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California chiropractor defends entering man in women's surf contest to protest transgender athletes
A woman in northern California recently entered a man into a women’s surfing competition in a sarcastic protest of transgender inclusion in women’s sports. The stunt made the female contestants feel “uncomfortable,” but the woman who did it defended her decision.
Emily Pillari, a chiropractor in Santa Cruz, penned an op-ed for Look Out Santa Cruz, defending her recent stunt to sign up male surf coach Calder Nold for the recent Women on Waves (WOW) surf contest. Nold, 40, is 6-foot-4, 220 pounds.
“Certainly, the fear of offending the transgender community and its allies, and the risk that comes with doing so (more on that, below), is tying the hands and smothering many voices of reason when it comes to this discussion. By entering an apparently male surfer in Women on Waves, I sought to give people a safe chance to express their sentiments … and they did,” Pillari wrote.
The chiropractor’s op-ed was a response to another op-ed for the same outlet penned by one of the contestants who agonized about her experience competing against Nold.
The surfer who penned that piece, local author Liza Monroy, described what it felt like seeing the shirtless Nold next to her ahead of the competition.
“I competed alongside Nold that sunny Saturday morning. He wore the requisite jersey wrapped around his neck and was bare-chested and in board shorts. A participant asked why he was there. What was he trying to do or prove by competing in Women On Waves? Did he identify as a woman? Nold brushed it off, saying a friend had “nominated” him,” Monroy wrote.
SJSU TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: TIMELINE OF ALLEGATIONS, POLITICAL IMPACT AND A RAGING CULTURE MOVEMENT
“He seemed to be there to make women uncomfortable on purpose.”
Monroy also criticized Pillari for being anti-transgender, expressing pro-transgender sentiment in her piece.
“Competing against a cis man was not the intimidating part to me; I love the contest and surfing, and I’m happy to surf against anyone. What hurt me personally about his participation was the intent behind it,” Monroy wrote. “To enroll a man in a women’s event to protest the inclusion of trans women in women’s events is a harmful act, hands down.”
Monroy suggested transgender athletes are not at a physical advantage over female competitors and even criticized former college swimmer and OutKick contributor Riley Gaines for her activism in protecting women’s sports from transgender inclusion.
Nold has said the process for registering for the competition as a man did not have any barriers, and he was allowed to compete despite being male.
“We were not sneaking. We did not lie. We did not have to fabricate anything. I did not even have to identify as anything. I participated based on the exact requirements,” Nold told Reduxx. “The only place the word ‘woman’ appears is in the contest title. Everything else referred to ‘people who love the water’ or ‘people who support women’s surfing.’ That’s me. I fit that bill.”
Nold was disqualified from the competition after leading in the first two heats, but not because he is a man. Nold was disqualified because judges determined he was not wearing his jersey properly.
The issue of transgender inclusion in women’s sports became one of the nation’s most volatile political issues of the most recent election cycle, with a concentration of controversies based in northern California.
The most prominent controversy has played out 35 miles northeast of Capitola Beach, where the surf contest took place, at San Jose State University. The university’s volleyball team just wrapped up a season that stirred national controversy over a transgender athlete on the team.
San Jose State co-captain Brooke Slusser has filed two lawsuits alleging the university kept her teammate’s birth sex secret from her and other players while being made to share sleeping and changing spaces with that player.
Stone Ridge Christian High School, located in Merced, California, 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.
A recent lawsuit by female athletes at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, has alleged their “Save Girls Sports” T-shirts were likened to a swastika by school officials. The plaintiffs wore the shirts after a transgender athlete, who had not consistently attended practices or met key varsity eligibility requirements, was placed on the varsity team, displacing one of the girls from her spot, the complaint alleged.
A girls cross country runner at the school, Rylee Morrow, gave an impassioned plea at a school board meeting Nov. 21, saying the way things have been handled makes her feel “unsafe.”
“The whole LGBTQ is shoved down our throats,” Morrow cried.
“It is not OK that I have to be in position, and I have to see a male in booty shorts and having to see that around me. As a 16-year-old girl, I don’t see that as a safe environment,” Morrow said. “Going into a locker room and seeing males in there, I don’t find that safe. I don’t find going to the bathroom safe when there’s guys in there. It’s not OK. I’m a 16-year-old girl.”
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California fireworks fans hungry for more high-powered pyrotechnics not sold in the state are heading for the Nevada border to get their illegal Fourth of July fix.
The Golden State only sells firecrackers that are certified “safe and sane” and sold by licensed sellers. But dozens of dealers in Nevada just miles from the California border have become a magnet for buyers looking for a bigger bang.
At Cosmic Boom Fireworks in Amargosa Valley, cashier Jovon Oseguera said business has picked up sharply among Californians.
“It’s making [us] busier, people from everywhere just come by in the past week or so with roughly 25 to 30% of customers in a day from California,” he said.
Oseguera said Californians are drawn to higher powered aerials “mostly mortar shells and fireworks cakes” they can’t buy in their own state.
At a Fourth of July party last year, a man lit an illegal $400 cake containing professional-grade explosives that malfunctioned and killed an 8-year-old girl.
“A lot of them ask if they can take the fireworks back across the state line, but I tell them there’s not much [they] could really take back, except… really small stuff,” Oseguera added.
While some Nevada stores require that customers fill out forms for their purchases, his shop only checks that buyers are over 18.
A worker at Blackjack Fireworks in Pahrump, Nevada, said that the shop attracts hundreds of buyers from outside Nevada, with a significant number arriving from California during the week of July 4.
“If you come to the store, there will be several hundred cars all year round,” said the employee, who declined to provide her name.
The staffer said some choose light the fireworks off near Walker Lake on the Nevada side, but the shop doesn’t keep track of where buyers go after their shopping sprees.
“I have no business asking where they are coming from or what their final destination will be, as it will be a violation of their rights,” the worker said.
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According to the latest California Department of Public Health data from 2023, the state saw 200 nonfatal hospitalizations and 718 emergency department visits due to fireworks.
In 2024, Cal Fire reported over 1,200 illegal fireworks-related fires and hundreds of injuries.
“Each year, we continue to see illegal fireworks, particularly those purchased online or shipped into California from out of state, pose a significant threat to public safety, property, and our natural resources,” a Cal Fire spokesperson told The California Post.
While Cal Fire could not share details about sensitive operations ahead of July 4 or ongoing investigations, the department is “working in close partnership with local, state, federal, and out-of-state law enforcement agencies to investigate the illegal sale, distribution, and use of dangerous fireworks.”
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman urged the residents to report illegal fireworks activity, saying that celebrations with illegal fireworks and explosives are not harmless entertainment.
“These devices can kill people, causing devastating injuries and destroying entire neighborhoods,” he said.
The DA is also currently investigating several cases of illegal fireworks possession.
- East Los Angeles/Pico Rivera: Four individuals were charged after approximately 8,500 pounds of illegal fireworks and homemade explosive devices seized on June 22, 2026.
- South Los Angeles: Over 37,000 pounds of fireworks were discovered at a residence on May 27, 2026, leading to charges against four p eople, including child abuse charges for two defendants due to a child living in the home.
- 6th Street Bridge: Three individuals face 21 felony counts each after the LAPD Bomb Squad recovered homemade explosives from a car on May 2, 2026.
- Whittier: A seizure on January 13, 2026, uncovered over 24,000 pounds of fireworks and explosive-making materials in a storage unit near a preschool.
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — As families across the country gather together to celebrate the 4th of July, one family will reunite for the first time in years in El Paso.
Juan Escobar, an Albuquerque native, will finally be able to celebrate a holiday with his 14-year-old son, Andrew, all thanks to the El Paso Police Department.
Over the last three years, Escobar endured a long-standing search and custody battle over Andrew with his Miriam Felix, Andrew’s mom, which he originally won in 2023.
Not long after that custody victory, Andrew went with Felix for an overnight stay.
He never came home.
Missing posters said Andrew went missing June 25, 2023. He was 11 years old at the time.
Escobar hired a private investigator to uncover Andrew’s whereabouts. Investigation revealed Felix changed her name to Sophie Shelton and changed Andrew’s name to Oliver Shelton. The two reportedly moved to an area near Fort Collins, Colorado.
Suddenly, the case changed from a missing child to an abduction.
Escobar wasn’t able to find Andrew or Felix in Fort Collins.
After years of prayer and searching for answers, Juan received a phone call from El Paso Police last week.
In the call, EPPD said they had Felix in custody and Andrew waiting for him.
Escobar said Andrew told authorities he and his mom traveled to several countries over the three-year period, including Austria, Albania and Turkey.
He reportedly said he went to school online and just finished eighth grade.
However, his father is worried about his mental health.
“Physically, he’s well,” Escobar said. “But he’s just been through so much the last three years emotionally and mentally.”
Escobar told ABC-7 police said Border Patrol identified Andrew as a missing person while he and Felix reportedly crossed into El Paso from Ciudad Juarez, putting both of them into custody.
Escobar told ABC-7 his wife drove him down to El Paso and told him he wasn’t “in the condition to drive.”
He said his first instinct was to hug Andrew, since they used to love wrestling, but was told to give him space instead.
“The reality is that Andrew was an 11-year-old boy that was abducted and was moved across the country, and then moved out of the country and possibly overseas over the last three years,” Escobar said. “He’s a boy right now who has been in flight or fight mode for the last three years.”
Escobar said he’s now investigating how Andrew reportedly traveled around the world without being flagged as a missing person.
He also said he hopes Felix understands the gravity of what she’s done.
“This isn’t just trying to keep a father away from his son. This is breaking local law and breaking international law,” Escobar said. “I’m hopeful she understands what she’s done and she gets the help that she needs.”
Escobar also questioned how Felix afforded international trips.
As Andrew reunites with his father, Escobar has a simple message for parents and families this holiday weekend:
“Do what’s best for your children,” Escobar said. “Because ultimately, they’re what matter the most.”
Escobar said he’s excited to spend the holiday weekend with his son.
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