Happy New Year 2025

Tag: Families

California families celebrate Trump administration’s probe into state’s refusal to follow trans athlete order

President Donald Trump’s Department of Education plans to investigate California’s public school athletic association, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), for not complying with his executive order to ban transgender athletes from girls sports.

The California Family Council (CFC) praised the decision.

“The California Family Council celebrates the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to launch a Title IX investigation into the CIF for its role in allowing males to compete in girls sports,” the statement said.

“For too long, CIF has turned a blind eye to the concerns of female athletes, parents and coaches, prioritizing radical gender ideology over fairness, safety and the integrity of women’s athletics. This investigation is a crucial step toward restoring justice in high school sports.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Students at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, Calif., wear T-shirts that say “Save Girls Sports” to protest a transgender athlete on the cross-country team. (Courtesy of Sophia Lorey)

CFC Outreach Director Sophia Lorey said the Trump administration’s intervention has made her cry “tears of joy.”

“As a four-year CIF varsity athlete and a three-year captain, I have been fighting for all girls to have the same athletic opportunities I had,” Lorey said. “CIF’s policies have undermined decades of hard-fought victories for female athletes, and it’s time for them to answer for the harm they’ve caused. CIF has ignored these injustices for too long, and we hope this investigation will finally force them to put the safety and fairness of girls over the feelings of confused boys.”

Lorey has advocated for girls affected by transgender athlete inclusion in California for three years.

Lorey intervened at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, in the fall, when a national controversy erupted over a transgender athlete who took a varsity spot from a girls’ cross-country runner.

TEEN GIRLS OPEN UP ON TRANS ATHLETE SCANDAL THAT TURNED THEIR HIGH SCHOOL INTO A CULTURE WAR BATTLEGROUND

That girl, Taylor Starling, then took matters into her own hands when she and teammate Kaitlyn Slavin made T-shirts that said “Save GIrls Sports” and started wearing them to school. They then filed a lawsuit against the school district when administrators allegedly scolded them for wearing the shirts and compared them to swastikas.

Starling’s father, Ryan Starling, expressed his gratitude to the Trump administration for taking action to investigate the state’s defiance of the recent executive order.

“Our family can’t thank President Trump enough. We are so excited to see common sense prevailing. This has been a long-fought battle for so many people on so many fronts. The battle is not over in the state of California, but each day we are moving a step closer because of so many courageous people like Taylor and Kaitlyn,” Ryan Starling told Fox News Digital.

Even school administrators who work within the jurisdiction of the CIF are celebrating the DOE’s investigation.

Transgender athlete supporter Kyle Harp, left, of Riverside, holds a pride flag as “Save Girls Sports” supporters Lori Lopez and her father, Pete Pickering, listen to debate over the rights of transgender athletes outside the Riverside Unified School District Dec. 19, 2024. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Chino Unified School Board President Sonja Shaw told Fox News Digital she is calling for consequences for all the institutions that have allowed transgender athletes to participate in girls sports.

“As a mother of two CIF athletes, school board president and advocate for children, I have seen firsthand the devastating impact of these policies. Girls are being pushed aside, their safety is compromised and their opportunities are being stolen,” Shaw said.

“This investigation is a critical step in the right direction, but we need real, decisive action. CIF — and any entity that violates Title IX — must face consequences, including the withdrawal of funding.

“We warned you, CIF. Now, face the consequences.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Amber French, a women’s swimmer at California Baptist University, argued the CIF allowing transgender athletes to compete with girls will deprive biological female athletes of college opportunities and jeopardizes their safety.

“If you allow males to compete in female sports, less females will have the opportunity to go to CIF and swim in front of college coaches to get recruited,” French told Fox News Digital. “Allowing males who do not want to compete against their sex compete in female races takes away from all the hard-working female athletes. There are separate categories for a reason.

“This investigation is the first step to protect the integrity, safety and opportunities of female sports.”

The CIF told Fox News Digital it has been notified of the forthcoming investigation.

“While the CIF has been notified of the investigation, we do not comment on pending investigations,” a CIF spokesperson said.

Trump’s DOE will also be investigating Minnesota’s high school athletics association for refusing to comply with the executive order.

The DOE is also investigating San Jose State University, the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association for separate incidents involving transgender athletes competing on a women’s or girls sports team.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

February 13, 2025
Trump meets families of New Orleans terror attack victims, law enforcement officials ahead of Super Bowl LIX

President Donald Trump has made his Super Bowl debut, and one of his first priorities was to honor those who were killed in the Jan. 1 New Orleans terror attack.

Upon arriving at the Superdome on Sunday, Trump met with the families of multiple victims of the attack as well as members of the New Orleans Police Department and emergency personnel.

SIGN UP FOR TUBI AND STREAM SUPER BOWL LIX FOR FREE

President Donald Trump meets with the families of victims of the Jan. 1 terrorist attack as well as members of the New Orleans Police Department and emergency personnel before Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome. (James Lang-Imagn Images)

President Donald Trump poses with members of the New Orleans Police Department and emergency personnel before the start of the Super Bowl LIX. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

At least 14 people were killed in the Jan. 1 attack and 57 more were injured.

The 14 victims who were killed were 27-year-old former Princeton football player Tiger Bech, 26-year-old Drew Dauphin, 18-year-old Nikyra Dedeaux, 28-year-old single mother Nicole Perez, 37-year-old Reggie Hunter, 21-year-old Hubert Gauthreaux, Alabama student Kareem Bilal Badawi, 25-year-old Matthew Tenedorio, 25-year-old Billy DiMaio, 63-year-old Terrence Kennedy, 42-year-old Brandon Taylor, 40-year-old Elliot Wilkinson and 31-year-old Edward Pettifer.

The suspect in the attack was identified as 42-year-old Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. citizen from Texas and an Army veteran, who died after the attack in a firefight with police.

Some of the plaintiffs affected by the New Year’s terrorist attack on Bourbon Street in New Orleans have filed a civil negligence lawsuit against the city’s leadership and the private companies that were hired to consult the city about safety planning in the French Quarter.

The lawsuit has 21 plaintiffs, some of whom are family members of the deceased, others are survivors who were critically injured in the attack.

HOW TO WATCH SUPER BOWL LIX BETWEEN CHIEFS, EAGLES STREAMED ON TUBI

President Donald Trump visits the field before the start of Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Feb. 9, 2025. (ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

“New Orleans is forever changed by this tragedy, and we’ve seen countless people now alter their behavior and avoid Bourbon Street and even the City itself out of fear for their physical safety. Further, it’s impossible to quantify how many people now suffer crippling depression, anxiety and nightmares from what they saw and heard during that attack. It is impossible to quantify this tragedy’s astounding impact on our community,” Maples & Connick partner Aaron Maples said in a statement.

The attack, along with Trump’s presence, prompted major security protocol questions amid concerns of further danger to the Super Bowl.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the U.S. Secret Service’s approach for Sunday’s event in an interview with “Fox & Friends.”

“For this event, we’ve deployed many other assets as well. We’re obviously working with the local authorities, with the governor and with his agencies that he has that he’s detailed to this,” Noem said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

President Donald Trump gestures to the crowd before the start of the Super Bowl LIX. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

“But we have several different agencies under the Department of Homeland Security that have put hundreds of individuals, investigators and military police folks that are used to these kinds of crowd control and security operations in their other departments that are focused on today to make sure that this big event is going to be safe and that we’re going to make the right decisions in these situations that could arise and get everybody home safely.”

Noem also said DHS has regulations for the airspace regarding drone traffic as well as cybersecurity operations to monitor online activity.

“We will be utilizing different agencies and departments under the umbrella of Homeland Security, but President Trump has also made a commitment for us to be able to deploy other assets from other departments and agencies, and I appreciate the flexibility that he has given us to make sure that we’re addressing this even in a way that we see as responsive coming forward,” Noem said. “We’re grateful for that interagency support, and I believe that it is unprecedented.”

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry said he was deploying an additional 350 National Guard troops to support the federal effort.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

February 9, 2025
LGBTQ+ advocates, families sue Trump admin for ending funding of transgender healthcare under 19

A group of seven families, as well as LGBTQ+ advocates and medical organizations, have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration over an executive order to ban federal funding for transgender healthcare for individuals under the age of 19.

The lawsuit was filed in Baltimore federal court and seeks an immediate injunction to delay the implementation of Trump’s executive order from last week.

“Over the past week, hospitals across the country have abruptly halted medical care for transgender people under nineteen, canceling appointments and turning away some patients who have waited years to receive medically necessary care for gender dysphoria,” the lawsuit reads.

“This sudden shutdown in care was the direct and immediate result of an Executive Order that President Trump issued on January 28, 2025 — Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation — directing all federal agencies to ‘immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end gender-affirming medical care for people under nineteen (the “Denial of Care Order”).”

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDERS BANNING ‘RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY,’ DEI INITIATIVES IN THE MILITARY

A transgender rights supporter takes part in a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The denial of care order follows on the heels of another executive order Trump signed on Jan. 20, 2025, to defend women from gender ideology extremism and restore biological truth to the federal government.

The group of plaintiffs claims executive orders are unlawful and unconstitutional, saying the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse.

“The president does not have unilateral power to withhold federal funds that have been previously authorized by Congress and signed into law, and the President does not have the power to impose his own conditions on the use of funds when Congress has not delegated to him the power to do so,” the lawsuit reads. “President Trump’s directives to cut off funding have had concrete and immediate effects. Hospitals across the country, including those that have provided medical care to the Transgender Plaintiffs, have ended the provision of ongoing and essential gender-affirming medical care to transgender patients under nineteen because of the Executive Orders.”

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH SAYS ‘NO MORE DEI AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE’: ‘NO EXCEPTIONS’

The lawsuit is the latest to come out of Trump’s recently signed executive orders relating to gender.

The executive orders, signed in late January, include a reinstatement of the ban on transgender troops in the military, a ban on federal funding for sex changes for minors and a directive requiring federal agencies to recognize only “two sexes,” male and female, in official standard of conduct.

“This ban betrays fundamental American values of equal opportunity and judging people on their merit,” Jennifer Levi, director of Transgender and Queer Rights at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law), said in a statement about the trans military ban.

CRACKING DOWN ON TRANS TROOPS: TRUMP ORDER NIXES PREFERRED PRONOUNS, RESTRICTS FACILITY USE

A transgender pride flag. (Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images)

GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) were among the first groups to file a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration for its military ban. The lawsuit, Talbott v. Trump, was brought forward on equal protection grounds by six active-duty service members and two individuals attempting to enlist, according to the groups’ announcement.

The plaintiffs include a Sailor of the Year honoree, a Bronze Star recipient and several who were awarded meritorious service medals. They were identified as U.S. Army Reservist Lt. Nicolas Talbott, Army Maj. Erica Vandal, Army Sgt. 1st Class Kate Cole, Army Capt. Gordon Herrero, Navy Ensign Dany Danridge, Air Force Master Sgt. Jamie Hash, and Koda Nature and Cael Neary. The latter two are civilians who are seeking to enlist in the military.

Another lawsuit, filed by a transgender inmate receiving taxpayer-funded medical treatment, is challenging Trump’s executive order that ends medical transgender treatments — such as hormones, sex changes and grooming accommodations — for federal prisoners.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The unnamed inmate, who goes by “Maria Moe” in court documents and is represented by GLAD Law, NCLR and Lowenstein Sandler LLP, is claiming Trump and the Bureau of Prisons are violating the Fifth and Eighth amendments and claims to be “at imminent risk of losing access to the medical care she needs to treat her gender dysphoria.”

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.

February 4, 2025
Families sue California AG over trans athlete law after girl loses varsity spot to transgender competitor

The families of two teenage girls are suing California Attorney General Rob Bonta over the state’s laws that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls sports.

A lawsuit was filed by Ryan Starling, the father of Taylor Starling; Daniel and Cynthia Slavin, the parents to Kaitlyn Slavin; and Save Girls Sports, according to court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The listed defendants are Bonta and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, along with the Riverside Unified School district and administrators Leann Iacuone and Amanda Chann.

SIGN UP FOR TUBI AND STREAM SUPER BOWL LIX FOR FREE

A gender-neutral bathroom at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, Calif. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)

The suit challenges a law in California that allows transgender athletes to compete against girls and women, claiming it is a Title IX violation.

The law, AB 1266, has been in effect since 2014, giving California students at scholastic and collegiate levels the right to “participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.”

“This law conflicts with federal Title IX protections, which were established to ensure fairness, safety, and equal opportunities for female students and athletes,” a spokesperson for Advocates for Faith & Freedom, the legal firm representing the families, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

HOW TO WATCH SUPER BOWL LIX BETWEEN CHIEFS, EAGLES STREAMED ON TUBI

Students at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, Calif., wear T-shirts that say “Save Girls Sports” to protest a transgender athlete on the cross country team. (Courtesy of Sophia Lorey)

“AB 1266 undermines female athletes, forcing them to compete against biological males who hold undeniable physical advantages. This is not equality. This is an assault on fairness and safety.”

The lawsuit, recently amended to include Bonta and Thurmond, was initially filed in November by the Starling and Slavin families.

It alleges Taylor Starling lost her spot on the varsity cross country team at Martin Luther King High School to a transgender athlete who had just transferred to the school. Starling and Slavin also alleged that when they wore shirts that said “Save Girls Sports” in protest, they were scolded by administrators who compared the shirts to swastikas.

The plaintiffs are looking to bring statewide change to California.

“Plaintiffs seek a federal ruling that AB 1266 violates Title IX as well as a decision holding the District accountable for violating their First Amendment rights. They demand injunctive relief to stop schools from forcing biological girls to compete with and against males, a judgment affirming sex-based protections in athletics and compensation for damages caused by these discriminatory policies,” the Advocates for Faith & Freedom spokesperson said.

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

Transgender athlete supporters hold up signs at left as Tori Hitchcock, center, of the Young Women for America, and Salomay McCullough, right, show off their “Save Girls Sports” shirts. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Ryan Starling previously told Fox News Digital the loss of his daughter’s varsity spot disrupted his entire family emotionally, because cross country played a pivotal role in her life. And then when his daughter and other girls on the team confronted their school administrators about it, he claims, they were told “transgenders have more rights than cisgenders.”

“It’s been told multiple times to not just Taylor, but her sister,” Ryan Starling said, adding that Taylor is one of three triplets, and all three are active on varsity sports teams. “All the administrators at Martin Luther King have stated this comment, and the Title IX coordinator for the Riverside Unified School District has stated ‘that as a Cisgender girl, they do not have the same rights as a transgender girl’ to multiple girls, not just our daughters, but multiple girls on campus.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

An RUSD spokesperson declined to give an official comment on Ryan Starling’s claims in a conversation with Fox News Digital.

The RUSD previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital insisting that its handling of the situation has been in accordance with California state law.

“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,” the statement said.

Dan Slavin previously told Fox News Digital his family may continue to raise awareness of this issue 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.”

California State Assemblymember Kate Sanchez announced in early January she is introducing a bill to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports.

Sanchez, a Republican, will propose the Protect Girls’ Sports Act to the state legislature. Currently, 25 states have similar laws in effect.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

February 1, 2025