The president of the United States spent his Tuesday morning publicly harassing a 16-year-old high school junior. Her only crime? The talented student athlete won two California Interscholastic Federation titles in the girls’ long jump and triple jump at the Southern Section finals held Saturday and is now entitled to compete in the state finals in Clovis, May 30-31.

In a Truth Social post, President Donald Trump threatened to withhold federal funding to the entire state of California if any transgender female student athlete is allowed to compete in the upcoming state finals for track and field.

“California, under the leadership of Radical Left Democrat Gavin Newsom, continues to ILLEGALLY allow ‘MEN TO PLAY IN WOMEN’S SPORTS,’” Trump posted Tuesday morning. “This week, a transitioned Male athlete, at a major event, won ‘everything,’ and is now qualified to compete in the ‘State Finals’ next weekend.”

Trump said he would talk to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who in March said on his podcast that he believes it is “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to participate in women’s sports. Meanwhile, Trump said he would order “local authorities, if necessary, to not allow the transitional person to compete in the State Finals.”

It is disgusting when school boards target transgender kids and when parents catcall, boo or slander a trans child from the stands or social media — but it is particularly despicable when America’s young people are degraded from the Oval Office. It is anti-transgender rhetoric dressed up as a concern for women’s sports when these same people clearly couldn’t care less about the struggles of being a female athlete.

Moreover, no boy athlete would willingly take hormone-altering drugs to change their gender so that they could compete and maybe win in girls’ interscholastic and collegiate sports.

Women’s sports are an athletic pursuit that is so deeply underappreciated and underfunded that, barely more than 50 years ago, the situation was so dire it necessitated a federal law to ensure women had the same access to sports programs as men: Title IX.

CIF decision makes best of bad situation

The California Interscholastic Federation announced that it will name three first-place winners at their event, which will allow cisgender student athletes a place in field events while still allowing transgender athletes to fully compete and medal.

“Under this pilot entry process, any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section’s automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve the CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet, was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF State Track and Field Championships,” the organization said in a statement.

“The CIF believes this pilot entry process achieves the participation opportunities we seek to afford our student-athletes.” The CIF’s decision to allow three winners in each event came before Trump’s Truth Social post.

Newsom’s office applauded the plan.

“CIF’s proposed pilot is a reasonable, respectful way to navigate a complex issue without compromising competitive fairness — a model worth pursuing. The governor is encouraged by this thoughtful approach,” wrote Izzy Gardon, a spokesperson for Newsom.

Trans athlete controversies in California

The issue of trans athletes at the state track and field meet is not new.

In 2023, two transgender long-distance runners did not show up to compete following backlash over their qualifications. The CIF expressed disappointment at that time and issued a statement denouncing “discriminatory or harassing behaviors that impact our student-athletes’ opportunities to participate in interscholastic competitions.”

But this time is different: Now, it’s the president who is attempting to bully California into retracting statewide laws that protect transgender students.

Nor is this the first time he has used such a tactic. The president suspended child nutrition funding to the state of Maine over a policy that allowed transgender athletes to compete in events that matched their gender identity (he ultimately restored funding earlier this month after the state dropped a lawsuit against his administration).

But in California’s K-12 public school system, there are 5.8 million students, and the number of active transgender student-athletes is estimated to be in the single digits. Among the nearly 510,000 student-athletes in the NCAA, only about 10 are transgender.

“You’re talking about a very small number of people, a very small number of athletes and my responsibility is to address the pressing issues of our time. And this, I think, has been colored in and weaponized by the right to be 10 times, 100 times bigger than it is, and so my focus is on a myriad of other issues in this state,” Newsom said at a press conference on April 2.

Trump persecutes 16-year-old student

The California girl targeted by the president in a threat posted on social media on Tuesday is, according to accounts, just 16 years old.

This girl is a minor. Despite this, her name has been used widely in media outlets that often protect the identities of minors, including those accused of crimes.

She simply desires to live her life as a girl, and she deserves her opportunity to compete in high school track and field. But for this accomplishment, she was singled out publicly by her president.

Our McClatchy editorial boards, comprising opinion journalists at The Sacramento Bee, The Fresno Bee and The San Luis Obispo Tribune, won’t identify the girl by name. Not just because she is a minor, but because, as a human being, she deserves more consideration than she is currently being afforded.

She also deserves more from her president, her country, her state and her community.

When this student and other student athletes compete at the CIF Track and Field finals this week, they will have to put aside the loud intolerance of their president and the adults around them and focus on their athletic goals. Those who win will not only be the fastest or strongest, it will be be the students who focus on sportsmanship, ethics and integrity.

We hope that President Trump someday learns what those words mean.

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