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A California girls’ high school volleyball team has lost at least two more games to forfeits, escalating an increasingly bitter dispute over a transgender athlete on its roster.

Maribel Munoz, the mother of a Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball player, confirmed the forfeits to Fox News Digital on Thursday. The athlete’s coach, Liana Manu, had earlier alerted parents that two matches were on the chopping block. The forfeits were against Rim of the World High School for an August 25 matchup and Orange Vista High School on August 29.

The Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD) released a statement to say that it was not behind the forfeits, calling them the “right decision” for the other schools and players. “We understand and acknowledge the disappointment of our Jurupa Valley High School athletes who are ready and prepared to play. Decisions to cancel matches were made by teams in other districts,” the statement read.

District officials noted that the school is following California law that forbids discrimination against students for their gender identity. “California Education Code 221.5 (f) states that schools shall permit and facilitate students to ‘participate on athletic teams that are consistent with their gender identity,’” the statement continued. The district officials said that their guidance reflects the position of California Attorney General Rob Bonta and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond.

“We are proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride,” the statement added. District officials also said they were making efforts to reschedule games, so the volleyball players do not have to lose time in their season.

Riverside Poly High School recently forfeited an August 15 game against Jurupa Valley, and both parents of athletes on the team and a local school board member told Fox News Digital that they took the step in light of the transgender player on the roster.

AB Hernandez is a senior on the team who was born male but identifies as female and has been allowed to compete as a girl this season. Parents have been closely following her family to see what impact the forfeits have on them. Mother of three, Nereyda Hernandez, stated in response to the growing controversy.

“I understand the discomfort some may feel, because I was once there, too. The difference is, I chose to learn, to grow, and to open my heart,” she said.

She also described her daughter as “petite” and said that what sets her apart is not her size or strength. “This is a child, and I can assure you that she sees your daughters as peers, as teammates, as friends, not through a lens of anything inappropriate,” Hernandez explained. She said her daughter was not even aware of the forfeits, which she learned about from her parents.

Transgender athletes have drawn attention from the current administration, as Hernandez did last spring. She earned two state titles in California at the CIF state track and field finals: the long jump and triple jump. Female athletes and their parents took issue, some wearing shirts that read “Save Girls’ Sports” and objecting to what they felt were unfair matchups. Trump also drew attention to the competition, posting on Truth Social ahead of the state finals, saying he didn’t want California to allow “biological boys to destroy women’s sports,” though he did not mention Hernandez by name.

In July, the Biden Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over its policies that allow transgender students to participate in girls’ sports. This was after Trump, in February, had signed an executive order banning the practice.

The last high school season for Hernandez could have been all about playing volleyball, but instead, the early weeks of the season are being defined by forfeits, and parents on both sides have been made the subject of negative attention from the other side.

Munoz, the Jurupa Valley parent whose daughter has been playing with Hernandez since third grade, shared how she has been feeling with Fox News Digital. “It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” she said.

Parents have been confronting one another in school board meetings as well. During a recent Riverside Unified School District meeting, parents have gone on both sides, with some commending Riverside Poly athletes for refusing to play, and others standing up for the transgender player’s right to participate.