Tag: inclusion

ESPN star Stephen A Smith makes stance on trans inclusion in women’s sports clear

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ESPN star Stephen A. Smith made his stance on trans inclusion in girls and women’s sports clear during an interview on radio row in New Orleans ahead of Super Bowl LIX.

Smith appeared in an interview for Bloomberg last week to talk about his political aspirations. The clip was published on Saturday. He said he considered himself to be a “centrist” when it came to political leanings, but when it came to trans athletes playing in women’s sports, that’s where he took a different line.

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Sadie Schreiner holds a transgender flag after finishing third in the finals of the 200m race at the NCAA DIII outdoor track and field championships on May 25, 2024. (Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“So that’s how I look at it. LGBTQ rights and all that stuff, I’m in full support of that, but when transgender athletes, men are transitioning to women and they’re competing in female sports, that’s a different animal to me,” he said.

“That’s not just about LGBTQ rights. That’s about prying on the rights of females out there everywhere who were born female, and they’re at a decided disadvantage.”

Smith’s stance came as President Donald Trump signed an executive order to bar transgender athletes from competing against women and girls.

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Stephen A. Smith on the ESPN NBA Countdown live set at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Oct. 23, 2024. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)

The NCAA followed Trump’s executive order and changed its policy.

Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick for education secretary, also said she didn’t believe trans athletes should compete against women and girls in sports.

“I do not believe that biological boys should be able to compete against girls in sports, and I think now that certainly not only have the people spoken, because that was something that Trump ran very heavily on, but I believe the court has spoken,” McMahon said.

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President Donald Trump signs an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing in women’s or girls’ sporting events, in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America (CWA) legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of “Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls and women’s bathrooms,” as important to them. And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was “very important.”

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

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February 16, 2025
Seth Moulton gets fundraising haul after slamming trans athlete inclusion, prompting second pro-trans rally

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., seems to have been financially rewarded for taking a stand against transgender athletes in women’s sports, but his critics aren’t backing down.

Moulton raised $547,153 from Election Day in November to the end of 2024, according to The Boston Globe. That figure is 10 times higher than what he raised in the same period in 2022, and 80% of the donations were $100 or less.

“I think most Democrats want to put this issue to bed, so that we don’t keep losing on it,” Moulton told the outlet.

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The congressman was one of the most vocal Democrats to speak out against transgender inclusion in women’s and girls sports after his party’s sweeping election loss for the White House, House of Representatives and Senate.

Moulton initially made his comments blaming his party’s stance on transgender inclusion in a New York Times article Nov. 7, just two days after the election, then repeatedly doubled down on that stance amid backlash from those within his own party.

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

Moulton’s comments prompted a pro-transgender rally outside his office Nov. 17, and now a second rally is planned for outside his office Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Salem city Councilman Kyle Davis, who organized the rallies, previously told Fox News Digital there is a sizable Democratic contingent in Massachusetts that plans to primary Moulton in 2026.

Even though Moulton has publicly disavowed supporting transgender inclusion in women’s and girls sports, he still voted against a bill that would help combat it last week.

Moulton joined 206 Democratic representatives who voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act Jan. 14. Moulton previously cosponsored the Equality Act and Transgender Bill of Rights, both of which would allow transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., speaks during a House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials hearing. (Getty Images)

On Tuesday, two Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting in favor of the bill — representatives Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas. But Moulton, despite now opposing transgender inclusion, voted against the bill Tuesday, saying he does not want children to be “subjected to the invasive violations of personal privacy this bill allows.”

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That argument was similar to one many other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have made, insisting it would empower child predators to give genital examinations to young girls.

The bill passed in the House with bipartisan support and is moving to the Senate, and some Democratic voters have chosen to leave the party in response to their representatives’ child predator argument.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., questions Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley during a House Armed Services Committee hearing July 9, 2020. (Greg Nash/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don’t think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women’s sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.

Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.

Shortly after November’s election, a national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of “Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls’ and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls’ and women’s bathrooms” as important to them.

And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was “very important.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

January 24, 2025