The track singer says she is tired of being called ‘bulls’ by Christians because of the players who oppose runners in girls’ sports.
Crean Lutheran High School girls track and field athlete Olivia Viola will compete against a trans athlete at the state championships for the third year in a row.
Viola watched a competitor break her record and knock her out of the state tournament last season, and on top of that, she had to face criticism for speaking out in support of herself and other female athletes.
As a Christian, this issue is important to Viola, but she also believes it applies to women of all faiths. But he also suggested that Christians have been unfairly targeted in the backlash against “Save Girls Sports” activists.
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Crean Lutheran’s Olivia Viola competes in the girls high jump during the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High School in Moorpark, Calif., on May 24, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
“I would say that it is not fair for everyone, I would not say that it is specific to Christians, I would say that it is not fair for all women who have to compete with them. [trans athletes]. But what I think is wrong is to criticize Christians as bad people or fanatics for not wanting a man in our places,” he said.
This year, he can vote again for the first time to do something about it.
With the state gubernatorial election coming up this year, and the issue of protecting girls’ sports at the forefront of Viola’s agenda, Viola plans to vote for Sheriff Chad Bianco.
“He showed support, like not too many people were willing to go public about it, and he showed strong support for us and women, which is good,” said Viola.
Bianco told Fox News Digital in an interview in February that he would use “force” as governor to ensure that girls’ sports are protected.
“You are forcing people not to agree,” he said of the way schools allow boys to play in girls’ games. “In our high schools and in our schools, if they agree, we will not fund that. We will not fund the school, we will not give them their money.”
Viola has been publicly fighting the state’s “Save Girls’ Sports” campaign since last year.
“I received a very good response from some people, saying that it is very important and they appreciate what we are doing to fight for it. So I can honestly say that most people think it is important,” said Viola.
CHAD BIANCO REVEALS HIS VISION FOR CALIFORNIA SPORTS: SAVING THE LA OLYMPICS AND THE TRANS ATHLETE CRISIS
Crean Lutheran’s Olivia Viola competes in the girls high jump at the CIF Southern Section Masters Meet at Moorpark High School in Moorpark, Calif., on May 24, 2025. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
A bipartisan survey The Public Policy Institute of California found that the majority of Californians oppose natural male athletes competing in women’s sports.
That number includes more than 70%. public school parents.
“A majority of Californians support transgender athletes competing on teams that match the gender they were assigned at birth,” the poll said. “A strong majority of adults (65%) and likely voters (64%) support requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams that match their birth gender, not the gender they identify with. A majority of public school parents (71%) support the requirement.”
For Viola’s parents, Tracy and Juan Luis, the issue has caused a lot of frustration, especially for current Governor Gavin Newsom after a source in his office said last week that Newsom “rejects the dishonest attempt by the right wing to use this controversy as an excuse to slander individual children. The governor’s position is simple: stand up to all children.”
Tracy and Juan Luis criticized the governor for his statement.
“Newsom used aggressive and armed language on 17-year-old girls. In my opinion, his words were intended to intimidate female athletes to follow the rules. These girls were confusing him, so he preferred to remain silent. It is a very bad thing for the governor to do. If the governor has any idea of what is right and wrong to represent these girls for their rights,” said the Minister. said a statement to Fox News Digital.
“In Newsom’s words there was no discussion about the real root of the problem. He didn’t have an answer about defying Title IX. He didn’t have an answer about how to fix the terrible policies in California that allow natural men to enter women’s sports fields without any kind of clear biological laws.”
The parents added that they believe the issue should transcend individual political and religious beliefs, and are disappointed that many people who agree with their side are not speaking out.
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“Based on how men and women are fundamentally different physically, sports categories should be based on the pure biological truth – this includes the age of a person and the sex of organisms – regardless of whether they have XX or XY chromosomes. When it comes to the division of sports, nothing else is important – not political beliefs, not religious beliefs, not wealth, not gender views,” said the statement.
“When you start trying to blur those lines, you unfairly remove all credibility. These girls aren’t telling people that they can’t have psychological beliefs, they just shouldn’t be part of deciding the division of sports. One of the most disappointing things to me is seeing how many people support the girls, yet how few people are willing to stand by them until everyone believes that I have to see how everyone will change. sexism, you choose to use their words.”
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