How to treat transgender athletes on the high school and collegiate level has been a national issue and the matter hit home last week in Porterville.
The Bakersfield Californian reported that the Granite Hills girls soccer team forfeited its game against Mira Monte last week because Mira Monte had a transgender player on its team.
The game was played on Thursday at Rankin Stadium. Joseph Jaay Galeas is a senior who plays goalie for Mira Monte.
Galeas supplied the Californian with an incident report from Martin Velazquez, who was the referee for the game that stated: “During halftime at 6:45 pm the Granite Hills coach approached me with concerns regarding the goalkeeper of the visiting team. The coaches from Granite Hills and Mira Monte talked and the Granite Hills coach stated they did not want to play any further.”
Galeas’ gender assignment was female at birth, but he began transitioning to being a male at the beginning of this year. The Californian reported Galeas has been going by Jaay since January.
He also told the Californian he was being heckled by the crowd, constantly referring to if he was a “guy.”
The Californian reported Velazquez gave Galeas a yellow card for arguing a call right before halftime. Galeas said at that point the crowd called to “get that guy off the field.”
With Mira Monte leading 1-0, Granite Hills decided to forfeit the game at halftime.
Galeas said there had been no issue with him playing for a girls team until the Granite Hills game. He said he’s been playing on the girls soccer team since his freshman year and his appearance has always been the same.
“I don’t think those coaches deserve to continue coaching if they’re going to question someone’s gender on the field,” Galeas wrote in an Instagram message to the Californian. “It shouldn’t matter to them especially as a coach and as an adult.”
CIF Central Section officials have been in contact with both schools over the incident.
The Porterville Unified School District issued the following statement: “During last evening’s girls soccer match between Mira Monte High and Granite Hills High there was a question raised at halftime over the eligibility of a Mira Monte player. Granite Hills players decided they did not want to play the second half. After a conference with officials and coaches, Granite Hills elected to forfeit the game.
“Porterville Unified School District adheres to the same guidelines as presented by the California Interscholastic Federation in terms of sportsmanship as well as the overall safety for all student-athletes.”
THE CIF does state, “Student athletes should not be asked for proof of gender.”
The California Education Code essentially allows for transgender male athletes who have transitioned to female to compete on girls teams as it allows transgender athletes to compete based solely on their gender identity.
But Galeas’ situation is unique as he is competing as a male on a girls team.
Galeas said he considered playing on the boys team this year but feels more comfortable playing girls soccer since he’s been playing girls soccer since he was 6.
The Kern High School District policy states a student shall be permitted to join a team consistent with their gender identity and the district can create special privacy accommodations for students but the “district shall not require a student to utilize these options because the student is transgender or gender-nonconforming.”
Galeas told the Californian he’s used to getting looks and comments but not to the level of what he experienced at Granite Hills.
“I’m not going to stop who I am or stop being who I am,” Galeas wrote to the Californian.
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