Christian School May Face Punishment for Protecting Its Student-Athletes

“We do not believe sex is changeable and we do not intend to participate in events that send a different message.”

That’s the courageous message Stone Ridge Christian School sent when its girls’ volleyball team decided to stand for truth and reject the lies of gender ideology.

This small school in California’s Central Valley—around 450 kids from pre-K through 12th grade—sent shockwaves through the nation when it chose to forfeit a state playoff game and end its season prematurely.

After learning that its opponent, San Francisco Waldorf, had a male player on the girls’ team, the school knew that it was faced with both a heartbreaking choice and an opportunity to emphatically declare that its beliefs were more than mere words.

How could this happen?

In 2013, long before the subject of male athletes in women’s sports had reached mainstream news coverage, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) changed its bylaws to permit male students to play on girls’ teams.

That irresponsible change set the stage for what would happen 11 years later, in a state girls’ volleyball playoff tournament.

Between those two events, however, as everyday people became more aware of the harms that countless young women have endured, public sentiment began to shift.

By 2023, nearly 70 percent of Americans agreed that male athletes should not be allowed to complete in women’s sports.

Now that video has recorded high-profile athletes like University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas—a male athlete competing in women’s swimming events—smashing records and winning trophies, the absurdity of pretending that male athletes don’t have inherent physical advantages is clearer than ever.

And now that athletes like swimmer Riley Gaines, track athlete Adaleia Cross, and volleyball player Payton McNabb have stood up to tell their stories, it’s clear that gender ideology is leaving victims in its wake.

• Riley Gaines lost a trophy to Thomas after having to endure the humiliation of undressing in the same locker room as the male athlete. No one stood up for Riley at the time.
• Adaleia Cross, an ADF client, was taunted by the male athlete on her girls’ track team, who told her that she just needed to “work harder.” Despite her parents’ protest, school officials dismissed their concerns.
• Payton McNabb was struck by a hard spike from a male athlete, knocking her unconscious and causing severe brain damage that partially paralyzed her right side. No one was held accountable.

For the coaches, athletes, and administration at Stone Ridge Christian, it would have been more than enough to cite the examples of Riley, Adaleia, or Payton to justify forfeiting their match against a team with a male athlete.

But school leaders did better than that. They went directly to the heart of the issue and stood for the bedrock truth that we are all created in God’s image either male or female.

The school’s statement was enough to garner the attention and admiration of people like Gaines, who has become well known for her advocacy on behalf of women’s sports. Gaines even traveled to the school to honor the team for their courage and sacrifice.

How we’re standing for truth

Let’s not forget: this never should have happened in the first place. And the team and school could still face severe sanction or punishment from the CIF.

Forcing the girls’ team to compete against a male unquestionably violated the school’s religious belief that God created each of us either male or female.

As a Christian school, Stone Ridge Christian will always stand for biblical truth and what is right. Girls must compete against girls in girls’ sports for fairness, safety, and truth.

But the issue clearly goes well beyond this small school or even the CIF. That’s why ADF attorneys have been on the leading edge of efforts to protect women’s sports for years.

We’re representing Mid Vermont Christian School, which is currently barred from participating in its state’s sports league because of its religious beliefs. The state is unlawfully requiring Mid Vermont Christian to adopt the government’s view on human sexuality and gender—namely, that sex is mutable and biological differences do not matter.

And right now, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to potentially consider a pair of cases that could lead to a landmark decision protecting the fundamental rights of every female athlete.

Alongside leaders in West Virginia and Idaho, we’re helping safeguard state laws that were created to protect athletes like Lainey Armistead, a former collegiate soccer player, and Madison Kenyon and Mary Kate Marshall, former collegiate track and field athletes.

As Stone Ridge Christian’s courageous action demonstrates, standing for truth matters. While we should rightfully laud this school’s example, we must continue to work to ensure that no team has to make a choice between ending its season with a forfeit and denying the truth while endangering its athletes.

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