Parents at a high school in California have claimed their daughter was told that ‘transgenders have more rights than cisgenders’ after she lost a spot on the varsity cross country team to a transgender transfer student.
Ryan Starling, the father of Taylor Starling who lost her place on the team, has claimed the loss has ‘disrupted his entire family emotionally’ and has now started legal proceedings against the school district over the controversy.
Multiple parents at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, have also voiced their opposition to the decision and have claimed the athlete was allowed to compete despite missing practices for academic reasons.
Mr Starling told Fox News: The fact that the athlete was able to compete while attending less than 25 per cent of the practices is not fair. In what era, on what team, in what sport can you barely show up to practice and still compete?’
Fellow concerned parent Dan Slavin – whose daughter Kaitlyn Slavin is also on the team – described the decision as ‘not fair and not right’.
Both Fathers are currently engaged in a lawsuit against the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD).
Mr Starling claimed when Taylor and other girls on the team confronted the school administrators about the decision they were allegedly told ‘transgenders have more rights than cisgenders’.
He also claimed that the Title IX coordinator for RUSD stated ‘that as a cisgender girl, they do not have the same rights as a transgender girl’.
Taylor Sterling (left) with fellow student Kaitlyn Slavin (right). Both girls found themselves involved in a transgender row at their California high school after Taylor lost her spot on the the varsity cross country team.
Taylor and Kaitlyn were allegedly confronted by staff at school for wearing t shirts which read ‘save girls sport’. According to their father’s lawsuit against the school district, the girls’ t shirts were allegedly compared to swastikas
The row at the school has only intensified after Taylor and Kaitlyn wore t-shirts to school in November which read ‘save girls sport’.
The girls were allegedly confronted by the high school about the t-shirts where they were allegedly compared to swastikas.
After more and more pupils started to show up for school wearing the slogan, administrators tried to come to grips with the issues by changing the dress code and handing out detentions.
However by last month the school had given up efforts to discipline students after more than 400 students across the district allegedly wore the t-shirts.
At the same time, Taylor also successfully secured a spot back on the varsity team, much to the glee of her family, after she beat the transgender athlete by almost three seconds in a recent competition.
Despite the support from some fellow classmates. The students have faced opposition from transgender activists who were protesting outside a recent RUSD school board meeting on December 19.
Incoming President Donald Trump has promised to ban trans athletes from competing in women’s sport.
The House has also said it will bring about Title IX revisions that would only allow athletes to compete in the gender category that they were assigned at birth.
Martin Luther King High School (pictured) where students claim the school administrators allegedly told them ‘transgenders have more rights than cisgenders’ in a row over the decision to allow a transgender athlete to join the varsity cross country team
However, the battle at Martin Luther High School could continue to rage on after Democratic Governor of California Gavin Newsom previously vowed to resist any changes imposed by the new administration.
MailOnline have approached RUSD for a comment.
In a previous statement to Fox News, RUSD said: ‘While these rules were not created by RUSD, the District is committed to complying with the law and CIF regulations.
‘California state law prohibits discrimination of students based on gender, gender identity and gender expression, and specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in physical education and athletics.
‘The protections we provide to all students are not only aligned with the law but also with our core values which include equity and well-being.’
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