'Girls must compete against girls': Christian school forfeits state championships over male player on girls' volleyball team

A high school girls' volleyball team in California refused to play in a tournament match after learning their opponent has a male athlete on their team.

Stone Ridge Christian School was set to play San Francisco Waldorf in the California Interscholastic Federation State Girls Volleyball Championship playoffs. However, after learning the San Francisco team had a male player, the team has announced its intention to forfeit.

A copy of a school letter sent to parents, posted on X, revealed that the school was standing on its religious beliefs as the reason to not participate.

"As many of you know, our girls won on Wednesday and advanced to the state playoffs," the letter dated November 15 began. "Unfortunately, we were just informed that our opponent, San Francisco Waldorf, has a male athlete playing for their team."

"We believe God's Word is authoritative and infallible. It is Truth. And as Genesis makes clear, God wonderfully and immutably created each person as male or female," the letter continued.

"We do not believe sex is changeable and we do not intend to participate in events that send a different message," it added.

The message concluded by expressing a "duty and responsibility" for the safety of the students, expressing that standing on their beliefs "means more" than the game.

The school then asked recipients to congratulate the student-athletes.

'We will always stand for Biblical truth.'

The male student was identified by outlet Reduxx as Henry Hanlon, a senior who also plays on the Waldorf girls' basketball team.

Hanlon has likely sparked previous forfeits in basketball, particularly from the Islamic school Averroes High School, which declined to specify the reason for its forfeiture.

In a statement to Blaze News, Stone Ridge said it intends to stand for what the school believes is the truth.

"We will always stand for Biblical truth and what is right."

"Girls must compete against girls for fairness safety and truth," the school added.

Stone Ridge has a history of going against the grain in the ultra-liberal state of California. In 2021, it was one of three schools to receive a two-year playoff ban in high school football for playing while COVID-19 shutdowns were in effect.

Capital Christian, Ripon Christian, and Stone Ridge received bans, in addition to their teams and athletic departments being placed on probation.

Sac-Joaquin Section school district said at the time that while it "understood that the postponement of interscholastic athletics" was "frustrating," it expected all schools to follow the rules set forth by the governor's office.

Commissioner Michael Garrison called the shutdown a "public safety issue" and expressed disappointment that the schools did not follow directives.

Stone Ridge is reportedly seeking counsel for the volleyball debacle from Alliance Defending Freedom.

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