Texarkana, Arkansas, recreation center renamed after longtime supporter of youth sports.
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Trump Weaponizes Title IX, Abandons Survivors
The Trump administration is withholding millions of dollars in federal funding from universities that allow transgender students to play sports, accusing schools of violating Title IX – while at the same time, directing the Department of Education to pause existing Office of Civil Rights investigations and leave countless survivors of sexual violence without protection or […]
The Trump administration is withholding millions of dollars in federal funding from universities that allow transgender students to play sports, accusing schools of violating Title IX – while at the same time, directing the Department of Education to pause existing Office of Civil Rights investigations and leave countless survivors of sexual violence without protection or support.
In response, Emma Grasso Levine, Senior Manager of Title IX Policy and Programs at the leading Title IX advocacy project Know Your IX (a survivor- and youth-led program of Advocates for Youth), issued the following statement:
“The Trump administration’s hypocrisy with regard to Title IX is staggering. While the President withholds federal funding from universities that support transgender students – essentially blackmailing institutions into actively discriminating against a marginalized group in the name of Title IX – countless survivors of sexual violence are left with unresolved complaints and zero federal support.
Title IX protects all students, including transgender student athletes, from discrimination on the basis of sex. If President Trump truly cared about Title IX and those it protects, he would fully fund and staff the Department of Education, resume investigations into existing Office of Civil Rights (OCR) complaints, and reopen regional OCR offices.
Survivors of sexual violence, pregnant and parenting students, and LGBTQI+ students need elected officials to step up and fulfill Title IX’s promise of educational opportunity for all – and to stop wielding Title IX as a cudgel to keep universities in line with the President’s discriminatory agenda.”
Advocates for Youth is a 501(c)3 organization that champions efforts that help young people make informed decisions about their reproductive and sexual health. Advocates for Youth boldly advocates for a more positive and realistic approach to adolescent sexual health, focusing its work on young people ages 14-24 in the U.S. and around the globe.
For Immediate Release: May 1, 2025
Contact: Eleanor Naiman, eleanor.naiman@advocatesforyouth.org
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WATCH | Terry Lee Rogers Recreation Center unveiled
Texarkana, Arkansas, recreation center renamed after longtime supporter of youth sports. Terry Rogers shakes hands with a guest after a ceremony renaming the Recreation Center, 1 Legion Drive, as the Terry Lee Rogers Recreation Center on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Texarkana, Ark. Scores filled the gym at the center in a show of support […]
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Trans athlete AB Hernandez advances to California track and field finals
California’s high school track-and-field state finals will award one extra medal Saturday in events where a transgender athlete places in the top three, a rule change that may be the first of its kind nationally by a high school sports governing body.The new California Interscholastic Federation policy was written in response to the success of […]
California’s high school track-and-field state finals will award one extra medal Saturday in events where a transgender athlete places in the top three, a rule change that may be the first of its kind nationally by a high school sports governing body.The new California Interscholastic Federation policy was written in response to the success of high school junior AB Hernandez, a trans student who competes in the girls high jump, long jump and triple jump. She led in all three events after preliminaries Friday. The CIF said earlier this week it would let an additional student compete and medal in the events where Hernandez qualified.| MORE | US attorney in California launches Title IX investigation over transgender athlete who made high school championshipsThe two-day championship kicked off in the sweltering heat at high school near Fresno. The atmosphere was relatively quiet Friday despite critics — including parents, conservative activists and President Donald Trump — calling for Hernandez to be barred from girls competition leading up to the meet.There was some pushback Friday. A group of fewer than 10 people gathered outside the stadium ahead of the meet to protest Hernandez’s participation. Some of them wore “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirts. At one point as Hernandez was attempting a high jump, someone in the stands yelled an insult. An aircraft circled above the stadium for more than an hour during the events, carrying a banner that read, “No Boys in Girls’ Sports!” The rest of the night ran smoothly for Hernandez, who finished the triple jump with a mark close to 41 feet (13 meters), nearly 10 inches (25 centimeters) ahead of her closest competitor, San Francisco Bay Area junior Kira Gant Hatcher.Hernandez also led in the long jump with a mark close to 20 feet (6 meters) to advance to the final. She advanced in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 5 inches (1.7 meters) with ease.She did not address the press.California at center of national debateThe CIF rule change reflects efforts to find a middle ground in the debate over trans girls’ participation in youth sports.“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law,” the group said in a statement after announcing its rule change.A recent AP-NORC poll found that about 7 in 10 U.S. adults think transgender female athletes should not be allowed to participate in girls and women’s sports at the high school, college or professional level. That view was shared by about 9 in 10 Republicans and roughly half of Democrats.The federation announced the rule change after Trump threatened this week to pull federal funding from California unless it bars trans female athletes from competing on girls teams. The CIF said it decided on the change before then.The U.S. Department of Justice also said it would investigate the state federation and the district that includes Hernandez’s high school to determine whether they violated federal sex discrimination law by allowing trans girls to compete in girls sports.Some California Republicans also weighed in, with several state lawmakers attending a news conference to criticize the federation for keeping Hernandez in the competition and a Republican gubernatorial candidate planning to attend Saturday’s finals.California law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity.The federation said the rule would open the field to more “biological female” athletes. One expert said the change may itself be discriminatory because it creates an extra spot for “biological female” athletes but not for other trans athletes.The federation did not specify how they define “biological female” or how they would verify whether a competitor meets that definition.Hernandez told the publication Capital & Main earlier this month that she couldn’t worry about critics.“I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person,” she said.Another student breaks a recordCalifornia’s state championship stands out from that of other states because of the number of competitors athletes are up against to qualify. The state had the second-largest number of students participating in outdoor track and field in the nation during the 2023-2024 school year, behind Texas, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations.Olympians Marion Jones and Tara Davis-Woodhall previously set state championship records in the long jump in 1993 and 2017, respectively, both surpassing 22 feet (6.7 meters).The boys 100-meter dash heats were also a highlight Friday. Junior Jaden Jefferson of De La Salle High School in Concord finished in 10.01 seconds, about .2 seconds faster than a meet record set in 2023. Jefferson’s time won’t count as a record unless he can replicate his results in the final.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
CLOVIS, Calif. —
California’s high school track-and-field state finals will award one extra medal Saturday in events where a transgender athlete places in the top three, a rule change that may be the first of its kind nationally by a high school sports governing body.
The new California Interscholastic Federation policy was written in response to the success of high school junior AB Hernandez, a trans student who competes in the girls high jump, long jump and triple jump. She led in all three events after preliminaries Friday. The CIF said earlier this week it would let an additional student compete and medal in the events where Hernandez qualified.
| MORE | US attorney in California launches Title IX investigation over transgender athlete who made high school championships
The two-day championship kicked off in the sweltering heat at high school near Fresno. The atmosphere was relatively quiet Friday despite critics — including parents, conservative activists and President Donald Trump — calling for Hernandez to be barred from girls competition leading up to the meet.
There was some pushback Friday. A group of fewer than 10 people gathered outside the stadium ahead of the meet to protest Hernandez’s participation. Some of them wore “Save Girls’ Sports” T-shirts. At one point as Hernandez was attempting a high jump, someone in the stands yelled an insult. An aircraft circled above the stadium for more than an hour during the events, carrying a banner that read, “No Boys in Girls’ Sports!”
The rest of the night ran smoothly for Hernandez, who finished the triple jump with a mark close to 41 feet (13 meters), nearly 10 inches (25 centimeters) ahead of her closest competitor, San Francisco Bay Area junior Kira Gant Hatcher.
Hernandez also led in the long jump with a mark close to 20 feet (6 meters) to advance to the final. She advanced in the high jump, clearing 5 feet, 5 inches (1.7 meters) with ease.
She did not address the press.
California at center of national debate
The CIF rule change reflects efforts to find a middle ground in the debate over trans girls’ participation in youth sports.
“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law,” the group said in a statement after announcing its rule change.
A recent AP-NORC poll found that about 7 in 10 U.S. adults think transgender female athletes should not be allowed to participate in girls and women’s sports at the high school, college or professional level. That view was shared by about 9 in 10 Republicans and roughly half of Democrats.
The federation announced the rule change after Trump threatened this week to pull federal funding from California unless it bars trans female athletes from competing on girls teams. The CIF said it decided on the change before then.
The U.S. Department of Justice also said it would investigate the state federation and the district that includes Hernandez’s high school to determine whether they violated federal sex discrimination law by allowing trans girls to compete in girls sports.
Some California Republicans also weighed in, with several state lawmakers attending a news conference to criticize the federation for keeping Hernandez in the competition and a Republican gubernatorial candidate planning to attend Saturday’s finals.
California law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity.
The federation said the rule would open the field to more “biological female” athletes. One expert said the change may itself be discriminatory because it creates an extra spot for “biological female” athletes but not for other trans athletes.
The federation did not specify how they define “biological female” or how they would verify whether a competitor meets that definition.
Hernandez told the publication Capital & Main earlier this month that she couldn’t worry about critics.
“I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person,” she said.
Another student breaks a record
California’s state championship stands out from that of other states because of the number of competitors athletes are up against to qualify. The state had the second-largest number of students participating in outdoor track and field in the nation during the 2023-2024 school year, behind Texas, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Olympians Marion Jones and Tara Davis-Woodhall previously set state championship records in the long jump in 1993 and 2017, respectively, both surpassing 22 feet (6.7 meters).
The boys 100-meter dash heats were also a highlight Friday. Junior Jaden Jefferson of De La Salle High School in Concord finished in 10.01 seconds, about .2 seconds faster than a meet record set in 2023. Jefferson’s time won’t count as a record unless he can replicate his results in the final.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Rec Sports
Yasiel Puig Sports Betting Guilty Plea Overturned by Federal Court
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a trial court’s evidence-based ruling in favor of former MLB All-Star outfielder Yasiel Puig. In 2022, Puig reneged on a pre-indictment plea agreement with federal prosecutors, and the DOJ demanded he should face repercussions for evidence revealed during plea negotiations. Puig, 34, played for […]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Thursday affirmed a trial court’s evidence-based ruling in favor of former MLB All-Star outfielder Yasiel Puig. In 2022, Puig reneged on a pre-indictment plea agreement with federal prosecutors, and the DOJ demanded he should face repercussions for evidence revealed during plea negotiations.
Puig, 34, played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2013 to 2018 before spending his last MLB season, 2019, with the Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians. The Cuban native has since played in South Korea, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. He recently announced he was leaving the Kiwoom Heroes of South Korea’s KBO League to seek treatment in Los Angeles for an ailing shoulder.
Puig became entangled with the law in 2019, when he allegedly placed sports bets through an illegal gambling operation based in California. Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Murphy v. NCAA held the federal ban on states’ legalizing sports betting was unconstitutional, California continues to generally prohibit sports betting. Writing for himself, along with Ninth Circuit Judges Holly A. Thomas and Anthony D. Johnstone, Judge Daniel P. Collins noted that “Puig’s ensuing bets were not very successful. In fact, he accumulated nearly $282,900 in gambling debts in 2019.
As part of a wider investigation into illegal sports betting, the DOJ interviewed Puig in January 2022 via Webex video conference. Before the interview started, a federal agent warned Puig that “lying to federal law enforcement agents is a crime.” Puig responded that he understood.
Puig nonetheless made “materially false statements” during the interview, Collins explained. For example, Puig claimed that he had never discussed sports betting with a person identified as Agent 1 and described a former collegiate baseball player who became a baseball coach. The DOJ asserts that Puig lied about that topic. He and Agent 1 allegedly exchanged multiple phone calls and texts concerning sports betting and Agent 1 assisted Puig in placing “at least 899 bets on sporting events” over a five-month period in 2019.
In May 2022, the DOJ informed Puig that he faced potential felony charges for false statements and obstruction of justice but expressed a willingness to negotiate a pre-indictment plea deal with him.
Over several weeks, those discussions led to what appeared to be a plea deal. An interpreter for Puig signed a statement stating she “had accurately translated the agreement” for Puig, who, along with his attorneys and a federal prosecutor, signed.
Puig agreed to plead guilty “at the earliest opportunity” to one count of making false statements. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to recommend a light sentence and to refrain from further criminally prosecuting him—namely for obstruction of justice—for conduct arising out of facts stated in the plea agreement. In August, the Justice Department filed paperwork in court indicating that Puig had been charged with one count of making false statements and had signed a plea deal to resolve that charge.
The plea agreement contained nearly five pages of “factual basis” for Puig’s alleged criminal act. A factual basis explains what facts a defendant admits related to the charge. Collins noted that while the plea agreement’s factual basis mostly tracked allegations in the criminal charge, it contained additional facts that Puig allegedly disclosed or acknowledged. Those additions concerned a photo, a copy of a cashier’s check and an audio message Puig allegedly sent through WhatsApp in 2022 in which he assured an identified person that he didn’t tell the feds anything incriminating about that person.
The plea agreement also featured a waiver provision outlining the potential impact of Puig breaching the agreement. Puig agreed to waive any legal protections for suppression or exclusion of new information in the factual basis. That provision is problematic, Collins explained, since Federal Rule of Evidence 410 renders inadmissible evidence of “a statement made during plea negotiations with an attorney for the prosecuting authority” when the defendant participated in the plea discussions and when those discussions “did not result in a guilty plea.”
That language became very relevant in November 2022, when Puig notified the DOJ and the trial judge that he was withdrawing from the plea agreement and that he would not enter a guilty plea. His attorney explained that she and Puig had uncovered additional evidence that undermined some of the factual basis and strengthened Puig’s legal defenses.
In response, the DOJ said Puig breached his plea agreement and, given the waiver provision that the player signed, Puig had waived legal protections regarding incriminating statements made during the plea negotiations. The DOJ then obtained a new indictment, which added a charge for obstruction of justice and claimed Puig impeded the feds by providing false information and concealing key evidence.
Not so fast, Puig maintained. He hadn’t pleaded guilty. He had only agreed to plead guilty.
U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee concurred, finding that the court hadn’t formally accepted the terms of Puig’s plea deal because the court had “never accepted” them. Therefore, the plea deal’s terms—including the waiver—were unenforceable. The DOJ was thus informed prosecutors couldn’t introduce at trial the factual basis recited in the plea agreement.
The DOJ appealed to the Ninth Circuit, but the appellate court likewise found Puig hasn’t waived his right to challenge the admissibility of evidence and testimony related to the plea agreement. Collins wrote the waiver was “expressly contingent” on a court approving the plea and finding there was a breach. “The waiver, by its own terms,” Collins wrote, “therefore did not apply” and thus “the factual basis of Puig’s plea agreement is not admissible against Puig.”
Collins was also critical of the government’s assertion it suffered a form of detrimental reliance that warrants enforcement of the waiver.
“We reject this contention,” Collins explained, “because no such showing of detrimental reliance has been or can be made here.” He added, “it makes no sense to posit, as this argument necessarily does, that the government relied on Puig’s not breaching the agreement when the government drafted the agreement’s language about the consequences of a breach. By definition, such language assumes a breach.”
To be clear, Puig still faces criminal charges. A jury trial—which had been scheduled for August 2023 then pushed back to January 2024, and now still awaits a date—will eventually happen unless the case is resolved beforehand. Should the case go to trial, expect battles over the scope of what type of evidence stemmed from the charges or the factual basis.
Rec Sports
U.P.-wide youth golf tour to kick off | News, Sports, Jobs
Jordan Jurmu of Marquette hits a drive when he played in an Upper Peninsula Golf Association junior tournament at the Marquette Golf Club in June 2017. (Journal file photo) MARQUETTE — The Junior Golf Tour conducted by the Upper Peninsula Golf Association will start its season in just over a week with the first two […]
Jordan Jurmu of Marquette hits a drive when he played in an Upper Peninsula Golf Association junior tournament at the Marquette Golf Club in June 2017. (Journal file photo)
MARQUETTE — The Junior Golf Tour conducted by the Upper Peninsula Golf Association will start its season in just over a week with the first two stops in Marquette County.
Tournaments will be held about once a week — though the time between events is as little as a single day and as many as 11 days — into early August at UPGA member courses around the central and western U.P.
Wawonowin Country Club in western Marquette County’s Ely Township — near Champion — will host the Junior Tour opener on Monday, June 9.
For each of the 11 stops this spring and summer, entrants or a parent or guardian are asked to register by calling a contact number at each course at least 48 hours prior to an event, each of which will start at 9 a.m. local time.
There will be five age divisions, with the 8-9-year-old, 10-11 and 12-13 playing nine holes off forward tees, and 14-15 and 16-18 playing 18 holes and hitting off middle tees. Ages are determined at the time of each event, and golfers can play in an older division if notification is given beforehand.
Cost is $20 per golfer per event, which includes greens fees, unlimited range balls and tees beforehand, lunch after playing, and trophies and medallions.
For the opening Wawonowin stop, the contact person is club general manager Jennifer Flynn at 906-485-1435.
The Marquette Golf Club’s Heritage Course will host the next event on Wednesday, June 18. For that one, call MGC golf professional Bob Bastian at 866-678-7171, ext. 1, to register.
The tour heads south — and occasionally west — for the next seven events until it returns for the last regular stop of the tour on Monday, Aug. 4, at the Northern Michigan University Golf Course in Chocolay Township east of Harvey. Call golf pro Ben Johnson at 906-227-3111 to register.
The tour’s final stop is on Monday, Aug. 11, for the annual end-of-the-season UPGA Junior Tour Championship, this year being held at Terrace Bluff Golf Club in Gladstone.
For that event only, players must be a member of a UPGA club and have played in at least two previous Junior Tour stops to be eligible. Top finishers — five boys and two girls — qualify from this event for the Golf Association of Michigan Junior Invitational to be held at the West Course of Forest Akers Golf Course at Michigan State University in East Lansing from Oct. 4-5.
Organizers also mentioned that the UPGA Junior Golf Tour now has an affiliation with the First Tee Program of Northern Michigan.
For more information about First Tee, visit online at www.firestteenorthernmichigan.org or email Kenn Hruska at www.khruska@TheFirstTeeNorthernMichigan.org.
Here is the entire Junior Tour schedule, including the contact person and phone number to register:
Monday, June 9 — Wawonowin Country Club, Champion; contact general manager Jennifer Flynn, 906-485-1435
Wednesday, June 18 — Marquette Golf Club, Heritage course, Marquette; contact golf pro Bob Bastian, 866-678-7171, ext. 1
Thursday, June 26 — Riverside Country Club, Menominee; contact golf pro Evan Kramer, 906-863-4837
Monday, June 30 — TimberStone Golf, Iron Mountain; contact golf shop manager Braedon Wixom, 906-776-0111
Monday, July 7 — Portage Lake Golf Club, Houghton; contact golf pro Tyler Bergwall, 906-487-2641
Monday, July 14 — Pine Grove Country Club, Iron Mountain; contact golf pro Rob Heslar, 906-774-3493
Wednesday, July 16 — Escanaba Country Club, Escanaba; contact golf pro Jeff Rae, 906-786-4430
Wednesday, July 23 — Oak Crest Golf Club, Norway; contact golf pro Kevin Londo, 906-563-5891
Thursday, July 24 — Gladstone Golf Club, Gladstone; contact general manager Cole Hansen, 906-428-9646
Monday, Aug. 4 — Northern Michigan University Golf Course, Harvey; contact golf pro Ben Johnson, 906-227-3111
Monday, Aug. 11 — U.P. Junior Tour Championship, Terrace Bluff Golf Club, Gladstone; contact general manager Tony Pouliot, 906-428-2343 (special eligibility applies)
Story contents based on the Upper Peninsula Junior Golf Tour web page at https://upga.org/wp-content/uploads/2025-UPGA-Junior-Tour-Schedule.pdf. Journal Sports Editor Steve Brownlee’s email address is sbrownlee@miningjournal.net.
Rec Sports
California track-and-field final enters spotlight for rule change after trans athlete’s success | National Sports
CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) — California’s high school track-and-field state championships kicked off Friday in the sweltering heat to a relatively quiet atmosphere despite controversy leading up to the meet over the participation of a transgender athlete. The meet is the testing ground for a new participation and medaling policy for competitions that include transgender athletes. […]
CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) — California’s high school track-and-field state championships kicked off Friday in the sweltering heat to a relatively quiet atmosphere despite controversy leading up to the meet over the participation of a transgender athlete.
The meet is the testing ground for a new participation and medaling policy for competitions that include transgender athletes.
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Rec Sports
In defense of lobbyists at the Minnesota Legislature
For the most part, my experience of lobbyists (and, in full disclosure, I was a registered lobbyist for almost a decade) are good ones. For the most part, they are open and friendly, and they share information. They help each other out. They’re competitive sometimes, sure, but they also know that your opponent on one […]
For the most part, my experience of lobbyists (and, in full disclosure, I was a registered lobbyist for almost a decade) are good ones. For the most part, they are open and friendly, and they share information. They help each other out. They’re competitive sometimes, sure, but they also know that your opponent on one bill could be your ally on the next, so there’s a sincere effort to act in good faith and not burn bridges. As a group, lobbyists are the least likely to have public stress-induced blowups. And, since credibility is currency, I’ve found them to be the most consistently truthful group of people in the State Capitol. (Seriously — lobbyists in Minnesota know that lying can end your career.)
Every year there are efforts to ban former legislators from transitioning into lobbying after they leave office. While critics frame it as “cashing in” on their service, the reality is more nuanced. Salaries and per diem hover around $60,000 per year for rank and file legislators — hardly sustainable long-term, especially given the year-round demands of the role. (Minnesota technically has a part-time “citizen Legislature” which means many have outside jobs. But many find it difficult to juggle both, and having outside employment can lead to questions of conflicts of interest, as we saw this year.) It’s unrealistic to expect people who choose to be public servants for a time to indefinitely cap their earnings at this level.
Beyond salary considerations, many former lawmakers become lobbyists just to stay connected to the work and the relationships they nurtured at the Capitol. They care about issues and don’t want to walk away from those efforts — especially for complex problems that take decades to solve. And, as some will tell you, they actually have way less power and access as a lobbyist than they did as a legislator.
Minnesota’s lobbyists aren’t shadowy figures manipulating policy for personal gain. They are professionals, advocates and community members working within a highly regulated framework to ensure that decisionmakers have the information they need to craft effective policy. Just as your favorite piece of legislation had legislative champions, there’s surely a lobbyist in that effort who helped get it over the finish line.
Let’s start talking about lobbyists as assets, not enemies — and maybe start including them in the thank you speeches too.
Shannon Watson, of Minneapolis, is founder and executive director of Majority in the Middle.
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