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EXCLUSIVE: California high school seniors Hadeel Hazameh and Alyssa McPherson are suing their school district over alleged Title IX violations within their women’s volleyball team. The two teenagers walked away from the team in September in protest of a trans player.
They still wanted to go see their team play their first state playoff game of the season last Wednesday. But Hazameh and McPherson alleged that their coach did not allow them to sit with their teammates on the bench during that game.
Former Jurupa Valley players Hadeel Hazameh, left, and Alyssa McPherson watch a CIF Southern Section Division 5 girls volleyball playoff match against Valencia, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Placentia, California. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
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After sitting with their teammates for senior night earlier this month, the two teens alleged that Jurupa Valley High School volleyball coach Liana Manu told them that the next time they wanted to sit with the team, they had to let her know first.
“So this time we were going to respect her and ask her, ‘Can we sit on the bench?’ And she said, ‘Unfortunately, no, you can’t today,'” Hazameh alleged of Manu. Hazameh added that the coach offered to explain the reason after the match, but the player did not accept the offer.
McPherson said, “I texted her too, around 4:30, and asked if I could sit on the bench because she told Hadeel I had to ask for myself. So I asked for myself and I never got a response from her.”
The two girls bought tickets to sit at the game with the spectators. There, they regrouped in the crowd with a group of “Save Girls’ Sports” protesters.
Footage of the two girls at the game has gone viral on
Another clip showed two other women shouting loudly behind the two teenagers, apparently cheering on the game on the court. Hazameh alleged that one of the women yelled at him to stop recording a video of the match.
Valencia won the game in straight sets, ending Jurupa Valley’s season.
Fans pose during a CIF Southern Section Division 5 women’s volleyball playoff game against Valencia, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Placentia, California. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
TRANS SWIMMER BANNED FROM WORLD ATHLETICS AND STOPPED OF RECENT RESULTS AFTER REFUSING SEXUAL TEST
Hazameh and McPherson felt a deep sense of relief.
“I just wanted it to be over,” McPheron said. “No one deserves to be knocked out [of the playoffs] due to an unfair advantage. And I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. So I just hoped this would be over with.
“I was relieved that it was over and the season was over.”
Hazameh added: “I am very happy that the biological girls and the other team worked very hard and still won.”
They never imagined that their high school volleyball careers would end with rooting for their own team to lose. But circumstances took their toll on them over the past two months.
Hazameh said he recently broke down in tears when he reread some old text messages he exchanged in late summer with a friend who graduated last year.
“‘I’m praying my senior year is as amazing as your guys’ year, and I just hope I have an amazing year,'” the text message read. “I burst into tears because my senior year has been absolutely horrible, and everything I was excited about and hoping for just fell apart.”
Hazameh and McPherson told stories of receiving hurtful messages on social media and “dirty looks” in the hallways. But they even claim that their director has contributed to it.
“He even gathered the volleyball team and told them they didn’t have to high-five us and basically show us sportsmanship,” McPherson alleged.
But despite everything, the two teenagers still believe they are “doing the right thing.”
And they’re not done playing high school sports either, even if that means sharing equipment with the trans athlete.
Both Hazameh and McPherson say they will rejoin the women’s track team in the spring, even if the trans athlete will also compete. Last year, the trans athlete won two state championships in the triple jump and women’s high jump.
Hazameh has lost to a trans athlete in at least seven track meets throughout his high school career.
They will all be seniors this season and are expected to compete together as Hazameh and McPherson’s lawsuit against the school district continues in the background.
Pak Gazette Digital has reached out to the Jurupa Unified School District and the Jurupa Valley High School girls volleyball booster club for comment.
