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CV NEWS FEED // More than 150 students at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, wore “Save Girls Sports” shirts in support of two track players who were previously punished for wearing the shirts.
CatholicVote reported in November that two students, Kaitlyn and Taylor, were forced to change the same shirts that they wore when a male student joined their cross-country team. The girls were told that wearing such shirts was similar to “wearing a swastika in front of Jewish students.”
Kaitlyn said that she and Taylor were shocked by the comparison, as they had not meant to personally target any other students.
“It was definitely hard to hear because we’re by no means trying to be hateful,” she told Fox News Digital. “We’re just wearing a shirt that expresses what we believe in trying to raise awareness to a situation.”
The girls’ parents are suing the school district in light of the controversy. The lawsuit accuses the school of violating the girls’ TItle IX, First Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
The school has replaced Kaitlyn’s place on the varsity cross country team with the male student, even though he did not meet all eligibility criteria.
Sophia Lorey of the California Family Council reported on her X account that the administration made the students remove or cover the shirts, and students who did not comply were sent to the principal’s office.
Lorey shared more details about the case in an email interview with CatholicVote.
CV: Did the school enforce the “dress code” on each student who wore the shirt?
Lorey: According to parents and students from MLK high school, the admin was expecting students to arrive at school in the shirts stating “Save Girls Sports.” While different shirts had various statements on the back, the statement “XX =/ XY, it’s common sense” seems to be what set off the enforcement of dress code. Students either had to put on sweatshirts, change the shirt, or cover the back of the shirt (“XX =/ XY, it’s common sense”) with tape. Those who did not were then sent to the principal’s office, where they were for multiple hours instead of receiving their education.
CV: How did the administration justify their policy toward the shirt?
Lorey: While there was not an immediate answer to this, MLK Principal Leann Iacuone sent out an email to the entire staff later in the week. The email stated, “The shirt that is causing students to feel they are not part of the school and is creating a disruption to the educational environment.” They ultimately cited the potential for creating an uncomfortable environment, leveraging this as their justification despite it still being a violation of the students’ First Amendment rights.
CV: Did any staff participate in the protest by wearing the shirts?
Lorey: No reports indicated that staff participated by wearing the shirts. The protest appeared to be student-driven and focused on amplifying their voices without direct involvement from the school’s faculty.
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