Sonja Shaw, a candidate for California state superintendent and president of the Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education, was removed from a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section Council meeting on Thursday after making an unplanned speech about transgender athletes competing in girls’ sports.
Shaw mentioned to OutKick that she was asked to leave the meeting in Long Beach, which officials claimed was due to her trespassing. Although police were called, Shaw noted that the officers were “very nice” and did not need to take any further action.
Video footage shared with OutKick depicted Shaw addressing the council’s members and confronting them over the issue. “I’m here on the front lines to protect our girls and their sports,” Shaw stated during her interruption. She mentioned that she had never previously had the chance to speak to the group.
The council’s agenda listed a public hearing session where speakers could address the council for three minutes each. Shaw indicated that she had arrived at 9:07 a.m. and had requested multiple times for the issue of transgender athlete participation to be included in the agenda.
“If you think it’s okay for a boy to play against our girls in sports, this is happening,” she asserted. “You are the representatives who need to act.” Shaw urged them to stop deferring to state law, emphasizing that federal law takes precedence.
When an official called for a short recess, Shaw continued to speak. “Are any of you okay with this?” she challenged. As officials approached her, asking her to exit, she told them to call the police for assistance.
Shaw, while being led out, encouraged those who supported her viewpoint to stand up, noting, “So we have one guy in the room that’s willing to fight for our girls,” after one individual appeared to rise in support.
She accused the CIF of neglecting to address the requests of female athletes who reached out to her for help. “We begged you to put it on the agenda,” she stated, adding, “You’ve received my emails.”
Shaw expressed frustration, painting a picture of inaction from the council, and concluded her remarks by saying, “I don’t care about losing votes. The point is, none of you are willing to do anything.”
The situation escalated amid ongoing disputes between California’s regulations on transgender athletes and federal law. State law mandates that students can compete in sex-segregated sports in line with their gender identity, and CIF’s policies align with this requirement.
The former Trump administration contended that these rules violate Title IX by permitting biological males to participate in female sports, leading to a lawsuit against the California Department of Education and CIF. However, a federal judge dismissed the case, ruling that the California officials did not have clear notice that excluding transgender athletes was necessary for receiving federal funding. The Justice Department is currently contemplating an appeal.
The matter has garnered national attention, notably when transgender athlete AB Hernandez competed in the girls’ division during the state track championships. Although CIF introduced a special process to allow an additional biological female athlete to advance and win a medal when competing against a transgender athlete, critics, including Shaw, argued this did not fully resolve fairness concerns.
Shaw has centered her campaign on parental rights and protections for female athletes. After advancing from the June primary, she is set to face Richard Barrera from the San Diego Unified School District in the upcoming election for state superintendent of public instruction.
As of now, CIF has not made any comments regarding the incident.
