Sports
Women's prayer group alleges harassment from pro-trans activists during 'Save Girls Sports' protests
A contentious school board meeting in Riverside, California, drew large opposing protests outside the district office Thursday night. One side argued to “Save Girls Sports,” wearing T-shirts with that message, while the other side came equipped with transgender pride flags and signs.
Members of a women’s prayer group that attended the protests on the “Save Girls Sports” side has alleged the pro-transgender side harassed them during the event and interrupted their attempts at public speaking and filming content.
The prayer group, Young Women for America (YWA)’s Inland Empire chapter in California, alleged pro-transgender activists showered them with insults Thursday in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
“Members of the pro-LGBTQ groups started heckling and harassing the people in line who were speaking in opposition of their values. Some of these adult protesters were even coming up to the young girls that were going to be speaking and were yelling at them close to their face,” YWA Inland Empire Chapter President Tori Hitchcock alleged.
Hitchcock claims the harassment forced them to move their prayer circle away from the offices.
No specific individuals appearing in any photographs have been identified in any harassment allegations reported by Fox News Digital. “Save Girls Sports” supporters Skylar Crawford, left, and Jadeynn Gallardo, both of Martin Luther King High School, and Tori Hitchcock, right, of Young Women for America, pray among the overflow crowd converging outside the Riverside Unified School District meeting to debate the rights of transgender athletes to compete in high school sports Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“Seeing how quick these protesters were wanting to make a scene, we decided that we needed to wait and move our prayer rally away from the main lot for safety reasons. We were able to find a spot that was removed but overlooking the event, which allowed us to really visualize what we were praying for. We spent time also praying over the young female athletes who were there to speak. Many of them were the students who were ostracized by their school,” Hitchcock said.
Hitchcock did not name an specific individuals in her harassment allegations.
Other witnesses present Thursday have provided their accounts of the events to Fox News Digital.
Julianne Fleischer, an attorney for the religious liberties legal firm Advocates for Faith & Freedom, was at the protests Thursday to conduct a pre-meeting press conference that included a parent whose family had been affected by a transgender athlete competing on a girls sports team.
No specific individuals appearing in any photographs have been identified in any harassment allegations reported by Fox News Digital. Transgender athlete supporters hold the progress pride flag as “Save Girls Sports” supporters listen to the debate and join the overflow crowd converging outside the Riverside Unified School District meeting to debate the rights of transgender athletes to compete in high school sports Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
“It was initially peaceful, but the LGBTQ activists became increasingly more vocal and were trying to stir up agitation by heckling people,” Fleischer said.
Fleischer also claims the pro-trans activists were using megaphones to drown out the sound of normal conversation.
“The LGBTQ activists were screaming and blowing their megaphones so as to prevent SGS supporters from participating in media interviews. We moved media away from the LGBTQ activists to a more secluded area so the activists couldn’t interfere with SGS supporters’ ability to talk to the media,” Fleischer added.
California Family Council Vice President Greg Burt told Fox News Digital he also witnessed the pro-trans activists actively interrupting the pro-girls protests and interviews.
“They had bullhorns, and every time someone used a camera to do a video, they would jump behind and make noise,” Burt said.
ENRAGED PARENTS SCREAM AT SCHOOL BOARD FOR ALLOWING TRANS ATHLETE IN GIRLS’ SPORTS: ‘TEACH THEM SELF CONTROL!’
No specific individuals appearing in any photographs have been identified in any harassment allegations reported by Fox News Digital. Transgender athlete supporters hold up signs as an overflow crowd converges outside the Riverside Unified School District meeting to debate the rights of transgender athletes to compete in high school sports Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
One anonymous parent told Fox News Digital about witnessing a child being bombarded with vulgar insults by pro-trans protesters after the meeting.
“My 16-year old son and a few others were standing outside after speaking when a group of the LGBTQ community intentionally walked by them pointing at each one of them saying, ‘FU FU FU,’” the anonymous parent said.
Footage reviewed by Fox News Digital showed a sizable pro-LGBTQ presence at the event. The limited footage reviewed showed the protesters standing calmly. Multiple accounts have suggested the pro-LGBTQ protesters outnumbered the “Save Girls Sports” protesters.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) for verification but has not received a response.
Thursday’s RUSD board meeting was anticipated nationally amid an ongoing controversy at Martin Luther King High School, which has since spread to other schools in the district. A transgender athlete on the girls cross-country team prompted students to wear the shirts that said “Save Girls Sports” in protest. But those students were punished by administrators, some with detention. A lawsuit filed by two girls cross-country runners alleges the school compared the T-shirts to swastikas.
Transgender athlete supporters hold up signs, at left, as Tori Hitchcock, center, of the Young Women for America, and Salomay McCullough, right, both former female athletes, show off their “Save Girls Sports” shirts outside the Riverside Unified School District meeting to debate the rights of transgender athletes to compete in high school sports Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
But the student body responded in support of their biologically female classmates by wearing the shirts in droves of hundreds at a time. Many of the students posted photos on social media of them wearing the shirts together, and some were sitting in detention.
Eventually, the school stopped disciplining students after more than 400 Martin Luther King High School students showed up wearing the shirts Dec. 11.
Sources have told Fox News Digital students at Arlington High School, Riverside Polytechnical High School and Romona High School have also been seen wearing the shirts at their respective schools.
Ryan Starling, the father of a girl at the school who is involved in a lawsuit against the school, spoke at the press conference outside the district office Thursday. The lawsuit alleges Starling’s daughter, Taylor, lost her varsity spot to a transgender athlete and that her T-shirt to express opposition to the athlete competing was compared to a swastika.
“It’s just heartbreaking to see what my daughter has gone through this season,” Starling said.
“This is unfair. This is completely unfair. It breaks my heart as a father to see my daughter go through this and have it stripped away from her, have her come up to me and just hug me. And I can’t do anything about it. So, it’s just heartbreaking.”
The father of the other girl involved in the lawsuit, Dan Slavin, previously told Fox News Digital he “couldn’t even digest” hearing that his daughter’s shirt was compared to a swastika.
“I didn’t even know how to digest that right away,” Slavin said. “There were no words. I still can’t even digest it to this day. It’s unfathomable. It’s strange. It’s weird. I’m sure there were better illustrations they could use instead of that one.”
In a statement previously provided to Fox News Digital, RUSD said it has allowed the transgender athlete to compete on the team because it must comply with California state law.
“It is important to remember that RUSD is bound to follow California law, which requires that students be ‘permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records,’” the statement said.
“As these matters play out in our courts and the media, opposition and protests should be directed at those in a position to affect those laws and policies, including officials in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento.”
California has had laws in effect to protect transgender athletes in women’s sports since 2014. That year, AB 1266 took effect, giving California students at scholastic and collegiate levels the right to “participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”
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SOUTHERN SECTION SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
FIRST ROUND
DIVISION 1
Murrieta Mesa 10, Valley View 0
Orange Lutheran 10, Millikan 0
Chino Hills 2, El Modena 1
Etiwanda 14, Agoura 13
Palos Verdes 3, Riverside King 2
Cypress 4, Fullerton 2
Ayala 11, Charter Oak 1
Riverside Poly 7, California 3
Norco 2, Marina 1
DIVISION 3
Rancho Cucamonga 9, Paloma Valley 1
Great Oak 5, West Torrance 2
Edison 8, El Segundo 5
El Toro 9, Colton 0
Murrieta Valley 9, Redondo Union 8
North Torrance 5, Beaumont 0
West Ranch 7, Trabuco Hills 6
San Juan Hills 8, Riverside North 7
Oak Park 10, Cerritos Valley Christian 4
Highland 7, Northview 2
La Serna 4, Carter 0
Dos Pueblos 5, Crescenta Valley 0
Liberty 10, Arcadia 3
DIVISION 5
Anaheim 11, Flintridge Sacred Heart 0
Patriot 11, Arrowhead Christian 9
Temple City 9, Rancho Christian 6
Grace 11, Buena Park 0
Crean Lutheran 3, Alemany 2
Shadow Hills 8, Cerritos 3
San Marcos 10, Leuzinger 0
South El Monte 7, Long Beach Wilson 5
Covina 11, Garden Grove Santiago 1
Muir 8, Rio Hondo Prep 7
Santa Monica 6, Katella 5
Ontario 6, Norwalk 2
Northwood 18, Duarte 11
DIVISION 7
Bloomington 9, Fillmore 8
Miller 11, Savanna 3
Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 11, Riverside Springs Magnolia 4
Faith Baptist 18, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 4
Twentynine Palms 16, Rancho Alamitos 15
Riverside Notre Dame 12, Costa Mesa 2
Firebaugh 9, Pioneer 8
Chadwick 6, Desert Christian Academy 1
Cathedral City 2, Artesia 1
Orange 9, Bellflower 3
Santa Ana 10, Hawthorne 0
Culver City 9, Temecula Prep 8
DIVISION 8
Banning 20, Redlands Adventist 3
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
(Games at 3:15 p.m. unless noted)
SECOND ROUND
DIVISION 1
La Habra at Murrieta Mesa, noon
Chino Hills at Orange Lutheran
Etiwanda at Westlake
La Mirada at Palos Verdes, noon
Garden Grove Pacifica at Cypress, noon
Ayala at JSerra
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at Oaks Christian, 1 p.m.
Norco at Riverside Poly
DIVISION 2
Bonita at Ganesha, 11 a.m.
Whittier Christian at Warren
Simi Valley at St. Paul
Moorpark at Lakewood St. Joseph, 11 a.m.
Temescal Canyon at San Clemente, 12:30 p.m.
Huntington Beach at Camarillo, Monday
Saugus at Vista Murrieta, 12:30 p.m.
Mater Dei at Gahr, noon
DIVISION 3
Great Oak at Rancho Cucamonga
Edison at El Toro, Monday
Murrieta Valley at North Torrance
West Ranch at San Juan Hills
Riverside Prep at Oak Park, 12:30 p.m.
La Serna at Highland
Dos Pueblos at La Salle, Monday
Villa Park at Liberty, 1 p.m.
DIVISION 4
St. Bonaventure at Harvard-Westlake, 11 a.m.
Apple Valley at Oxnard
Don Lugo at Monrovia, 1:30 p.m.
La Quinta at Mira Costa
Rio Mesa at Mission Viejo, 10 a.m.
Oak Hills at Sunny Hills
Ramona at Paramount
Burbank Burroughs at Rosary, Monday
DIVISION 5
Anaheim vs. Santa Clara at Beck Park
Temple City at Patriot
Crean Lutheran at Grace
Viewpoint at Shadow Hills
San Marcos at Irvine University, noon
South El Monte at Covina
Santa Monica at Muir, 10:30 a.m.
Northwood at Ontario, 1 p.m.
DIVISION 6
Irvine at Lakeside
Alhambra at Heritage
Eastside at Granite Hills, noon
El Monte at St. Genevieve
Sierra Vista vs. Southlands Christian at Brea Canyon Cutoff Rd
Hesperia Christian vs. St. Monica Prep at Memorial Park, 2 p.m.
Arroyo at Lancaster
San Jacinto at Jurupa Valley
DIVISION 7
Bloomington at Ramona Convent
Miller at Santa Ana Calvary Chapel
Faith Baptist at Twentynine Palms, Monday
Firebaugh vs. Riverside Notre Dame at Ramona
Chadwick at Cathedral City
Orange at Victor Valley, 11 a.m.
Santa Ana at Culver City, Monday
Windward at Edgewood, Monday at 3:30 p.m.
DIVISION 8
ACE at Avalon
Bolsa Grande vs. San Bernardino, Monday at San Bernardino College
Workman at Glendale
Cobalt at Santa Rosa Academy
Bell Gardens vs. Brentwood at John Anson Ford Park
Pomona Catholic vs. Capistrano Valley Christian at Laguna Hills, 2 p.m.
Fontana at Banning
Hawthorne MSA at Arroyo Valley, 1 p.m.
Note: Quarterfinals May 20; Semifinals May 23; Finals May 28-30 at Bill Barber Memorial Park, Irvine.
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After a slow first round at Aronimink Golf Club in Philadelphia on Thursday, pace of play was a point of emphasis at the PGA Championship on Friday.
However, when an official approached Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley, they became animated.
Thomas, a longtime Team USA Ryder Cup member, and Bradley, last year’s United States captain, were on the fourth hole when they were approached by an official in a cart, and the conversation quickly turned into finger-pointing.
Justin Thomas and Keegan Bradley watch from the tenth green during the second round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Thomas said after the round that he, Bradley and fellow USA Ryder Cupper Cameron Young, who won the Cadillac Championship earlier this month, were put on the clock, with the official telling them to pick up the pace. However, both Bradley and Thomas appeared to point at the group in front of them.
“We just didn’t really agree with it,” Thomas said, citing course conditions, high winds and tough pins. “We were behind. That wasn’t our issue… It’s just the fact that we weren’t holding up the group behind us.”
Thomas said they were caught up with the pace on the very next hole.
Justin Thomas plays his shot on the 15th tee during the second round of the PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 15, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
GARRICK HIGGO SHARES BAFFLING COMMENTS WHILE REACTING TO TWO-SHOT PENALTY AT PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Thomas had a lengthy conversation with the official, while Bradley appeared to make his point short and sweet — though he was definitely not happy with the call.
It is a large PGA Championship field, with 156 golfers at the course and groups even starting their rounds on the back nine. The scores have also been rather high, with just 25 players below par at the time of publishing.
Aronimink also features a shared tee box on 1 and 10, holes 9 and 17 crossing paths, and a lengthy par-3 eighth hole that’s causing problems. Three par-3s are over 200 yards on the course, and there is also a 457-yard par 4 on the fourth.
Keegan Bradley prepares to putt on the 14th green during the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, on May 14, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
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As Chris Gotterup put it on Friday, “You’re not going to get any four-and-a-half hour rounds out here.”
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The Sparks are finally in the win column, but the outcome was in doubt late Friday night.
Behind double-digit scoring from all five starters, the Sparks had by far their best offensive showing of the season, shooting 63.8% during a 99-95 win over the expansion Toronto Tempo.
The Tempo didn’t make things easy, cutting the deficit to two points late and later trailing by just three with 31 seconds remaining and possession of the ball. Marina Mabrey missed a three-point attempt before late Tempo fouls gave the Sparks enough of a cushion to win.
Kelsey Plum nearly claimed a double-double with 27 points and nine assists, while Dearica Hamby had 19 points with seven rebounds and Nneka Ogwumike scored 20 points.
Erica Wheeler, who started in place of Ariel Atkins (concussion), scored 10 points with seven assists and was a plus-16 as the primary ball handler after starting the season two for 16 from the field. That freed up Plum to be in position to score, setting up a much more efficient Sparks offense.
Toronto was shorthanded in the frontcourt without starting center Temi Fagbenle (right shoulder), and the Sparks trio of bigs had a field day with 54 points in the paint.
The Sparks came out firing on Friday, opening with a 17-2 run.
The Tempo went on a 10-0 burst heading into the second quarter but the Sparks countered to maintain momentum and led 46-38 at halftime.
A Wheeler three-pointer early in the third quarter gave the Sparks a 20-point lead. The Tempo cut it to three midway through the fourth while Brittany Sykes (27 points, seven assists) sparked Toronto’s rally. The Tempo put up more shots than the Sparks, 70-58, largely because of a 10-2 offensive-rebounding gap.
Cameron Brink’s 10 points were the only ones provided by the Sparks’ bench, while the Tempo got 42 points from reserves.
Toronto was coming off its first win in franchise history on Wednesday when it defeated Seattle but struggled against a more complete offensive team in the Sparks.
In her return to Los Angeles after winning a national championship with UCLA this spring, Tempo rookie Kiki Rice netted 11 points.
Kate Martin made her Sparks debut as a developmental player with Atkins and Sania Feagin (lower left leg) unavailable and picked up one rebound in six minutes.
The Sparks will face Toronto again on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
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