Track star says she's tired of Christians being called 'bigots' for opposing trans athletes in girls' sports

Key Points:

• Olivia Viola, a Crean Lutheran High School girls’ track athlete, will compete against a transgender athlete in the state tournament for the third consecutive year, having previously been knocked out by the same competitor who broke her personal record.
• Viola has faced criticism for advocating for female athletes' rights and believes the issue transcends religious beliefs, though she feels Christians are unfairly targeted in the backlash against "Save Girls Sports" activism.
• With the upcoming California gubernatorial election, Viola plans to vote for Sheriff Chad Bianco, who has pledged to use force as governor to prevent funding for schools that allow transgender males to compete in girls' sports.
• A bipartisan Public Policy Institute of California survey found that a majority of residents, including over 70% of school parents, support requiring transgender athletes to compete according to their biological sex rather than gender identity.
• Viola's parents criticized Governor Gavin Newsom for his stance supporting transgender athletes, accusing him of ignoring Title IX concerns and failing to address policies allowing biological males in female sports divisions, emphasizing that athletic categories should be based strictly on biological sex for fairness.