A teenager claims his life took a turn for the worse after he opted not to change in the same locker room as his transgender volleyball teammate. This choice, he asserts, contributed to her decision to leave sports entirely.
Hadeel Hazameh, a former volleyball player at Jurupa Valley High School, described the last few years as traumatizing. To escape negative interactions, she hastily completed her studies and graduated just last month, eager to avoid her critics.
Due to this turmoil, she has opted out of playing volleyball or participating in track and field this spring. Last year, the school had gained notoriety when transgender athlete AB Hernandez secured state championships in both high jump and triple jump.
“I was really looking forward to track and field… I really miss volleyball,” Hazameh shared in an interview.
Last September, Hazameh stepped away from volleyball in protest and soon joined a lawsuit against the school district, spearheaded by Advocates for Faith and Freedom.
In conversations with reporters, Hazameh expressed her long-held belief that men shouldn’t compete in women’s sports, which aligns with her Islamic values that also discourage being in shared spaces with biological males.
After leaving the volleyball team, she noted that most of her teammates, apart from her co-plaintiff Alyssa McPherson, stopped associating with her.
“Once I made it clear that I didn’t support biological males in women’s sports, everyone distanced themselves from me,” Hazameh recounted.
She mentioned feeling isolated, stating, “The only friend I have is Alyssa. Honestly, I’m okay with that. I don’t need many friends, just those who understand me.”
However, Hazameh also reported receiving threats, including death threats. “I’ve encountered very harsh remarks. I recall someone shouting something threatening as I walked to class. I reported it, but the school did nothing,” she explained.
“They asked me what they were supposed to do. I said, ‘Someone told me to die.’ Can you believe that?” she reflected.
Last year, Jurupa Valley High School came under scrutiny from President Trump due to Hernandez’s achievements in athletics.
The environment escalated when opponents began canceling volleyball games in the fall. This situation, combined with Trump’s remarks, stimulated widespread media attention on the school, which serves approximately 1,600 students.
In response to concerns about fairness in sports, the Trump administration expanded its investigation into California’s policies enabling biological males to compete in women’s sports, arguing this contravenes Title IX and discriminates against female athletes.
In February 2025, Trump signed an executive order aiming to prohibit transgender girls and women from participating on female sports teams and authorize withholding federal funding from non-compliant schools and athletic programs.
Currently, the Department of Education’s inquiry encompasses 18 school districts and universities nationwide, according to federal officials.
