I am Luis Fernandez - of Woodley suspension (in)famy

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Luis, thank you for sharing. I agree that boys should not compete against girls, even in youth sports. As an official, I see you were trying to enforce rules and advocate for fair rules. Asking the three spectators questions about the swimmer was not appropriate. Writing “boy” on the meet sheet was not appropriate. I would’ve kept my concerns to meet officials, team reps, and the league to be most effective, professional, and kind. I also agree that the boards communication to you via email only, lacking specifics of the violation, and failing to interview you for your account were not appropriate.

Question for you- was the swimmer actually a boy or girl? Posts reference Terry wee actually a girl but I see no verification of that.

Can you link to NVSL rules about gender? I agree that league rules need to include gender policies.

Marshals are not officials; they are meet-specific deck volunteers.
They receive no formal training beyond a quick briefing from the ref before the meet. It’s very clear what rules they are empowered to enforce and swimmer eligibility is not among them. If a marshal observed an illegal fly finish that the stroke and turn judge missed, they don’t escalate it to the ref and then go bananas when there is no subsequent dq. Because he’s not there to enforce those rules and isn’t permitted to. In addition to the many other issues with this situation, the OP was out of line as a marshal and can’t use that role to justify his actions. (Note, a primary responsibility of marshals IS to ensure there is no foul language or abusive behavior on deck.)

His account (posted on his original post) stated that he is a certified meet official, although yes you are correct, he was volunteering as a marshall in this meet.

He isn’t a certified stroke and turn, starter, or referee.
https://www.mynvsl.com/file/37044/Clinic_Attendance_NVSL_16July2025_pdf

Nor PVS

http://www.pvswim.org/official/PVS_Officials_Roster_By_Name.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, I just got caught up on this thread again. The child in question is a girl?!?!? Is that true?

Yes it’s true, she’s a girl and Luis has gone quiet here.

DP. How do we know that? Just from the anonymous PP claiming she’s a girl?

[Anonymous]

Even the people who support his cause more generally think he was wrong and should be kicked out. That’s saying something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Luis, thank you for sharing. I agree that boys should not compete against girls, even in youth sports. As an official, I see you were trying to enforce rules and advocate for fair rules. Asking the three spectators questions about the swimmer was not appropriate. Writing “boy” on the meet sheet was not appropriate. I would’ve kept my concerns to meet officials, team reps, and the league to be most effective, professional, and kind. I also agree that the boards communication to you via email only, lacking specifics of the violation, and failing to interview you for your account were not appropriate.

Question for you- was the swimmer actually a boy or girl? Posts reference Terry wee actually a girl but I see no verification of that.

Can you link to NVSL rules about gender? I agree that league rules need to include gender policies.

Marshals are not officials; they are meet-specific deck volunteers.
They receive no formal training beyond a quick briefing from the ref before the meet. It’s very clear what rules they are empowered to enforce and swimmer eligibility is not among them. If a marshal observed an illegal fly finish that the stroke and turn judge missed, they don’t escalate it to the ref and then go bananas when there is no subsequent dq. Because he’s not there to enforce those rules and isn’t permitted to. In addition to the many other issues with this situation, the OP was out of line as a marshal and can’t use that role to justify his actions. (Note, a primary responsibility of marshals IS to ensure there is no foul language or abusive behavior on deck.)

His account (posted on his original post) stated that he is a certified meet official, although yes you are correct, he was volunteering as a marshall in this meet.

I think he meant to say, “I’m certifiable.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, I just got caught up on this thread again. The child in question is a girl?!?!? Is that true?

Yes it’s true, she’s a girl and Luis has gone quiet here.

DP. How do we know that? Just from the anonymous PP claiming she’s a girl?

Whether she was born a boy or a girl is irrelevant. Luis doesn’t know and doesn’t need to know. I guess it’s possible that poster does know but they shouldn’t be sharing. Speculating about her genitalia isn’t OK. She deserves privacy for her body.

What we do know is that Woodley Gardens follows NVSL rules and NVSL follows USA swimming rules for non elite events, and those rules say that children can swim in events associated with the gender that they or their parents register them under. So, she wasn’t breaking the rules. She was swimming where she was supposed to swim. By repeatedly swearing, and changing the posted meet results, Luis did break multiple rules. He also violated the rules of common decency by staring at, talking about, and posting about little girls’ crotches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, I just got caught up on this thread again. The child in question is a girl?!?!? Is that true?

Yes it’s true, she’s a girl and Luis has gone quiet here.

DP. How do we know that? Just from the anonymous PP claiming she’s a girl?

Well, we have the fact that her own parents registered her to swim as a girl, she wore a girls swimsuit, people from her pool say she’s a girl, and presumably she goes by a girls name. But by all means let’s trust a weirdo parent who is not a disinterested observer make a call based on his completely untrained visual inspection.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, I just got caught up on this thread again. The child in question is a girl?!?!? Is that true?

Yes it’s true, she’s a girl and Luis has gone quiet here.

DP. How do we know that? Just from the anonymous PP claiming she’s a girl?

Whether she was born a boy or a girl is irrelevant. Luis doesn’t know and doesn’t need to know. I guess it’s possible that poster does know but they shouldn’t be sharing. Speculating about her genitalia isn’t OK. She deserves privacy for her body.

What we do know is that Woodley Gardens follows NVSL rules and NVSL follows USA swimming rules for non elite events, and those rules say that children can swim in events associated with the gender that they or their parents register them under. So, she wasn’t breaking the rules. She was swimming where she was supposed to swim. By repeatedly swearing, and changing the posted meet results, Luis did break multiple rules. He also violated the rules of common decency by staring at, talking about, and posting about little girls’ crotches.

yo.. woodley garden is mcsl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wait, I just got caught up on this thread again. The child in question is a girl?!?!? Is that true?

Yes it’s true, she’s a girl and Luis has gone quiet here.

DP. How do we know that? Just from the anonymous PP claiming she’s a girl?

Whether she was born a boy or a girl is irrelevant. Luis doesn’t know and doesn’t need to know. I guess it’s possible that poster does know but they shouldn’t be sharing. Speculating about her genitalia isn’t OK. She deserves privacy for her body.

What we do know is that Woodley Gardens follows NVSL rules and NVSL follows USA swimming rules for non elite events, and those rules say that children can swim in events associated with the gender that they or their parents register them under. So, she wasn’t breaking the rules. She was swimming where she was supposed to swim. By repeatedly swearing, and changing the posted meet results, Luis did break multiple rules. He also violated the rules of common decency by staring at, talking about, and posting about little girls’ crotches.

yo.. woodley garden is mcsl.

Sorry, I meant Woodley. Everything else I said still applies.

[Anonymous]

Man, remember when Luis bullied a child? That was wild.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Man, remember when Luis bullied a child? That was wild.

Judging by his little website, it looks like he’s still going.

[Anonymous]

Woodley deserves a standing ovation for the actions they took. It was a tough decision but the right decision.

One thing we can all do to protect ourselves from these bullies is to submit rules/by-laws change request to our own pools Boards. This is taken from the Woodley web site. I appreciate how specific this is:

Woodley will not tolerate abuse against a member [or guest], including but not limited to, sexual abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, and emotional abuse (as well as any type of bullying, hazing, or harassment). Bullying involves abusive behavior and includes the use of words and gestures. Emotional bullying includes but is not limited to terrorizing, extorting, humiliating, or abuse based on race, disability, ethnicity, or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Woodley deserves a standing ovation for the actions they took. It was a tough decision but the right decision.

One thing we can all do to protect ourselves from these bullies is to submit rules/by-laws change request to our own pools Boards. This is taken from the Woodley web site. I appreciate how specific this is:

Woodley will not tolerate abuse against a member [or guest], including but not limited to, sexual abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, and emotional abuse (as well as any type of bullying, hazing, or harassment). Bullying involves abusive behavior and includes the use of words and gestures. Emotional bullying includes but is not limited to terrorizing, extorting, humiliating, or abuse based on race, disability, ethnicity, or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

+1

I read over his correspondences with the board and and he sounds exhausting. Totally lacks self reflection and awareness.

I hope they cancel the entire membership or at the very least never let him in the facility again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Man, remember when Luis bullied a child? That was wild.

Judging by his little website, it looks like he’s still going.

I mean of all the hobbies a person could have, bullying a little girl is just bizarre. Like we get it, you have too much time on your hands, but watch a movie or take a walk or something.

[Anonymous]

Dear Luis,

I hope that before you read this you will get a refreshing glass of water and walk out into nature.

You felt alone and isolated. You wanted to protect your daughter and the sanctity of competition. You looked for answers but were overcome by your emotions. How could you let your precious baby come face to face with something far from your control? You were helpless. Fight and flight took over, a human’s most basic instinctive response to an external threat.

So, you fought. You went for the jugular. You attacked quickly and fiercely. So much so that your emotions overcame your ability to be civil, thoughtful, and curious.

“Be curious, not judgmental.” Walt Whitman

In what is possibly one of your weakest public moments, you attacked a child. You thought you were protecting your own child. You weren’t. In that moment, you were attacking all of the children at the event. You projected your own fear onto the family of the child. You took your anger and fear and fought them with it.

And then you took that anger, the fear, the deep feelings of isolation that is one of the inherent struggles of parenting, and you used it to lash out on the very community that had welcomed you and your family for years. People that knew you and knew your beliefs, but it didn’t matter. You were family. It was your summer family.

One of the hardest things for humans is to reflect on their actions when it is overcome by shame. You feel shame. You think it is about the suspension but it’s not.

You know how you treated that child and your community was wrong. It is wrong. God forgives but first you must ask those you have hurt for forgiveness. Your actions must reflect those of someone seeking to rectify their wrongdoing.

Again, I encourage you, “Be curious, not judgmental.”

May you give yourself grace for your actions, and seek forgiveness from all those you have inflicted pain on in an attempt to cover up your own moments of weakness.

[Anonymous]

Love some Ted Lasso, but Whitman never said “be curious, not judgmental.”
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/be-curious-not-judgmental-walt-whitman/