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Two more games have been scratched from the schedule of a California girls’ high school volleyball team after opponents decided to forfeit, in an increasingly fraught controversy over a transgender athlete on the team.

Jurupa Valley High School girls’ volleyball coach Liana Manu informed parents that the games had been cancelled. One was to be played against Rim of the World High School on Aug. 25 and the other against Orange Vista High School on Aug. 29, mother Maribel Munoz, whose daughter is on the JVH squad, told Fox News Digital.

The Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD) stated the latest forfeits, making clear it was not the one making that decision. “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 district said in a statement.

The district went on to stress that state law prohibits discrimination against students based on gender identity. California Education Code 221.5 (f) specifically requires schools to “allow students to participate on athletic teams, participate in any athletic competition, and receive athletic financial assistance from the school or the school district in which they are enrolled, that are consistent with the students’ gender identity.”

The district noted this language is consistent with both California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s statements on the matter, as well as a letter from California 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 district added. “Our athletic department is working diligently to reschedule games so our athletes do not lose opportunities to compete.”

The news comes after Riverside Poly High School pulled out of an Aug. 15 game against Jurupa Valley, with parents of girls on the team and a member of the Riverside Unified School District board of education telling Fox News Digital the decision was linked to the transgender player on the JVH squad.

Senior AB Hernandez, who was assigned male at birth but has been living as a female and playing on the girls’ team since middle school, has faced growing pressure in recent weeks. Parents of players and a member of the Riverside Unified School District board of education confirmed to Fox News Digital that their decision to cancel the Aug. 15 game against Jurupa Valley was linked to the participation of the team’s transgender player.

The mother of the transgender athlete on the team, Nereyda Hernandez, issued a statement, asking for tolerance and understanding. “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.

Hernandez also tried to explain the girl to the families who are up in arms. “AB is very petite, smaller than a lot of 14-year-olds,” she said. “Nothing about AB’s size and stature should intimidate your daughters, because it’s not the size, it’s not the strength, it’s the skill.”

“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,” she continued. “She had no idea her participation in sports was connected to these forfeits.”

It is not the first time Hernandez and her family have been thrust into the national spotlight. During the spring track and field season, Hernandez won two California state titles in the long jump and triple jump. The wins were protested by female athletes and their families, many of whom wore “Save Girls’ Sports” shirts during the meets.

Former President Donald Trump shared a post on Truth Social ahead of the state finals, telling California not to let a trans girl compete, though he did not mention Hernandez by name.

In July, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over its policies that allow transgender athletes to compete on girls’ teams. The suit was filed even though Trump had signed an executive order in February that would have prevented such participation.

For Hernandez, who has already graduated from Riverside Poly but is in her last volleyball season before college begins, the season should be about playing. Instead, so far, it has been about forfeits and divisiveness in the community.

Jurupa Valley parent Munoz, whose daughter has played with Hernandez for the past three years, said the latest forfeit was a difficult development for both athletes and parents. “It makes me feel sad, it makes me feel angry, frustrated, just so many emotions,” she told Fox News Digital.

The issue has divided parents at local school board meetings. At a recent Riverside Unified School District meeting, parents on both sides of the debate spoke, some in support of the Riverside Poly girls for deciding not to play against Jurupa Valley, others in support of transgender students playing on girls’ teams.

At that meeting, Nereyda Hernandez was in attendance and criticized Riverside school board member Amanda Vickers after Vickers spoke to Fox News Digital about the forfeit. “You actually entertained and welcomed harassment to my child,” she said. “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.”