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A girls’ high school volleyball team in California will have two additional games scratched from its schedule this week after other schools decided to forfeit, stoking an already inflammatory controversy over a transgender player on the team.

Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball coach Liana Manu told parents of her players that the next two games would not take place following forfeits by other teams, one of which was later confirmed by a parent to Fox News Digital. Maribel Munoz, whose daughter has been on the volleyball team with Hernandez for three years, verified the development in a text to the outlet. The forfeits involved matchups with Rim of the World High School, scheduled for Aug. 25, and Orange Vista High School on Aug. 29.

The Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD) later stated to local media on the developments, asserting that it had not called for any of the forfeits. “We understand and acknowledge the disappointment of our Jurupa Valley High School athletes who are ready and prepared to play. Decisions to cancel matches were made by teams in other districts,” the district statement read. Jurupa Valley Unified’s statement also noted that California law bars discrimination against students based on gender identity, and “California Education Code 221.5 (f) requires schools to allow students to participate on athletic teams that are consistent with their gender identity.” This position, the statement noted, is also supported by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

“We are proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride,” the statement continued, with the district saying that it was working to reschedule games so that the players could continue to compete.

Jurupa Valley’s forfeits are the latest in a series following a decision by Riverside Poly High School to not play a match that was scheduled for Aug. 15 against Jurupa Valley, which was subsequently forfeited. Both the parents of players on the Jurupa Valley team and a local school board member told Fox News Digital that the decision was over the participation of the team’s transgender athlete, senior AB Hernandez.

Trans Athlete’s Mother Responds as Spotlight on Case Grows

In a statement to local media following the recent forfeits, Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, urged people to be kind to her daughter. “I understand the discomfort some may feel, because I was once there, too. The difference is, I chose to learn, to grow, and to open my heart,” she said.

Hernandez also noted in her statement that her daughter “is a petite girl” and that while she might be small in stature, it is not her size that separates her from other girls on the team, but her ability. “This is a child, and I can assure you that she sees your daughters as peers, as teammates, as friends, not through a lens of anything inappropriate,” she said. Hernandez also said her daughter, who was with her when both she and the school district made statements, did not even know that the two recent forfeits were about her.

The controversy over Hernandez’s participation in girls’ volleyball, however, is not the first time she has come under national scrutiny. Last spring, Hernandez won two California state track and field championships, one in the long jump and one in the triple jump. The victories came under protest by female athletes and their parents at the event. Many were seen wearing shirts that said “Save Girls’ Sports.” The controversy around the victories even drew a statement from former President Donald Trump, who took to Truth Social before the state finals to urge California not to allow a trans athlete to compete, though the former president did not mention Hernandez by name.

In July, the U.S. Department of Justice also filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over policies that allow transgender athletes to play on girls’ teams. This came even as Trump, in an executive order in February, attempted to ban such participation.

Hernandez, a senior who is in her last year playing high school volleyball, should be focused on one thing right now: playing. Instead, the season is quickly being defined by forfeits and an increasingly sharp community divide.

Munoz, the Jurupa Valley parent whose daughter has played alongside Hernandez for the past three years, expressed frustration with how the situation has developed. “It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” she said.

The sparring has extended to local school board meetings as well. At a recent Riverside Unified School District board meeting, parents on both sides were allowed to speak, with one group supporting the Riverside Poly girls and parents for refusing to play, and others speaking on behalf of transgender students’ right to play.

During that meeting, Nereyda Hernandez lambasted Riverside board member Amanda Vickers for previously speaking to Fox News Digital about the forfeit. “You actually entertained and welcomed harassment to my child. You welcome these people to a public forum and actually allowed them to attack my child. You are a board member. You have an oath to protect, to support all children, not just the ones that fit your ideas, your beliefs,” she said.

She accused opponents of the trans athlete of being part of “organized anti-trans hate groups” whose aim was not protecting fairness in sports but to sow fear and divide parents from one another, often in the name of religion. “This has nothing to do with fairness in sports and everything to do with erasing transgender children,” she said.

But others, like Maria Carrillo, another Riverside Poly parent, took the opposite view, saying in support of the girls who were supposed to play in the forfeited match. “Poly girls, we stand with you. Keep fighting, because these parents who support their confused child are the problem,” she said.

Jurupa Valley’s girls’ volleyball team season is set to run until the middle of October, with more forfeits a possibility. Caught in the middle are athletes who just want to play, and a national controversy that is showing no signs of abating.

Trump, earlier this month, put a renewed focus on California. In a Truth Social post, the former president singled out Newsom and other California school districts, warning that if they did not comply with his administration’s transgender policies, they would be shut out of federal funding.