A California girls’ high school volleyball team has had at least two more games forfeited after opposing teams withdrew from competition, fueling a growing controversy over the presence of a transgender player on its roster.

Maribel Munoz, mother of a Jurupa Valley High School volleyball player, confirmed to Fox News Digital that her daughter’s team would be impacted by at least two additional forfeits after learning of the development from the girls’ team coach, Liana Manu, in a meeting with parents. The forfeited games include those against Rim of the World High School and Orange Vista High School, originally scheduled for Aug. 25 and Aug. 29, respectively.

Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD), in a statement on the most recent forfeits, said it was “disappointed and upset by the decisions made by athletes and adults in other districts” and that “these were not the reasons” for its teams’ forfeits. “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 continued.

JUSD said it had a responsibility to follow California law. “We are also guided by and required to follow the law, including California Education Code 221.5 (f), which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and which explicitly requires that schools allow students to participate on athletic teams consistent with their gender identity,” the statement read, adding that California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state superintendent of public instruction Tony Thurmond had also been “clear” in their guidance.

“We are proud of our JVHS Jaguars and their willingness to play any team and represent their school and our district with pride,” the district concluded, saying it was attempting to reschedule games so students would not lose the opportunity to compete.

The most recent forfeits follow an Aug. 15 game cancellation by Riverside Poly High School, after withdrawing its team from a match with Jurupa Valley. Parents of Riverside Poly athletes and a Riverside Unified School District school board member told Fox News Digital the move was in response to the transgender athlete on the Jurupa Valley team, senior AB Hernandez.

Mom of Trans Athlete Responds to Controversy

Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, also addressed the situation in a statement, asking people to approach the issue with compassion. “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.

In her statement, Hernandez described her daughter as small in stature, saying opponents “may see the color of her skin and be surprised that a petite young woman is hitting and serving so hard, so powerful, but that is not her advantage; in fact, my daughter is simply a highly skilled athlete.”

“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 said. She noted that her daughter was unaware that the game had been forfeited due to her participation on the team.

Hernandez has been in the national spotlight before, after racking up two state championships in the spring track and field season for CIF-SS, in the long and triple jump, earning the ire of other female athletes and their families in the process. Many of those athletes and parents wore “Save Girls’ Sports” shirts in protest of Hernandez’s participation, and former President Donald Trump sent a statement to Truth Social in the days before the state track championships, urging California to bar trans athletes from competition. Trump, however, did not mention Hernandez by name.

The U.S. Department of Justice sued the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) in July over its guidelines allowing transgender girls and women to play on girls’ sports teams. That was despite Trump signing an executive order on the issue in February banning such participation.

A senior now, Hernandez was expected to be able to focus on the season and her final year of high school volleyball, but she and the team have been mired in forfeits. Munoz, mother of a player who has been on the Jurupa Valley team with Hernandez for three years, expressed exasperation over the drama to Fox News Digital.

“It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” Munoz said.

Opposing parents have clashed at local school board meetings, with one recent Riverside Unified School District meeting resulting in parents speaking out on both sides – some in support of the Riverside Poly athletes for refusing to compete and others speaking on behalf of transgender kids.

At that meeting, Nereyda Hernandez specifically called out Riverside board member Amanda Vickers for speaking with Fox News Digital about the situation in an earlier interview, and for allegedly inviting harassment against her daughter. “You actually entertained and welcomed harassment to my child,” Hernandez said of Vickers, who, in an interview, said the Riverside Poly forfeit was a “huge victory” for girls’ sports. “You are a board member. You have an oath to protect, to support all children, not just the ones that fit your ideas, your beliefs.”