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Two more games have been scratched from a California girls’ high school volleyball team’s schedule, forfeited by other schools in the latest twist of a controversy involving a transgender athlete on the roster.

Maribel Munoz, the mother of a player on Jurupa Valley High School’s girls’ volleyball team, confirmed the forfeits after the coach, Liana Manu, sent a message to parents. Matches against Rim of the World High School, scheduled for Aug. 25, and Orange Vista High School on Aug. 29 were forfeited.

Jurupa Valley Unified School District (JUSD) issued a statement on the forfeits, noting that the district did not decide to cancel games. “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,” JUSD said in a statement.

The district said it is mandated by state law to “protect students from discrimination based on their gender identity.” California Education Code 221.5 (f) states that schools must “allow a student to participate on an athletic team or sports program consistent with the student’s gender identity.”

JUSD added that this “direction is not new and has been reinforced by both California Attorney General Rob Bonta and State 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 continued, noting it was working to reschedule games so the athletes could play.

This is the second forfeit in the last week, after Riverside Poly High School students refused to play a game against Jurupa Valley on Aug. 15. Parents of the athletes and a local school board member told Fox News Digital the reason for their decision was the team’s transgender player, senior AB Hernandez.

Hernandez’s mother, Nereyda Hernandez, released a statement of her own in response to the controversy. “I understand the discomfort some of you may feel, because I was once there, too. The difference is, I chose to learn, to grow, and to open my heart,” she wrote.

Hernandez described her daughter as a petite girl and said that her daughter’s strength is not in her size but in her talent as a volleyball player. “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,” Hernandez added.

Hernandez also said her daughter did not know about the forfeits. Hernandez was the subject of national attention earlier this year, when she won two California state titles in the long jump and triple jump during the spring track and field season. Her victories were protested by female athletes and their parents, many of whom wore shirts with the phrase “Save Girls’ Sports” on them.

The controversy continued into the state finals, when former President Donald Trump posted a note on Truth Social ahead of the meet telling the state of California not to allow a transgender woman to compete. He did not mention Hernandez by name.

In July, the Justice Department sued the California Department of Education and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) over its policies that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports, despite a February executive order Trump signed that would have banned such participation.

For Hernandez, who is in the last year of eligibility for high school volleyball, this season should be about playing games, not forfeits and a widening chasm between members of the community.

Munoz, a Jurupa Valley parent whose daughter has played volleyball with Hernandez for three years, told Fox News Digital the situation made her feel many negative emotions.

At a recent Riverside Unified School District board meeting, parents voiced differing opinions, with some on both sides. A group of parents of Riverside Poly athletes spoke in support of the girls’ decision not to play, while others advocated on behalf of transgender children.

At the same meeting, Nereyda Hernandez chided Riverside school board member Amanda Vickers for speaking to Fox News Digital in an earlier interview about the Aug. 15 forfeit.

“You actually entertained and welcomed harassment to my child,” she said to Vickers at the meeting. “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.”

Hernandez, the mother, argued that the organizers of the protests against her daughter’s participation on the volleyball team were not motivated by fairness but rather “money, hate groups, national media, religion, and to divide parents against each other.”

“This has nothing to do with fairness in sports and everything to do with erasing transgender children,” she said.

Parents such as Maria Carrillo took the opposite view, cheering on the Riverside Poly girls. “Poly girls, we stand with you. Keep fighting, because these parents who support their confused child are the problem,” Carrillo said.

Jurupa Valley’s regular season is slated to continue through mid-October. The number of forfeits could increase if more schools decline to play, and it is unclear whether the volleyball players will ever have the chance to focus solely on their sport, or if the season will continue to be defined by forfeits and the accompanying national controversy.

Adding to the drama, Trump recently aimed at the state of California, issuing a Truth Social post to warn Newsom and districts across the state that they would not be getting federal funds if they did not follow his administration’s guidance for transgender athletes.

Colliding at the same time are state law, Trump’s threats, community tensions, and parents caught in the middle. All of those factors point to a potentially more turbulent season for the volleyball team and its athletes.