Ted Cruz condemns women who made gestures at girls sports protesters

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, reshared a photo on X of two California residents who appeared to give malicious gestures to teenage girls protesting to “Save Girls’ Sports” at a high school volleyball game Wednesday night. 

Cruz condemned the two women in a post Friday. 

“If you do this to little girls, your heart has turned entirely dark,” Cruz wrote. 

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Jurupa Valley players Hadeel Hazameh (left) and Alyssa McPherson, who filed a lawsuit against the Jurupa Unified School District to protest transgender player AB Hernandez, watch during a CIF Southern Section Division 5 girls volleyball playoff match against Valencia Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Placentia, Calif. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)

The original photo was taken by California Family Council Outreach Director Sophia Lorey at a state playoff game that included a biological male trans athlete competing. 

The trans athlete’s team, Jurupa Valley High School, lost in straight sets to Valencia High School. JVHS was bracketed into the match after finishing as co-champion of its league after at least 10 matches were forfeited this season amid a national controversy involving the trans athlete. 

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Fans of Jurupa Valley pose during a CIF Southern Section Division 5 girls volleyball playoff match against Valencia Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Placentia, Calif.  (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)

Two of Jurupa Valley’s senior players, Hadeel Hazameh and Alyssa McPherson, were in the stands protesting with other girls after stepping away from the team in September. 

McPherson and Hazameh filed a lawsuit against the Jurupa Unified School District, citing their experience with the trans athlete on the court and in the locker room. 

Multiple sources, including board Trustee Leandra Blades at the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, which houses Valencia High School, confirmed to Fox News Digital that at least one of Valencia’s players did not take the court on Wednesday to avoid facing Hernandez. 

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The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) and California Department of Education for refusing to change its transgender eligibility policies to comply with President Donald Trump’s “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order. 

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