Sports
Battle in Huntington Beach after transgender surfer barred from longboard competition
Sasha Jane Lowerson just wanted to surf.
But when the Australian longboard surfer attempted to enter an upcoming competition in Huntington Beach, the athlete, who was born intersex, learned that the organizer wasn’t going to allow transgender athletes.
Instead, surfers would be required to enter the category of the gender they were assigned at birth, the organizer said in a video posted to Instagram last month.
The video received over 4,000 likes and more than 1,000 comments from people both supporting and arguing against the move. This week, it prompted the California Coastal Commission to intervene in what equity advocates say is an issue of access to the state’s coastline and an ongoing problem of discrimination against transgender athletes.
A crowd gathers to watch the 2023 U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“As I walk my journey through the turmoil and the implications of people that want to spread misinformation, I’ve found myself wondering why?” Lowerson wrote in a post on Instagram in response to the situation. “Just why [do] people hate me for existing?”
The fight playing out in Huntington Beach is part of a larger discussion over the rights of transgender individuals across the country, particularly those in professional sports.
Former President Trump has said he plans to ban transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports if he again wins the White House in November. Though the city of Huntington Beach is not part of the fight, some LGBTQ+ activists have expressed concern after the actions of a new, conservative City Council — which, among other things, banned Pride flags from being flown at city properties.
Advocates such as surf equity activist Sabrina Brennan say a ban has nothing to do with athleticism or competition.
“It’s a Republican and religious agenda that’s playing out and, frankly, harming people,” Brennan said. “The entire LGBTQ community is being negatively impacted. There’s a lot of damage happening.”
Sabrina Brennan of the group Surf Equity says the Huntington Beach event’s attempt to bar transgender contestants has nothing to do with athleticism or competition. “It’s a Republican and religious agenda that’s playing out,” she said.
(Melina Mara / Getty Images)
Lowerson did not respond to Times requests for comment. However, she told the Inertia that before she entered the Huntington Beach Longboard Pro contest, scheduled for Saturday, she reached out to organizer Todd Messick to make sure a spot was available for her. She didn’t hear back, but saw his video post calling for more entrants in the women’s division, so she entered, she told the outlet.
In his Instagram video on April 25, Messick addressed Lowerson’s entry, saying that his policy was to “support biological males and biological females in their divisions, respectively.” The policy, he said, complied with the standards of the sport’s governing body, the International Surfing Assn.
“You guys can live however and whatever you want to do in life. It’s not for me to decide,” he said in the video. “But it is for me to decide what’s fair and not fair for the American Longboard Assn. That being said, we’re going to stick to our guns. I want to offer an equal playing field for all athletes.”
Messick did not respond to a call seeking comment on Thursday.
The video quickly caught Brennan’s attention, and she contacted the California Coastal Commission.
Fans watch the U.S. Open of Surfing challenger series in Huntington Beach in 2023.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
International Surfing Assn. policy, which was updated last year, states that a transgender woman may participate in a women’s event if she provides a written declaration saying she identifies as a woman and tells the organization’s medical commission that her testosterone level has been below a certain concentration in the last 12 months. Lowerson wrote online that she meets all requirements for her to compete in the women’s category.
“I think discrimination on public property, on public lands, is completely unacceptable,” Brennan said. “To do this in a surf competition is absolutely not right. The ocean belongs to all of us.”
Brennan, who runs Surf Equity, which aims to improve access, equity and justice in pro surfing, said forcing a transgender athlete to “compete in a gender category that they don’t identify with is just really wrong.”
It’s also not in compliance with current policy, she said.
California Coastal Commission staff wrote in a letter Tuesday to Messick that if he wants to host the event, he will have to allow transgender athletes to participate. Banning those individuals violates the Coastal Act, a landmark law that declared the beach as a public treasure to be shared by everyone, according to the letter.
“Prohibiting or unfairly limiting transgender athletes from competing in this or any surf competition that takes place in the coastal waters of California does not meet the requirements of the public access policies of the Coastal Act and impedes access by discriminating against transgender surfers,” Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge wrote.
The letter was written to formalize a conversation staff had with Messick in which he agreed to allow transgender participants in the contest, according to the document.
Lowerson said in an interview with the Inertia that she entered the Huntington Beach contest to have fun. But now she’s decided not to participate.
This is the American Longboard Assn.’s second year hosting the competition in Huntington Beach.
Brennan and others have long fought to make surfing — traditionally a male-dominated sport — more inclusive in California. And this isn’t the first time the California Coastal Commission has stepped in.
In 2016, the commission required the Titans of Mavericks, a famous big-wave contest near Half Moon Bay, to have a heat for women if it wanted a permit. For decades, the contest had invited only men.
In 2018, the State Lands Commission indicated it would lease the public beach for Mavericks only if women and men were awarded the same prize money. Historically, women have been paid less than male surfers participating in the same contests. Commission staff wrote in a report at the time that “the waves do not discriminate.”
Sawyer Lindblad placed first in the finals of the U.S. Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach in 2023.
(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
Lowerson has long been a public figure in the surfing world. In March 2022, she placed ninth in the Noosa Festival of Surfing and was the first transgender woman to compete at the professional level. She also placed first in the Open Women’s and Women’s Logger divisions at the Western Australian State Titles that year.
Despite the gains made by transgender athletes, there have been persistent detractors. Sportswear company Rip Curl faced backlash this year after it featured Lowerson in an Instagram post as part of the company’s “Meet the Local Heroes of Western Australia” campaign. The comments eventually prompted the company to remove the post, according to published reports.
“I just want to be me, and I want to be included,” Lowerson told the Australian Broadcasting Co. in 2022.
Lowerson’s name did not appear on a list of individuals participating in the women’s division of the Huntington Beach Longboard Pro competition published Thursday. The roster had two spots left.
Sports
Packers’ head-coaching situation thrust into spotlight after playoff loss
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The Green Bay Packers’ playoff exit on Saturday immediately put added focus on what the organization will do with head coach Matt LaFleur.
The NFL coaching cycle has been the wildest in recent memory, with veteran coaches like John Harbaugh and Pete Carroll being shown the door. Packers fans seemingly put LaFleur on the hot seat following their crushing defeat to the Chicago Bears.
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur reacts during the wild-card playoff game against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Sunday that the Packers will have a major decision to make.
“The Green Bay Packers and their new president, Ed Policy, have a significant decision to make here in the coming days – and that is whether to extend Matt LaFleur’s contract. He’s currently got one year remaining, or to move on from him,” Schefter said. “If they moved on from him, he would automatically go near the top of coaches available and shakeup this current head-coaching cycle yet again.”
Schefter added that Harbaugh could be one of the names that would interest the Packers’ organization.
BEARS’ BEN JOHNSON GIVES FIERY MESSAGE TO TEAM AFTER PLAYOFF WIN: ‘F— THE PACKERS!’
Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talks after the playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
“Notice how we said this belongs to the Packers’ president, Ed Policy. Well, the Packers’ former president from the back in the day was a man by the name of Bob Harlan,” Schefter explained. “Bob Harlan’s son, Brian Harlan, represents John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh is a Midwestern guy, who has a home in the Upper Peninsula, and a lot of people around the league have been wondering if the Packers decide to go in a different direction, if all of a sudden the Green Bay Packers might fall to the top of John Harbaugh’s list as the top available choice for him.
“This has been a wild, crazy coaching cycle, and we may be just scratching the surface.”
Green Bay Packers’ Matthew Golden celebrates his touchdown against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
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Green Bay finished 9-7-1 this season. LaFleur is 76-40-1 as the Packers’ head coach with a 3-6 record in the playoffs.
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Sports
Crossroads students begin push to make pickleball a varsity sport
For brothers Boone and Ford Casady, pickleball is more than just a game, it is a passion. The 16-year-old twins are among the top junior players on the planet, but more important to them than trophies and medals is a desire to spread the fastest-growing sport in America to high schools and colleges.
Their vision, combined with the persistence of fellow Crossroads sophomores Samantha Leeds and Hannah Carey, has birthed the L.A. High School Pickleball League, the first of its kind in California. The first match will be Jan. 24 at the Santa Monica Pickleball Center.
Teams from Crossroads, Brentwood, Windward, Palisades, Notre Dame and Santa Monica Pacifica Christian will participate, and possibly several more.
Matches will be biweekly with all schools competing at the same shared location. The match format is loosely based on high school tennis with three doubles lines, one singles line and “friendlies” — ensuring that beginners, alternates and developing players all get playing time. The season culminates with semifinals and a league championship.
“My brother and I grew up playing competitive tennis and baseball,” Boone said. “We’d been playing tennis since we were about 3 and in eighth grade we moved to Barcelona to train at the Emilio Sánchez Academy for tennis. We were first introduced to pickleball earlier while we were in Mexico playing with friends and we immediately fell in love with it. We entered our first tournament in Palm Springs and realized we’d found something special.
“We noticed that so many juniors were training and competing individually but there wasn’t a school-based structure like you have in other varsity sports. We decided to change that. We wanted girls to be involved from the start — it was important to us that the league be coed and inclusive to reflect how competitive girls pickleball already is. We’re also co-founders of the Crossroads Pickleball Club along with Samantha and Hannah and we’re working to grow participation on campus and across L.A.”
The four founders of the L.A. High School Pickleball League play mixed doubles.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Unlike most youth sports initiatives, the league was not created by adults or administrators, it was built entirely by students. Over the last two years they have coordinated with the Southern Section for recognition and guidance, worked with Crossroads administrators to establish pickleball as a school-sanctioned varsity sport, organized early intramural and inter-school tournaments, built communication networks among local high schools and helped other schools begin turning their club teams into varsity programs.
“In high school sports, students usually join a system that already exists,” Leeds said. “With pickleball, we had to build the system ourselves.”
Boone defeated Ford to earn the No. 1 seed at the 2024 Junior PPA National Championships, but they met again for the gold medal and this time Ford won. They also took the gold in doubles and finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the country in the 14s division.
At the 2025 Junior PPA National Championships, the brothers took silver and bronze in the Boys U16 singles and partnered for silver in doubles. They were also presented the Community Assist Award to acknowledge their initiative in starting the Los Angeles High School Pickleball League. They are straight-A students and play shortstop and third base on the varsity baseball team.
So far, their toughest competition in pickleball has been each other.
“Boone and I practice together all the time and we play against each other constantly,” Ford said. “Boone knows the part of my game to attack and I know what to do against him so we always have great matches. No matter who wins, we hug it out at the end.”
The siblings played in their first pro event of the year Saturday — the Masters Tournament in Palm Springs.
Leeds and Carey were introduced to pickleball in eighth grade.
“I remember leaving PE after playing pickleball, heading to soccer practice and honestly feeling kind of bored,” Leeds recalled. “All I wanted to do was keep playing pickleball.”
“Samantha and I got randomly paired to do pickleball in PE,” said Carey, who lost her home in the Palisades fire. “Most kids would sit out, look bored, or try to skip but as the pickleball nets went up our peers were engaged, exhilarated and connecting over their love of pickleball. So Samantha and I started making petitions to create a league.”
The girls, then 13, had a meeting with Anthony Locke, head of school at Crossroads, and made a pitch deck. Using her skills as a filmmaker Leeds created a short sizzle video to help show what pickleball could look like as a real school sport.
“We were told that forming school-based teams and leagues is a necessary first step towards eventual CIF recognition,” she said. “I created a Varsity Team Starter Kit, outlining the steps we used to establish pickleball as a school-sanctioned varsity sport. Leaders at other schools are actively using it to establish their own teams.”
Added Carey: “We connected with Boone and Ford, which was such an honor considering their talent and passion for the sport. We decided to join forces and use our resources together to further our process of creating a league.”
The inaugural season runs from January to March but beginning in the 2026-27 school year the plan is to move to the traditional winter sports window, November through January.
“Pickleball has the potential to become a true varsity sport at both the high school and college levels,” Boone said. “We’re so excited to help push it forward.”
Sports
US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship
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U.S. figure skating stars Madison Chock and Evan Bates made history on Saturday with their record-setting seventh U.S. Figure Skating title in their final competition before the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The three-time reigning world champions, performing a flamenco-style dance to a version of the Rolling Stones hit “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show “Westworld,” produced a season-best free skate and finished with 228.87 points.
“The feeling that we got from the audience today was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before,” Chock said.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of United States perform during ISU World Figure Skating Championships – Boston, at TD Garden, on March 28, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Jurij Kodrun – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)
They’ll be the heavy favorites to win gold next month in Italy.
“I felt so much love and joy,” Chock continued, “and I’m so grateful for this moment.”
U.S. Figure Skating will announce its selections on Sunday.
Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were second with 213.65 points and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third with 206.95, making those two pairs the likely choices to join Chock and Bates on the American squad for the upcoming Winter Games.
The men’s medals also were to be decided on Saturday, though two-time world champion Ilia Malinin had built such a lead after his short program that the self-styled “Quad God” would have to stumble mightily to miss out on a fourth consecutive title.
The U.S. also has qualified the maximum of three men’s spots for the Winter Games, and competition is tight between second-place Tomoko Hiwatashi, fan favorite Jason Brown, Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov to round out the nationals podium.
The last time Chock and Bates competed in the Olympics in 2022 in Beijing, they watched their gold initially go to an opponent who was later disqualified for doping violations.
Chock and Bates initially had to settle for team silver with their American teammates on the podium at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Russia and Kamila Valieva, who was 15 at the time, stood above them with their gold medals.
It wasn’t until the end of January 2024, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valieva guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, when Chock, Bates and the U.S. were declared the rightful 2022 gold medalists.
UN URGES COUNTRIES TO HONOR TRUCE DURING WINTER OLYMPICS, NOT DENY VISAS TO ANY NATION’S ATHLETES
Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in championship ice dance at the U.S. figure skating championships Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during an anti-doping test at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December 2021. She was suspended for four years and stripped of all competitive results since that date.
Chock and Bates spoke about what their message to Valieva would be today during an interview at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee media summit in October.
“It’s hard to, I think, imagine what a 15-year-old has gone through and under that kind of situation,” Bates said. “And I know how stressful it is, being an elite athlete as an adult, as a 36-year-old. And I think that grace should be given to humans across the board. And we can never really know the full situation, at least from our point of view. … I genuinely don’t know what I would say to her.”
Chock added, “I would just wish her well like as I would. I think life is short. And, at the end of the day, we’re all human just going through our own human experience together. And regardless of what someone has or hasn’t done and how it has affected you, I think it’s important to remember we’re humans as a collective, and we’re all here for this, our one moment on earth, at the same time. And I just wish people to have healthy, happy lives, full of people that love them.”
Chock and Bates had to wait more than two years after the initial Olympics to get their rightful gold medals, and they were finally presented with them during a ceremony at the Paris Olympics last summer.
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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA perform in the Gala Exhibition during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Nagoya at IG Arena on December 07, 2025 in Nagoya, Japan. (Atsushi Tomura – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)
Chock, Bates and teammates Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou were given a specialized gold medal ceremony to receive the medals in front of more than 13,000 fans.
Chock and Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world championships in nearly three decades in March when they defeated Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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