for a lucrative apparel brand, XX-XY Athletics, which has signed multiple female athletes who have endured the experience of competing against transgenders as brand ambassadors.
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Learn about the Salem Saturday Market
The first Salem Saturday Market of 2026 opened March 7, featuring vendors offering handmade goods, fresh produce, baked items and artisan foods.
The Food and Drug Administration announced that Organic ice cream sold in Oregon is being recalled over concerns that the products could contain metal fragments.
California-based Straus Family Creamery issued a voluntary recall on May 14 for select flavors of its Organic Super Premium Ice Cream after identifying the possible contamination issue.
The recalled products were distributed to stores in Oregon and 16 other states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
Which flavors are being recalled?
Affected flavors include vanilla bean, strawberry, Dutch chocolate, mint chip and cookie dough in multiple container sizes.
The recalled ice cream can be identified by best-by dates printed on the bottom of the containers. They include:
- Ice Cream Vanilla Bean
- Container Size: Pint
- Best By Date: December 23, 2026; December 28, 2026
- UPC: 7-84830-10030-6
- Ice Cream Strawberry
- Container Size: Quart
- Best By Date: December 24, 2026
- UPC: 7-84830-10097-9
- Ice Cream Strawberry
- Container Size: Pint
- Best By Date: December 25, 2026
- UPC: 7-84830-10095-5
- Ice Cream Cookie Dough
- Container Size: Pint
- Best By Date: December 26, 2026
- UPC: 7-84830-10104-4
- Ice Cream Dutch Chocolate
- Container Size: Quart
- Best By Date: December 27, 2026
- UPC: 7-84830-10012-2
- Ice Cream Mint Chip
- Container Size: Pint
- Best By Date: December 30, 2026
- UPC: 7-84830-10050-4
What should Oregonian do with their recalled ice cream?
Oregon consumers are urged not to eat the recalled ice cream. The company said the products should not be returned to the store but instead should be thrown away. Customers can then fill out a form with Straus Family Creamery for a replacement voucher by visiting strausfamilycreamery.com/recall/.
For questions, Oregonians can contact Straus Family Creamery at support@strausmilk.com or 1-707-776-2887.
Ginnie Sandoval is the Oregon Connect reporter for the Statesman Journal. Sandoval is a lifelong Oregonian who covers trending news, entertainment, food and outdoors. She can be reached at GSandoval@statesmanjournal.com or on X at @GinnieSandoval.
SALT LAKE CITY — A new art museum located in the historic B’nai Israel Temple in downtown Salt Lake City, dedicated to preserving Utah culture and providing a platform for Utah artists, is opening.
The Salt Lake Art Museum, 249 S. 400 East, aims to highlight both historic and contemporary Utah artists while also promoting thoughtful conversations on modern topics. It is the first new art museum to open in the city in more than 40 years.
“Opening the Salt Lake Art Museum is a defining moment for our state’s cultural landscape,” said Chris Jensen, museum executive director.
While the official grand opening of the museum isn’t until July 24, it has already begun hosting events and programming, including an interactive “Make Your Mark” installation where community members can trace their silhouettes onto the walls.
“The project serves as both an introduction to the museum and a living time capsule capturing the voices and identities of the community in the weeks leading up to the grand opening,” a statement from the museum said.
The Salt Lake Art Museum was founded by Micah Christensen, a distinguished art historian based in Salt Lake City. About a year ago, Christensen contacted Jensen, who has a background in nonprofits and cultural and historical preservation, to discuss purchasing the B’nai Israel Temple to create a museum.
The focus of the museum would be to elevate Utah artists, Utah art collections and art created in Utah.
“Utah is home to an incredible number of artists, yet we’ve long lacked a dedicated space to fully celebrate their work. This museum changes that. It’s a place where Utah artists are centered, their stories are elevated and our community can come together to experience the power of art,” Jensen said.
The museum began its programming with a Utah Master Series, which celebrates Utah’s most influential visual artists and recognizes their contributions to the state’s cultural legacy.
“It’s almost like a hall of fame of Utah artists,” Jensen explained.
The first three artists to be part of the exhibition were Galina Perova, Stanley Wanlass and Ben Hammond. Each artist had a dedicated night at the museum, where their work was displayed and they discussed their art-making process and the arts in Utah.
One of the museum’s opening exhibitions will be on Albert Bierstadt, a famous painter in the late 1800s who painted the American West. He spent three weeks painting in Utah and the museum will display 25 of his approximately 30 Utah landscapes he created.
To make the gallery extra special, the museum will have modern pictures of the same landscapes alongside each painting.
“It’s really a tale of how human interaction changes landscape and how our landscapes in Utah have changed since the 1800s. So that is really exciting and it’s the first of its kind on Albert Bierstadt,” he said.
The museum will also have exhibits on Pilar Pobil, a Spanish-born immigrant who self-taught herself painting and sculpture and died in 2024, and a show on the Julia Reagan billboards and how they intersected with pop culture and art in Utah.
Additionally, the museum’s opening exhibitions will include a gallery on the history of the B’nai Israel Temple, which was completed in 1891, two years before the Salt Lake Temple was finished.
Museums preserve the culture of whatever they are targeting, Jensen said. The Salt Lake Art Museum aims to preserve Utah’s art culture and its communities, he added.
There are many great artists from Utah who are famous around the world but unknown within their home state, and this museum hopes to change that, Jensen said.
“We have more artists here per capita than anywhere in the U.S., and it’s time that we shine a light on it and celebrate it. And that goes all the way from arts and crafts up to fine art,” he said.
He hopes people are proud of how much quality art comes from our state. When people come to the museum, they support great Utah artists and have a chance to learn more about the place they call home.
Art can be a great avenue to discuss modern issues, such as immigration, climate change and discrimination, through both historical and contemporary lenses, Jensen said. For example, the Salt Lake Art Museum plans to do a show soon on the Great Salt Lake and host a plein air competition at the lake.
“I want people to think of everything that’s happening in our modern world when they come through here and to see themselves reflected in that and how they should be reacting to it,” he said.
Overall, Jensen hopes people appreciate and support art museums as they “tell the story of us as a species.”
“When you go to a museum, it’s a chance to reflect on what we were and what we have become — things lost and things improved. So I really think it’s important because it tells us the greater story of humanity,” Jensen said.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
SEATTLE — It was a brutal winter for the snowpack in the western states, including Washington, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
That has current snowpack levels beyond bleak.
ALSO SEE | Pass travelers to encounter wintry driving in the Cascades this weekend
A map from NOAA shows the percentage of typical moisture in the snowpack across the West. It’s based on the median of the last 35 years.
An 8-14 day precipitation outlook. (NOAA)
Parts of the Cascades have just 13 to 27 percent of the water we could expect in our snowpack this time of year. The Olympics are at just 10 percent.
It was hoped that snowfall in April and May in some areas would offset the snow deficit, but that didn’t happen.
A dry snowpack is going to be a strain on agricultural water use this summer and will boost fire danger during the hottest months of the year.
What comes next?
Fin, Win, and their uncle Shawn were surprised and delighted by the unexpected April snowfall in the Cascades. (KOMO)
According to the 8-14 day precipitation outlook from NOAA, our state can expect equal chances of the typical amount of wetness over the next 2 weeks.
At the same time, government forecasters are expecting a 33 to 40 percent chance of above normal temperatures.
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Forecasters are hoping for a surge of spring rain to at least delay a spike in the fire danger, but without a healthy snowpack heading into the summer months, water supplies could be bleak in parts of our state.
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