West
Father of female runner forced to compete with trans athlete shares fury of situation: 'Can't even digest it'
EXCLUSIVE: Dan Slavin, a construction subcontractor in California, has parented his daughter Kaitlyn through an experience no one in their family expected this school year.
Over the summer, they got word Martin Luther King High School, where Kaitlyn competes in cross country, would be getting a new transfer student who would be competing on Kaitlyn’s team. That student was a transgender athlete.
Slavin says he and other parents contacted the school about it immediately.
“We went in there with concerns about safety and locker room issues,” Slavin told Fox News Digital. “They were very tight-lipped and quiet. They understood our concerns and said they were working on putting things in place for our children’s safety, but not much. They just kind of sat there.”
Slavin, a California native who also competed in cross country, as well as track and basketball, in high school, wanted his daughter to compete in sports to benefit from lessons in work ethic and teamwork.
But the idea of Kaitlyn having to share a locker room and field with a biological male made him “concerned.”
California state law protects the inclusion of transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports and requires public schools to comply with these protections. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been a staunch protector of these policies during his tenure and vetoed a bill that would require schools to notify athletes and their families when a transgender athlete is on their team.
Newsom signed nine LGBTQ+ rights bills into law within a matter of days in 2023, and this year he signed the Support Academic Future and Educators for Today’s Youth Act (SAFETY Act) into law, which bans teachers from notifying students and parents of a transgender student’s biological sex.
“I’d love to sit down and have lunch with him to talk to him about this and see how that goes,” Slavin said. “I would probably just tell him that I get you want everybody to feel included, but you’re missing out on how many people it’s actually affecting and hurting.”
Slavin, his daughter and other girls on the team learned how those laws affect female athletes after the transgender athlete transferred in. Kaitlyn’s teammate and co-captain, Taylor, lost her varsity spot to that athlete this season.
SJSU TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: TIMELINE OF ALLEGATIONS, POLITICAL IMPACT AND A RAGING CULTURE MOVEMENT
“It’s been tough on her. She’s been there with her teammates and her teammate’s in tears,” Slavin said. “She’s been trying to balance out how to still love all people but also how to raise awareness.
“There isn’t a hateful bone in her little body.”
So Kaitlyn, Taylor and some of their other teammates decided to stand up against it as many other young female athletes across the country have this year. They did it by creating custom T-shirts that said “Save Girls Sports.”
But when they showed up to the high school wearing those shirts, administrators allegedly scolded them over it and compared the shirts to swastikas, according to a lawsuit filed against the school by the families of the two girls.
“I didn’t even know how to digest that right away,” Slavin said. “There were no words. I still can’t even digest it 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.”
The attorney representing Kaitlyn and Taylor in the lawsuit, Julianne Fleischer, told Fox News Digital the rhetoric from school administrators is “incredibly dangerous.”
“When you have adults that compare a message ‘Save Girls Sports’ that promotes equality, fairness, common sense; when you have adults that compare that message to a swastika, which represents the genocide of millions of Jews, really, there are no words. I don’t know how you respond to that,” Fleischer said.
The administration’s comparison and the subsequent lawsuit prompted other students to get involved.
Hundreds of students at Martin Luther King High School began to wear the T-shirts every Wednesday. The school responded by enacting a dress code that resulted in many of those students being sent to detention. But that didn’t stop them. The students kept wearing the shirts weekly.
The school recently stopped enforcing its dress code on the shirts. Slavin said he saw around 400 students wearing them at Martin Luther King High School, and sources have told Fox News the surrounding schools of Arlington High School, Riverside Polytechnical High School and Romona High School have also seen their students wearing them.
For Slavin, who has seen his daughter win titles and MVP awards in her youth sports career, this movement is his proudest moment as the father of an athlete. But it’s also come with some blowback from transgender inclusion activists on social media.
“The message gets conflicted as an attack on people, and it’s not about that at all. We want all people to feel love, all people to feel included, but some people just don’t see the common sense side of it,” Slavin said.
But Slavin said that won’t stop him and his family from continuing their activism on this issue. The Riverside Unified School District is holding a board meeting next Thursday, and parents are expected to attend and speak out against policies that have enabled transgender inclusion in girls’ sports.
Beyond that, Slavin said his family may even use it as a new platform for political activism in the 2026 California gubernatorial election if the issue hasn’t been resolved.
“If nothing changes here in the next couple of years, it absolutely should be part of the next election,” he said.
“I want to see policies change,” Slavin added. “I keep saying the system is broken, and it’s doing more harm than good. And I want to see people understand that and admit that. Sometimes, we make mistakes, and it’s OK to admit that, but we need to make changes and get out of those mistakes we make.”
Read the full article from Here
Golden Gate Bridge fireworks will be a rare patriotic event
This year on July 4th, for the third time in history, an organized fireworks display will be held at San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge. This only happned in twice before in 1987 and 2012 for the bridge’s 50th and 75th annivesary. Expect crowds to be massive and public transportation, ride shares and simply walking is highly recommended.
SAN FRANCISCO – San Francisco is preparing for its major July 4th fireworks display on Saturday night, an event expected to draw massive crowds as pyrotechnics are launched directly from the Golden Gate Bridge for only the third time in history.
Will crowds flood Marina?
What we don’t know:
To pull off the event, the Golden Gate Bridge, major roadways, and key parking lots at Marina Green and Crissy Field will be shut down.
Several neighborhood streets will also be blocked off, creating significant traffic hurdles. Officials are strongly advising spectators to utilize public transit due to severely limited parking.
Local residents in the Marina District have expressed concern over the impending chaos as crowds flood the neighborhood.
“I’m a little worried, yeah,” said nearby resident Michael Zoboski. “I think it’s gonna be definitely hectic. I don’t know where people are going to park, it seems like it’s taking up a large amount of the streets up here. I think it’s going to be a little crazy.”
To manage the influx, access to many surrounding neighborhoods will be strictly limited to local residents.
Checking IDs
What we know:
Law enforcement officers will be checking IDs and questioning drivers to verify residency. According to the district supervisor, there will be 10 police officers deployed per block in the Marina.
Road closures will stretch from Baker Street to Van Ness Avenue between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Portions of Fisherman’s Wharf are scheduled to shut down even earlier, starting at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon, with much of that neighborhood also restricted to local access. The Golden Gate Bridge itself will close to traffic starting at 9 p.m.
Additionally, roads will be closed in the Presidio and Richmond District. To encourage the use of public transportation, Muni is providing special shuttles to help transport spectators to the viewing areas.
The Source: Marina neighbors, Muni, San Francisco city website
There have been many great offensive linemen in Denver Broncos history, so this list is likely going to vary greatly from person to person. In fact, my take might be a little too bold, but I’m sticking with it.
At the top spot, I think Garett Bolles has earned it. Since coming into the league as a first-round pick in 2017, he has grinded through one of the worst periods in Broncos’ history and grown from beleaguered oft-penalized first-round bust into a perennial All-Pro caliber left tackle. Even more, he has stayed a Bronco through his entire career. The rest of my list speaks for itself and is a throwback to Super Bowl greatness.
Here’s where our Mile High Report staff landed on the top five for offensive line:
Scotty Payne: Tom Nalen was the leader of Mike Shanahan’s offensive line, Ryan Clady was a top LT on a Hall of Fame career before injury and Stink was a key member of the Broncos Super Bowl winning OL back in the 90s. I included Bolles and Meinerz since both will be on this list once their successful careers are over with.
Chris Hart: This position group was one of the toughest to come up with a top five. Denver has an incredible history of top-tier offensive lineman. There are several players I left off who were certainly deserving. I posted Tom Nalen as my top guy because he was a stalwart at the pivot for many years for the franchise. We all know what Gary Zimmerman and Mark Schlereth provided on the field and they are both Super Bowl champions. The last two spots go to two recent Broncos, left tackles Garret Bolles and Ryan Clady. Bolles, a decade into his career, continues to play at a high level and Clady was a fantastic blindside protector whose career ended earlier than it should due to injury.
Ian St. Clair: For the first time in Elway’s career, he had a blind-side protector. And Zimmerman is one of the best to ever do it. Same for Nalen, who should be in the HOF. Clady was special. Bishop was the first Broncos offensive lineman in franchise history to get a Pro Bowl invite and provided one of the best in-game quotes ever when he said in Denver’s endzone at old Cleveland Stadium before hiking the ball at the 2-yard line in what would become The Drive, “We got ‘em right right where want ‘em.” And Schlereth helped lock down the left side of the line that was one of the best in league history.
Sadaraine: The top 3 are largely indisputable, other than maybe swapping Schlereth and Zimmerman. Ken Lanier started 178 consecutive games, which is nuts for an OT, and appeared in 3 Super Bowls. Garret Bolles has crafted himself into an all-time great at tackle and may move up the list.
Ross Allen: The Hall-of-Famer Gary Zimmerman was everything you could ever ask for in a left tackle and was a huge reason why John Elway and that 1997 team was so dominant. Schlereth also gets his credit as he was a massive contributor to Denver’s Super Bowl successes. There’s a strong case for Tom Nalen deserving a spot in the Hall of Fame too. And for the past two years I’ve become a huge spouter of Bolles being destined for the Ring of Fame. He’s an incredible talent as has been the cornerstone of this team for a while now. I just hope he gets his Super Bowl.
Joe Mahoney: Top 3 are a no-brainer. Bolles will finish his career with more starts on the OL than any other Bronco. The man he will pass is Ken Lanier. Since stats from Lanier’s era don’t exist we only have starts to go off, but Lanier was an iron man. He started 167 NFL games and 165 were for the Broncos.
There is a bit of variation here, but a general consensus of who should be in the Top 5. I loved the throwback to Keith Bishop who was a big part of the John Elway fourth quarter magic back in the day.
Who gets into your top five offensive lineman list?
SEATTLE — Fireworks are set to light up the sky above Lake Union on Saturday night as Seattle marks America’s 250th birthday on the Fourth of July.
Crews are preparing more than 7,000 pounds of fireworks for the Seafair show over the water, with hundreds of thousands of spectators expected at Gas Works and Lake Union parks.
This year’s festivities come as visitors from around the globe are in Seattle ahead of another World Cup match featuring Team USA on Monday.
One major change for this year’s celebration is that Gas Works Park will be gated off and will require tickets for entry. Seafair organizers say the new system is intended to help manage the expected increased capacity and keep spectators safe.
RELATED | Boom! Here’s where to catch 4th of July fireworks in and around Seattle
Planned activities during the day on Saturday include an interactive Seafair coloring wall and all-American games, where people can compete in a pie-eating contest, sack races, and a water balloon toss. Musical performances are scheduled to start at 5 p.m.
Free parking is available in the surrounding Gas Works Park neighborhood, but finding a spot is expected to be difficult. Organizers are urging people to give themselves extra time and consider rideshare, carpooling, or public transportation.
Fireworks sales and setting off fireworks are illegal in many areas of western Washington, making large public shows a safer option for many people.
Spectators at Gas Works Park will notice some changes this year. The city recently removed ladders, catwalks, and platforms from the structures there after the death of a 14-year-old last summer.
The teen’s family said the city failed to address dangerous conditions around the park’s towers despite years of warnings and several injuries.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
The Lake Union fireworks are expected to start at roughly 10:15 p.m. Saturday.
-
Entertainment4 minutes agoWho is on Elle Woods’ playlist? ’90s bands like No Doubt and Sleater-Kinney
-
Lifestyle11 minutes agoL.A. Affairs: He wanted L.A. I wanted New York. A panic attack changed everything
-
Politics14 minutes agoTrump refashions America’s 250th as a celebration of himself
-
Sports29 minutes agoHow Dodgers’ Max Muncy, vying for his third All-Star selection, continues to evolve
-
World41 minutes agoGermany’s Merz defends NATO spending after Trump calls it ‘ridiculous’
-
News1 hour agoOregon ER doctors win a ‘David and Goliath’ battle against a national company
-
Videos2 hours agoIran gets ready for Khamenei’s funeral • FRANCE 24 English
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours ago2 arrested after 3 LASD deputies injured during East L.A. World Cup celebration
