An uproar sparked during a school board gathering when a teenage student was silenced while sharing a distressing experience in a changing room.

Celeste Diest, a high school junior and a track runner, spoke at a school board meeting in the Lucia Mar Unified School District in Arroyo Grande, located around an hour and a half North of Santa Barbara, California.

Diest expressed her concerns about transgender athletes participating in sports and recounted an incident where she felt uncomfortable as a person she referred to as a ‘biological male’ observed her changing before her track practice.

As she fought back tears, Diest said that the experience was ‘beyond traumatizing’ and claimed that the person was already changed and there was ‘no reason’ for them to be in the locker room. 

‘Adults like yourself make me and my peers feel like our own comfort was invalid, even though our privacy was and still is completely violated,’ Diest continued. 

The high schooler went on to say that the individual in the locker room has ‘XY chromosomes’ and claimed that ‘basic biology’ dictated that they were male. 

As Diest struggled to finish her sentence, school board president Colleen Martin instructed her to ‘please wrap it up.’ 

‘I just want to ask “What about us?'” We cannot sit around and allow our rights to be given up to cater to an individual that is a man, who watches women undress and is stripping away female opportunity that once was fought for us,’ she continued. 

Celeste Diest, a high school junior at Lucia Mar Unified School District, spoke out against the participation of transgender athletes in sports at a recent school board meeting 

Diest broke down in tears while she spoke and claimed that changing in front of a ‘biological male’ was ‘beyond traumatizing’ 

The school board meeting took place in Arroyo Grande, California. California is one of the states that allows transgender athletes to participate in sports. The Trump administration has taken a hard line against the issue, threatening to sue schools that don’t ban trans athletes 

‘Sadly, we have to try and regain our rights back. I hope you put effort into the restoration of our school safety.’

Diest then concluded her remarks and left the podium to applause from those in attendance, with some wearing t-shirts that read, ‘Save Girls Sports’. Some rose from their seats to give Diest a standing ovation. 

Diest continued to cry as she walked back to her seat while Martin attempted to silence the crowd. 

The cheers grew louder as Martin slammed her gavel to restore order in the meeting room. 

Tuesday’s school board meeting lasted almost three hours. The recording on YouTube has already received over 21,000 views. 

The clip has gone viral on social media, generating fierce reactions and tense debate online. 

School board president Colleen Martin asked Diest to ‘please wrap it up’ as the teen broke down in tears 

One account that shared the clip on X already has over 40 comments, with one reading, ‘Courageous girl! These moments will be remembered!!!’ 

‘Students deserve to feel safe and protected at school, especially in private spaces like locker rooms,’ another added. 

Allowing transgender athletes to compete in sports has resulted in significant debate across the country in recent years.

California is among the states that allow transgender athletes to compete. The State Assembly passed a bill in 2013 that prevented educators from discriminating based on sex.

The bill also stated, ‘A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.’

The issue has seemed to stray from traditional partisanship with prominent Democrat Gavin Newsom recently declaring that allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports is ‘deeply unfair.’

California is one of a few states that allow transgender athletes to participate in sports. The Trump administration has taken a hard line against the issue, which has impacted the NCAA’s stance on the topic 

President Trump has taken a strong stance on the issue, signing a slew of executive orders implementing a rigid definition of sex and gender. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi has suggested that states that don’t comply with the Trump administration could be sued, including California, Minnesota, and Maine. 

On Wednesday, the Trump administration sued Maine for not banning transgender athletes in girls and women’s sports. 

Governor Janet Mills has remained defiant against the Trump administration, recently releasing a statement claiming that the president doesn’t have the authority to create or interpret law. 

Twenty-six states have laws or policies explicitly banning transgender athletes from competing in sports.

At the collegiate level, the National Collegiate Athletic Association announced in February that they would be complying with the Trump administration and banning athletes ‘assigned male at birth’ from competing on women’s teams. 

DailyMail.com reached out to the Lucia Mar Unified School District for comment but didn’t immediately hear back.