A California high school girls’ basketball team lost easily in the playoffs when they played without their male player.
Henry Hanlon, a male athlete who has been exposed for competing in girls’ sports in the state, plays for San Francisco Waldorf High School. Hanlon has gone viral multiple times in recent months, first for sparking a forfeiture from a Christian school during the state championships for girls’ volleyball.
The two-sport athlete then went viral again two months later after video surfaced of him dominating girls on the basketball court. Hanlon scored 29 points against the Jewish Community High School and almost single-handedly outscored his opponents en route to a 59-33 victory.
Last weekend, Hanlon’s team was set to play Cornerstone Christian School from Antioch, California, in the district basketball playoffs. Despite being a religious school, Cornerstone’s Principal Logan Heyer said his girls’ team would still compete in the playoff game against the male student out of the “spirit of kindness and respect.”
“Even when we may disagree on certain matters, [it is] an important part of showing Christ’s love to the world,” Heyer wrote, according to the Christian Post.
The principal added, “We understand that this is a complex issue, but we are committed to educating our students with a biblical worldview, which means demonstrating to them what it looks like to be a follower of Christ and really loving people who we disagree with.”
After the principal encouraged parents and fans to cheer the opposing team “just like Jesus would,” Hanlon reportedly did not show up to play in the postseason game against Cornerstone. The school did not provide a reason for his absence.
Cornerstone then went on to dominate their opponents 56-30, ending San Francisco Waldorf’s season. Cornerstone then beat Round Valley 71-42 on Tuesday to win the North Coast Section Girls Basketball Championship.
Hanlon is in his senior year in high school and has averaged over 20 points points per game, almost triple the number of points of the team’s second-highest-scoring player.
It is unclear whether the student’s absence was in response to President Trump’s executive order to prevent men from playing in women’s sports.
At the same time, however, several states have voiced opposition to the executive order in the face of losing federal funding, particularly Maine, whose Governor Janet Mills (D) openly defied the president’s order and told him the state would see him in court.
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Fearless, Basketball, California, Women’s sports, Transgenderism, Sports
