Parents of girls on El Camino High School's volleyball team in Sacramento say a male student playing alongside their daughters sexually harassed female players, and that the school let him keep using the girls' changing room even after a formal complaint was filed. The allegations center on a player identified as Ariana “Ari” Grialou, who parents say continued undressing near teammates, made sexually suggestive comments, and repeatedly touched himself during games.
The allegations were first detailed in a report from Reduxx, which says it confirmed the player's name as Ariana “Ari” Grialou, born Bradley Grialou. According to the outlet, Grialou previously competed on boys' track and cross-country teams in middle school before beginning to identify as a girl in eighth or ninth grade. He later joined El Camino's girls' junior varsity volleyball team and moved up to varsity at the start of the 2026 season, per the same report.
Parents told Reduxx that several girls eventually organized to file formal complaints alleging ongoing sexual harassment. Even after that complaint was lodged, the report states, Grialou continued to be allowed to use the female changing room, and many girls began changing in bathroom stalls instead to avoid his gaze. Girls also reported that he hovered and stared at them while they undressed and sometimes remained in the changing facilities without changing himself, the outlet's reporting says.
Parents Describe a Pattern of Invasive Behavior
One mother identified in the report as Carol alleged that Grialou touched his genital area repeatedly during games, telling Reduxx, “He would touch himself during the game, excessively. Between every play or every other play.” She also said girls on the team avoided high-fiving or otherwise touching him, and described him as hitting hard, with adult-man-sized hands, a longer reach, and a higher vertical jump than his teammates.
Carol further reported multiple injuries involving girls being hit or elbowed by Grialou during play. A second parent identified as Kelly told the outlet that girls reported Grialou made sexual comments about their bodies and asked invasive questions about their relationships and sexual activity, conversations the girls reportedly found uncomfortable and invasive.
An anonymous parent also claimed Grialou received more playing time than many of the girls and got to choose his own position on the court. Carol put it bluntly, according to the report: “Ari gets to play in whatever position he wants.” She added that her own child sometimes got about 10 minutes of playing time in a match where Grialou played roughly two-thirds of the game.
Jersey Number Became a Flashpoint
The controversy extended beyond the locker room. According to Reduxx, the aunt of a player from Rio Linda emailed coaches and staff at schools scheduled to play El Camino, warning about varsity team safety and writing that El Camino's player #13 appeared to be a boy and had hit girls in the head during a game. She said he had at least two hits that struck a couple of girls in the head, the outlet reported.
El Camino staff responded to that email, and at the team's next game, school officials and staff were stationed throughout the gym alongside representatives from the California Safe School Coalition, per the report. An El Camino player was reportedly required to switch jerseys with Grialou to conceal his identity as #13, with Grialou allegedly telling teammates he was transgender and that the officials present were there to support him. He also reportedly told teammates they would be expected to take turns switching jerseys with him and wearing #13 going forward.
Kelly said several girls went home in tears because they feared having to wear that jersey number, according to the report. El Camino later acknowledged the jersey-switch arrangement was inappropriate and agreed to retire #13 entirely; Grialou was subsequently assigned #17, Reduxx reported.
School's Response Called Inadequate
After the complaints were filed, the school reportedly informed parents of the allegations and of their daughters' rights under Title IX, but Carol criticized the response as very poor. The school said it expected the comments to stop and considered further action unnecessary, and it did not assign monitors to the locker room following the complaints, according to the Reduxx account.
San Juan Unified School District, which oversees El Camino, states on its athletics page that district programs and activities must be free from unlawful discrimination, harassment including sexual harassment, intimidation, and bullying, according to El Camino Fundamental High School Athletics. The district's nondiscrimination policy explicitly covers sex, gender, gender identity, and gender expression, among other protected characteristics.
Wider Fight Over Transgender Athletes in California
The dispute in Sacramento lands amid a broader, unresolved fight in California over how schools balance Title IX protections for transgender students with concerns raised by other families. The state is described as being at the center of an active and highly contested conflict with the federal government over whether Title IX permits transgender athletes to compete according to their gender identities, according to a report from sanluisobispo.com.
That same report notes that the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District, facing its own version of this debate, planned to build private changing stalls in a girls' locker room, with an initial batch targeted for completion during spring break and more planned for summer, funded through the district's maintenance budget. The Paso Robles school board had not taken formal action on the broader issue as of that meeting, the outlet reported.
Separately, the California Department of Education has said the California Interscholastic Federation's policy reiterates state law protecting students from discrimination based on sex, gender, and gender identity while providing equal access to athletic opportunities regardless of those characteristics, according to the California Department of Education. Under California Education Code Section 221.5(f), students are permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams, consistent with their gender identity regardless of the gender listed in school records, according to language quoted by SI.com.
A Separate San Juan Unified Case Also in Court
El Camino Fundamental High School has faced scrutiny before. A former student and their mother filed a lawsuit against San Juan Unified School District alleging staff failed to stop a physical assault, according to a report from The Sacramento Bee. That suit alleges the student was bullied, harassed, and threatened by a classmate in 2023 before being attacked on March 16, suffering facial bruising and a concussion.
The Bee's report also alleges the district failed to enter a stay-away agreement into its system and did not inform staff beyond the vice principal about the situation. After the assault, the parent transferred the student to a new school, and the alleged attacker later also sought to transfer there before the district placed that student elsewhere, according to the same account.
What Comes Next Remains Unclear
Under state complaint procedures, a complainant who disagrees with a local educational agency's findings on a discrimination or harassment investigation has the right to appeal to the California Department of Education within 30 days of the investigation report, per CDE guidance. Federal guidance from the U.S. Department of Education states that a school is considered deliberately indifferent when its response is clearly unreasonable given known circumstances, and that a Title IX coordinator must promptly contact a complainant about supportive measures and how to file a formal complaint.
No response from El Camino High School, San Juan Unified School District, Grialou, or his family has been detailed in the reporting reviewed, and the outcome of the parents' formal complaint has not been made public.
