For a trans California senior, it’s a track meet. For The New York Times, it’s a debate

A New York Times preview of this weekend’s California state track and field championships has renewed criticism of the newspaper’s coverage of transgender athletes. The publication provided little context and no interviews with trans people or with supporters of transgender inclusion.The focus of the Times report is AB Hernandez, a 17-year-old transgender athlete from Jurupa Valley, who returns to the state meet one year after winning two gold medals amid controversy over her participation.As The Advocate has reported, state policy requires her to share first-place gold medals and the podium with cisgender high school girls, who finish after her. It guarantees that even if a trans student-athlete like Hernandez finishes first, the highest-finishing cisgender athlete is also awarded first place.Not everyone in the transgender community is opposed to that. Out trans sports scientist Joanna Harper, who has been studying the ways hormone therapy makes a difference in trans people’s athletic performance for two decades, told The Advocate she agrees with the state’s podium policy.Related: What does the science say about transgender women in sports? "Given that California allows trans girls to compete in the female category without hormones, then don't think it is unreasonable to have a shared podium," Harper said. The policy was adopted as California seeks to preserve participation opportunities for transgender students while responding to concerns raised by opponents. The state is currently suing the Trump administration over demands that it abandon its transgender-inclusive athletics policy.President Donald Trump referenced Hernandez’s case last year without naming her directly and threatened to withhold federal funding if California continued allowing transgender girls to compete under current rules.The Times article, published Friday, noted that Hernandez could return to defend her titles and potentially win additional championships.The story also highlighte