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Tag: transgender

Massachusetts rep blasts Republicans for ‘weaponizing’ transgender athletes: ‘Politics at its worst’

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, D-Mass., ripped her Republican colleagues this week, saying they politicize the controversial issue of transgender athletes competing against girls and women.

The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is one of at least three state athletic organizations to say they will continue to allow trans athletes to compete against biological females despite President Donald Trump’s recent executive order barring them from doing so.

This has led to Trump’s Department of Education launching Title IX probes against the Massachusetts, Minnesota and California athletic federations.

“We’re going to say no to those trans kids? You can’t be part of a team, you can’t learn the camaraderie and be part of your community and feel a sense of belonging? It’s just cruel,” Trahan said, via the Boston Globe.

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Congresswoman Lori Trahan joined striking St. Vincent Hospital nurses on the 51st day of their picket line to show her support April 27, 2021. (Ashley Green/Telegram & Gazette via Imagn Content Services, LLC)

Trahan, who said she has not heard much of an outcry from parents in her state, added that she believes the issue should be up to each individual sports body, not politicians.

“They’re experts. They’re dedicated to their sports and creating fair and responsible rules for participation. Many of them have already implemented changes to ensure fairness and safety,” she said.

“I think that’s where the decisions should be made, but it doesn’t stop my Republican colleagues from weaponizing this issue, and it has a lot of consequence as a result.”

Save Women’s Sports advisor Beth Stelzer holds a press conference outside the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships at Georgia Tech in Atlanta March 17, 2022. (Brett Davis/USA Today Sports)

CANADIAN HOCKEY FANS BOO TEAM USA PLAYERS, NATIONAL ANTHEM AT 4 NATIONS TOURNAMENT IN MONTREAL

The NCAA, despite President Charlie Baker saying in December he knew of fewer than 10 transgender athletes in the association, recently followed Trump’s order and barred transgender athletes from competing against females.

“You can’t ignore the [NCAA’s] data,” Trahan said, “but it doesn’t stop them. They think it’s a political winner for them. Whether they believe it or not, it doesn’t even matter. They have set such a dangerous narrative in our country around denying the existence of trans people.

“There are a lot of creeps out there, so now someone gets to accuse a girl who doesn’t look feminine enough or doesn’t have pigtails in her hair?” Trahan added. “How does she have to prove [her gender]? It’s poor policymaking. It’s politics at its worst.”

President Donald Trump signs the “No Men in Women’s Sports” executive order into law in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 5, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

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The debate reached a new level nearly three years ago when Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer at Penn, won a Division I title. Trump issued his executive order as part of his announced plan to “ban” trans athletes from competing against girls and women while campaigning.

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February 15, 2025
Tim Walz’s daughter rants against Trump’s transgender athlete executive order

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s daughter, Hope Walz, went viral this week for a series of TikToks criticizing President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s and girls’ sports.

Walz posted her first video about the issue Saturday, when she called the order “a dangerous precedent.”

“It is dangerous for the trans community, women, minorities, anyone who is not a straight white man,” she said in the video. “We are talking about human beings, and the president of the United States is targeting them because he thinks it will gain him political points or whatever.”

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, wife Gwen Walz, son Gus and daughter Hope stand onstage at the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago Aug. 21, 2024. (Reuters/Mike Segar)

She suggested the issue of trans athletes in women’s and girls sports “is not real.”

“I have never felt unsafe around a trans person. I have felt unsafe around men. So, maybe let’s deal with that,” she said.

Walz posted a follow-up TikTok addressing the issue Wednesday. In that video, she suggested Trump’s Cabinet members have “allegations.” She also made claims that more of Trump’s 15 Cabinet members have “credible allegations” than there are trans athletes in high school sports. Walz did not clarify which members or which allegations she was referring to.

“Transphobia and transphobes are so crazy to me because, like, the whole argument is, ‘Oh, we’re protecting women. We need to protect women.’ But then they turn around and vote for a literal felon, who, he himself as well as many of the people closest to him have credible allegations,” she said. “Like, the amount of people with credible allegations in the Cabinet is more than trans kids trying to play high school sports.”

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

However, the United Nations released study findings saying that nearly 900 biological females have fallen short of victories because they have been defeated by transgender athletes.

The study, “Violence against women and girls in sports,” said more than 600 athletes did not medal in more than 400 competitions in 29 different sports, totaling over 890 medals, according to information obtained up to March 30.

“The replacement of the female sports category with a mixed-sex category has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, when competing against males,” the report said.

Tim Walz was a vocal advocate for transgender and LGBTQ+ rights as Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election.

The issue of transgender athletes competing with girls and women proved to be an issue that affected the outcome of an election in which Harris and Walz lost in a landslide.

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.

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

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.

Walz’s home state of Minnesota is one of the states that has refused to comply with Trump’s executive order.

The Minnesota State High School League announced Thursday it will continue to allow transgender athletes to compete against girls despite Trump’s executive order to ban them from doing so.

The Minnesota organization said in an email to member schools that participation by, and eligibility of, transgender athletes is controlled by the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which includes protections for LGBTQ+ people, and the Minnesota Constitution.

“The Minnesota State High School League, similar to other youth sports organizations, is subject to state anti-discrimination laws, which prohibit discrimination based on gender identity,” the organization said in a statement. “Therefore, students in Minnesota are allowed to participate consistent with their gender identity.”

California is another state that has refused to comply with Trump’s order.

The decision by California not to comply with Trump’s order has prompted backlash and even protests and threats of lawsuits.

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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.

February 13, 2025
House Republican introduces transgender lawmaker as ‘the gentleman … Mr. McBride’ for floor speech

Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., referred to Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del. — who identifies as a transgender woman — as “Mr. McBride.”

“The chair recognizes the gentleman from Delaware, Mr. McBride, for five minutes,” Miller said in the House chamber on Thursday.

“Thank you, Madam Speaker,” McBride replied, before proceeding to deliver a speech.

While McBride did not respond to Miller’s comment, when Miller next recognized Rep. Nanette Barragán, D- Calif., to deliver a speech, Barragán began by saying, “Thank you, Mr. Speaker.”

TRANSGENDER CONGRESS MEMBER ‘MYSTIFIED’ THAT GOP ‘PRIORITIZES’ TRANS ATHLETE BANS IN GIRLS SPORTS

Left: U.S. Rep. Mary Miller hosts the Illinois Republican Party Delegation Breakfast in Oak Creek, Wisc., on July 16, 2024; Right: Rep. Sarah McBride at the Human Rights Campaign Greater New York Dinner held at New York Marriott Marquis on Feb. 1, 2025 in New York, N.Y. (Left: E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images; Right: Nina Westervelt/Variety via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to McBride’s office to request a comment from the lawmaker on Friday — a spokesperson pointed to McBride’s full floor speech, which is featured in a post on the @Rep_McBride X account.

“This morning, I delivered my first speech on the floor of the house,” the Feb. 6 tweet begins.

During the speech, the Democrat declared, “Piece by piece, department by department, the Trump administration is defunding critical federal services, purging employees, consolidating power, and cutting and gutting programs that Delawareans rely on. They are trying to decimate the federal government and sell it for parts to line the pockets of donors at the expense of working people.”

SPEAKER JOHNSON MAKES CLARIFICATION AFTER STATEMENT REGARDING TRANSGENDER HOUSE MEMBER

“They do not want to make government more efficient. They want to prove that government can’t work, by making it not work,” McBride asserted.

Miller, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, declared in a post on X that she had “refused to deny biological reality” on the chamber floor.

FIRST OPENLY TRANS REP-ELECT CLAIMS GOP SPOTLIGHTING TRANSGENDER ISSUES AN ‘ATTEMPT TO DISTRACT’ VOTERS

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“President Trump restored biological truth in the federal government, and I refuse to perpetuate the lie that gender is open to our interpretation. It is not,” the Republican added.

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

February 7, 2025
Rep. Jasmine Crockett says Trump’s transgender athlete ban ‘doesn’t protect women,’ faces intense backlash

Most Democrats have opted to remain silent in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order banning transgender athletes from women’s and girls sports.

But one Democrat spoke out against it and was heavily criticized.

Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, spoke out against Trump’s executive order in an X post Wednesday.

“On National Girls & Women in Sports Day, Trump is: – banning trans kids from playing sports – trying to cut Title IX women’s and girls’ athletics grants -removing references to women, female and equality on government websites,” Crockett wrote. “LET ME BE CLEAR This. Doesn’t. Protect. Women.”

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Crockett’s criticism of Trump drew fierce backlash from other X users.

“Nothing in your post is true. Transgender kids are not banned from playing sports – they just have to play on teams and in leagues where their sex matches the other athletes. Or they can form their own leagues. This was done to keep men from dominating women’s sports by pretending to be women. AKA ‘protecting women’s sports.’” one user wrote.

“There were no Title IX grants cut. Any references to ‘women, female & equality’ removed from any .gov website were removed in the context of transgender/gender ideology.”

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Rep. Jasmine Crockett (MSNBC)

One user suggested Crockett’s stance was misogynistic.

“Why do you care more about the feelings of some biological males over the rights and safety of women? There’s a name for it when men are prioritized over women and given more rights. I was taught that’s misogyny,” the user wrote.

Another user pointed out that data suggests most Americans, including Democrats, oppose transgender inclusion in women’s sports, and that factored into the 2024 election results.

“This absolutely protects women, and this is what the majority of the country voted for,” the user wrote.

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

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.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

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.”

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett during the first impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden by the House Oversight Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Sept. 28, 2023. (Yasin Ozturk/Anadolu Agency via Getty Image)

Crockett previously called her state and Florida “deplorable” during a December hearing on transgender athletes over conservative legislation by lawmakers in those states. Her comments came during a House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services hearing to discuss proposed changes to Title IX by the Biden administration that would redefine sexual discrimination to include gender identity.

“When lawmakers like this are so far out of touch with what women need, we see states pushing back,” Crockett said of her Republican colleague, U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, who spoke before her. “At least states that will allow you to push back. I’m from the state of Texas, and, of course, they don’t want you to ever have an opportunity to raise your voice in the state of Texas.

“In fact, Ms. Perry, I know your organization, the Heritage Foundation, loves Texas. Oh, they love Texas,” she added. “They always sending us some nonsense bills that somehow set this country on the wrong trajectory. They send them to Texas. They send them to Florida. Every deplorable state that we can think about, they usually coming out of yall’s think tank.”

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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.

February 7, 2025
SJSU president responds to federal investigation into university’s transgender volleyball player scandal

San José State University President Cynthia Teniente-Matson has addressed an investigation into the university by the U.S. Department of Education over its handling of a transgender volleyball player.

SJSU will be investigated for potential Title IX violations over its handling of transgender athlete Blaire Fleming, the DOE told Fox News Digital earlier Thursday.

Teniente-Matson provided a statement to Fox News Digital saying the university is prepared to cooperate in the investigation.

“San José State University is committed to ensuring that all of our students, including our student-athletes, are treated fairly, free from discrimination, and afforded the rights and protections granted under federal and state law, including privacy rights.

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“We follow policies and regulations set forth by the California State University system and applicable law, and we recognize that, at times, these laws and policies may intersect in complex ways. In navigating these frameworks, our focus remains on upholding our responsibilities while supporting our students.

“Recently, we were notified that the U.S. Department of Education has initiated a directed investigation related to Title IX in light of President Trump’s executive order with respect to athletics participation. As with any federal inquiry, we will fully engage with the process, follow established procedures and remain transparent in our compliance with all applicable laws.

“While we adhere to legal and regulatory requirements, San José State will continue to act within our authority to uphold the values that define us as an institution. Our focus remains on our values, including fostering an environment that cultivates compassion, where every student has the opportunity to thrive. We remain steadfast in our role as a place of learning, respect and opportunity for all.”

WHO IS BLAIRE FLEMING? SJSU VOLLEYBALL PLAYER DOMINATING FEMALE RIVALS AND ENRAGING WOMEN’S RIGHTS GROUPS

Fleming played three seasons on the women’s team, from 2022-24, as one of the Mountain West’s top hitters, leading the team in kills. However, SJSU administrators allegedly withheld the truth about Fleming’s birth sex from other female players on the team, according to a lawsuit filed by 11 Mountain West volleyball players and a former SJSU assistant coach.

Former Spartans co-captain Brooke Slusser leads that lawsuit and alleges San José State administrators and volleyball coach Todd Kress actively prevented her from knowing Fleming’s birth sex while assigning her to share bedrooms with the transgender athlete on most road trips during their first season together in 2023.

The controversy involving Fleming prompted five of SJSU’s opponents in 2024 to forfeit a total of eight matches. The final forfeit was a Mountain West Tournament semifinal against Boise State, which had already forfeited twice to the Spartans in the regular season.

That forfeit sent Fleming, Slusser and SJSU to the conference final, where they lost to Colorado State. The plaintiffs in Slusser’s lawsuit filed for an emergency injunction in November prior to the tournament in an attempt to have Fleming removed from competition and all losses by forfeit wiped from their opponents’ records. However, federal Judge Kato Crews, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in January 2024, ruled Fleming could play.

The situation became so volatile the team needed regular police protection for its home and away matches. Slusser previously told Fox News Digital the experience was “traumatizing.”

“This season has been so traumatizing that I don’t even have a proudest moment,” Slusser said.

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Former San José State University assistant volleyball coach Melissa Batie-Smoose, who was let go from the program, was suspended from the program Nov. 2 after she filed a Title IX complaint against the university regarding its alleged handling of the situation involving Fleming. The complaint included allegations that Fleming had conspired with an opponent to have former SJSU co-captain Brooke Slusser hit in the face during a match in October.

Batie-Smoose’s complaint alleges Fleming provided a scouting report to an opponent to ensure a Colorado State competitive advantage and allegedly established a plan to set up an opponent with a clear lane to spike Slusser in the face during a match.

Slusser was never spiked in the face during that match, but Colorado State did win in straight sets.

A Mountain West investigation into Batie-Smoose’s allegations did not find sufficient evidence to discipline any player named in the allegations.

Slusser’s attorney, Bill Bock, later provided a statement to Fox News Digital insisting that the investigation had been “infected with bias.”

SJSU transgender player Blaire Fleming, left, and teammate Brooke Slusser went to a magic show and had Thanksgiving together in Las Vegas despite an ongoing lawsuit over Fleming being transgender. (Thien-An Truong/San Jose State Athletics)

“Because the MWC’s investigation was inadequate, and anything but thorough, and because the MWC’s close-out letter is riddled with errors, the undersigned is issuing this rebuttal and demands that the MWC immediately and publicly release: (1) the investigative report prepared by its investigator(s), and (2) all documents connected to the MWC’s claimed ‘thorough investigation’ and upon which the MWC’s decision not to proceed further was based,” Bock’s statement said.

Nearly every one of the players on SJSU’s 2024 team that has remaining NCAA eligibility has entered the NCAA transfer portal, Fox News Digital previously reported.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday to prevent transgender athletes from competing in women’s and girls sports. The NCAA announced Thursday it is amending its gender eligibility policy to fall in line with Trump’s executive order.

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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.

February 6, 2025
$10M in taxpayer funds spent creating transgender animals last year

$10 million in taxpayer funds were spent last year creating transgender animals, a study by White Coat Waste Project revealed.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-SC, laid out the misuse of taxpayer dollars funding “gender-affirming care” for animals during opening remarks at a subcommittee hearing on Thursday. The hearing, titled “Transgender Lab Rats and Poisoned Puppies: Oversight of Taxpayer Funded Animal Cruelty,” featured a witness from the White Coat Waste Project.

“Last year, the White Coat Waste Project exposed more than $10 million in taxpayer funds that were spent creating transgender mice, rats, and monkeys,” Mace said. “These DEI grants funded painful and deadly transgender experiments that forced lab animals to undergo invasive surgeries and hormone therapies at universities across the country.”

Mace took aim at the Biden-Harris administration’s radical policy agenda for allowing taxpayer dollars to fund “surgically mutating animal genitals.”

GOP LAWMAKER SCRAPS WITH DEMOCRAT IN HEARING OVER TRANSGENDER ‘SLUR,’ BATHROOM RIGHTS: ‘NOT GOING TO HAVE IT’

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 19: U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) arrives for a House Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol on November 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. Mace introduced legislation that would require House members and staffers from “using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex.” Mace introduced the bill in response to incoming Representative-elect Sarah McBride (D-DE) who will soon be the first transgender member of Congress. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

WEST POINT DISBANDS GENDER-BASED, RACE CLUBS IN TRUMP’S DEI SWEEP

“The Biden-Harris administration spent 2.5 million taxpayer dollars to study the fertility of transgender mice,” Mace said. “The Biden-Harris administration was so eager to propagate their radical gender ideology across all facets of American society that they were surgically mutating animal genitals. Taxpayer money went to that.”

Before yielding to ranking member Rep. Shontel Brown, D-OH, Mace said wasteful government spending on animal cruelty is a “nonpartisan issue.”

“The US government spends in excess of $20 billion a year conducting experiments on animals,” Mace said. “We spent over a million dollars to find out if female rats receiving testosterone therapy were more likely to overdose on a date rape drug. That’s what your taxpayer dollars were being spent on.”

Rep. Nancy Mace narrowly won election in 2020 over incumbent Joe Cunningham (D) by one-percent or about 5,400 votes. With newly redrawn redistricting maps in place, she comfortably won reelection by 14%. (Getty Images)

Mace thanked the White Coast Waste Project for their research. Justin Goodman, SVP of White Coat Waste Project; Dr. Paul A. Locke, a Professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Elizabeth Baker, Director of Research Policy at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine were invited to testify at Thursday’s hearing.

Beagles who were rescued from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) supplier were in the audience as a “reminder of the real cost of animal experimentation,” Mace said. In 2022, Mace stopped a $1.8 million dollar drug test experiment on beagle puppies.

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“Today, most of the twenty-seven NIH institutes and centers conduct or support animal testing—as does the Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Department of Defense, and countless agencies,” Mace said. “I hope today’s conversation can similarly prevent taxpayer dollars from needlessly funding animal experimentation.”

Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

February 6, 2025
Trump vows Homeland Security will prevent transgender athletes from entering the country for 2028 LA Olympics

President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports Wednesday and vowed the order will also apply to border security for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

During Trump’s ceremony at the White House to sign the executive order, he announced that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will prohibit any transgender athletes attempting to compete as women from entering the country for the Olympics in 2028.

Trump said he will instruct Noem “to deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes try and get into the Games.”

Earlier Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said part of the motivation behind Trump’s executive order would be to create a “pressure campaign” for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and NCAA to follow and prevent transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.

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“He does expect the Olympic committee and the NCAA to no longer allow men to compete in women’s sports,” Leavitt said. “I think the president, with the signing of his pen, starts a very public pressure campaign on these organizations to do the right thing for women and for girls.

“Again, this is an incredibly popular position. There have been many notable female athletes who have had the courage to speak out against some very powerful institutions in this country. They deserve to have a voice and a say. The president is bringing their voice to the highest level of the White House. He expects these organizations to comply with this federal executive order he will be signing today.”

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

There was controversy surrounding gender eligibility at the Paris Olympics in July and August.

Boxers Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu-ting of Taiwan won gold medals in women’s boxing. Both athletes had previously been disqualified from international competitions for failing gender eligibility tests. However, the IOC and current President Thomas Bach voiced support for both athletes. The IOC also insisted that both athletes were biologically female.

Before that, Laurel Hubbard, a transgender woman, competed in weightlifting for the New Zealand team, and Canadian soccer player Quinn came out as nonbinary and transgender in 2020.

With Bach preparing to leave office later this year, the IOC’s next president could help carry out Trump’s vision on the issue more cooperatively.

Former British Olympic champion Sebastian Coe is a candidate to be the next IOC president and has suggested he will take action to prevent transgender inclusion in women’s events.

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Coe published a manifesto for his vision as IOC president as he campaigns for the position, and it stressed the importance of protecting female athletes.

Unlike Bach, Coe opposes transgender inclusion in the women’s category and said he would explore a complete ban on transgender athletes in an interview with Sky News.

“We will have a very clear policy that will be unambiguous,” Coe said. “We’ve been very clear in World Athletics that transgender athletes will not be competing in the female category at the elite level.”

Lord Sebastian Coe speaks during a memorial service for Kevan Gosper in the Olympic Room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground Sept. 17, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. Gosper was an Olympian, former AOC president and IOC vice president who died July 19, 2024, after a short illness. (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images for the AOC)

Coe is the current head of World Athletics, the governing body for international track and field competition. In 2023, the governing body tightened its regulations on transgender athletes to exclude transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing in the female category. That regulation also lowered the maximum testosterone level for eligible female competitors.

Coe said if he becomes IOC president, the new Olympic policy on transgender inclusion will “probably” reflect the one he has established in World Athletics. Coe has also said the controversy surrounding Khelif and Yu-ting made him feel “uncomfortable.”

NCAA PREZ SUGGESTS ONUS ON FEMALE ATHLETES TO USE OTHER FACILITIES IF UNCOMFORTABLE SHARING WITH TRANS PLAYERS

The United Nations released study findings saying that nearly 900 biological females have fallen short of winning medals because they lost to transgender athletes.

The study, “Violence against women and girls in sports,” said more than 600 athletes did not medal in more than 400 competitions in 29 different sports, totaling over 890 medals, according to information obtained up to March 30.

“The replacement of the female sports category with a mixed-sex category has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, when competing against males,” the report said.

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.

February 5, 2025
GOP lawmaker scraps with Democrat in hearing over transgender ‘slur,’ bathroom rights: ‘Not going to have it’

A House Oversight Committee hearing devolved into a fight over words on Wednesday after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., repeatedly used a “slur” to describe transgender people in a hearing on USAID funding.

“USAID awarded $2 million to strengthen trans-led organizations to deliver gender-affirming health care in Guatemala,” Mace said. “So to each of you this morning, does this advance the interests of American citizens paying for trannies in Guatemala to the tune of $2 million, yes or no?”

When Mace’s five minutes were up, ranking member Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., made a point of parliamentary inquiry to the committee chairman to chide Mace for using the word “trannies,” a term “that is considered a slur in the LGBTQ community, and the transgender community.”

“Let me please finish without interruption,” Connolly said, before Mace cut him off and repeated the term several more times.

“Tranny, tranny, tranny, I don’t really care, you want penises and women’s bathrooms, and I’m not going to have it OK, no, thank you – it’s disgusting,” Mace barked back.

SPEAKER JOHNSON ANNOUNCES NEW CAPITOL BATHROOM POLICY IN RESPONSE TO CONTROVERSY OVER TRANS HOUSE MEMBER

Rep. Nancy Mace and Rep. Gerry Connolly (Getty Images)

Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., interrupted and permitted Connolly to finish his thoughts.

“To me, a slur is a slur, and here on the committee, a level of decorum requires us to try consciously to avoid slurs. You just heard the gentle lady actually actively, robustly repeated it,” Connolly said. “And I would just ask the chairman that she be counseled that we ought not to be engaged. We can have debate and policy discussion without offending human beings who are our fellow citizens. And so I would ask as a parliamentary inquiry whether the use of that phrase is not, in fact, a violation of the decorum rules.”

Mace – who recently introduced a bill to ban biological men from women’s spaces on all federal property – snapped back that she wasn’t going to be “counseled by a man over men in women’s spaces or men who have mental health issues dressing as women.” The South Carolina Republican also made headlines last November with her push to ban biological males from women’s bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol, inspired by the election of Sarah McBride, D-Del., as the first openly transgender woman elected to the House.

TWO HOUSE DEMS JOIN GOP TO BAN BIOLOGICAL MALES FORM GIRLS’ SCHOOL SPORTS

Elon Musk speaks with President-elect Donald Trump and guests at a SpaceX Starship launch in Brownsville, Texas, Nov. 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Pool via Reuters/File Photo)

With a slight smirk, Comer said, “I’ll be honest with the ranking member – I’m not up-to-date on my politically correct LGBTQ terminology.”

“We’ll look into that and get back with you on that. I don’t know what’s offensive and what’s not. I don’t know much about pronouns,” he said.

The hearing, which was about government efficiency and called “Rightsizing Government,” began Wednesday morning and included as witnesses Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Citizens Against Government Waste president Thomas A. Schatz.

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The flag of the U.S. Agency for International Development flies in front of its office in Washington, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The hearing also fell into some confusion when Connolly demanded the committee subpoena the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tech billionaire Elon Musk.

A review of USAID’s recent history shows that it was repeatedly accused of financial mismanagement and corruption long before Trump’s second administration, Fox News Digital previously reported.

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Musk has led the charge against USAID – an independent U.S. agency established during the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations – as he leads DOGE’s mission of cutting government fat and overspending at the federal level.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.

February 5, 2025
LGBTQ+ advocates, families sue Trump admin for ending funding of transgender healthcare under 19

A group of seven families, as well as LGBTQ+ advocates and medical organizations, have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and his administration over an executive order to ban federal funding for transgender healthcare for individuals under the age of 19.

The lawsuit was filed in Baltimore federal court and seeks an immediate injunction to delay the implementation of Trump’s executive order from last week.

“Over the past week, hospitals across the country have abruptly halted medical care for transgender people under nineteen, canceling appointments and turning away some patients who have waited years to receive medically necessary care for gender dysphoria,” the lawsuit reads.

“This sudden shutdown in care was the direct and immediate result of an Executive Order that President Trump issued on January 28, 2025 — Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation — directing all federal agencies to ‘immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that institutions receiving Federal research or education grants end gender-affirming medical care for people under nineteen (the “Denial of Care Order”).”

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A transgender rights supporter takes part in a rally outside the U.S. Supreme Court, Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The denial of care order follows on the heels of another executive order Trump signed on Jan. 20, 2025, to defend women from gender ideology extremism and restore biological truth to the federal government.

The group of plaintiffs claims executive orders are unlawful and unconstitutional, saying the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse.

“The president does not have unilateral power to withhold federal funds that have been previously authorized by Congress and signed into law, and the President does not have the power to impose his own conditions on the use of funds when Congress has not delegated to him the power to do so,” the lawsuit reads. “President Trump’s directives to cut off funding have had concrete and immediate effects. Hospitals across the country, including those that have provided medical care to the Transgender Plaintiffs, have ended the provision of ongoing and essential gender-affirming medical care to transgender patients under nineteen because of the Executive Orders.”

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The lawsuit is the latest to come out of Trump’s recently signed executive orders relating to gender.

The executive orders, signed in late January, include a reinstatement of the ban on transgender troops in the military, a ban on federal funding for sex changes for minors and a directive requiring federal agencies to recognize only “two sexes,” male and female, in official standard of conduct.

“This ban betrays fundamental American values of equal opportunity and judging people on their merit,” Jennifer Levi, director of Transgender and Queer Rights at GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law), said in a statement about the trans military ban.

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A transgender pride flag. (Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images)

GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) were among the first groups to file a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration for its military ban. The lawsuit, Talbott v. Trump, was brought forward on equal protection grounds by six active-duty service members and two individuals attempting to enlist, according to the groups’ announcement.

The plaintiffs include a Sailor of the Year honoree, a Bronze Star recipient and several who were awarded meritorious service medals. They were identified as U.S. Army Reservist Lt. Nicolas Talbott, Army Maj. Erica Vandal, Army Sgt. 1st Class Kate Cole, Army Capt. Gordon Herrero, Navy Ensign Dany Danridge, Air Force Master Sgt. Jamie Hash, and Koda Nature and Cael Neary. The latter two are civilians who are seeking to enlist in the military.

Another lawsuit, filed by a transgender inmate receiving taxpayer-funded medical treatment, is challenging Trump’s executive order that ends medical transgender treatments — such as hormones, sex changes and grooming accommodations — for federal prisoners.

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The unnamed inmate, who goes by “Maria Moe” in court documents and is represented by GLAD Law, NCLR and Lowenstein Sandler LLP, is claiming Trump and the Bureau of Prisons are violating the Fifth and Eighth amendments and claims to be “at imminent risk of losing access to the medical care she needs to treat her gender dysphoria.”

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter @GregWehner.

February 4, 2025
Families sue California AG over trans athlete law after girl loses varsity spot to transgender competitor

The families of two teenage girls are suing California Attorney General Rob Bonta over the state’s laws that allow transgender athletes to compete in girls sports.

A lawsuit was filed by Ryan Starling, the father of Taylor Starling; Daniel and Cynthia Slavin, the parents to Kaitlyn Slavin; and Save Girls Sports, according to court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The listed defendants are Bonta and California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, along with the Riverside Unified School district and administrators Leann Iacuone and Amanda Chann.

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A gender-neutral bathroom at the University of California, Irvine in Irvine, Calif. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)

The suit challenges a law in California that allows transgender athletes to compete against girls and women, claiming it is a Title IX violation.

The law, AB 1266, has been in effect since 2014, giving California students at scholastic and collegiate levels the right 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.”

“This law conflicts with federal Title IX protections, which were established to ensure fairness, safety, and equal opportunities for female students and athletes,” a spokesperson for Advocates for Faith & Freedom, the legal firm representing the families, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

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Students at Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, Calif., wear T-shirts that say “Save Girls Sports” to protest a transgender athlete on the cross country team. (Courtesy of Sophia Lorey)

“AB 1266 undermines female athletes, forcing them to compete against biological males who hold undeniable physical advantages. This is not equality. This is an assault on fairness and safety.”

The lawsuit, recently amended to include Bonta and Thurmond, was initially filed in November by the Starling and Slavin families.

It alleges Taylor Starling lost her spot on the varsity cross country team at Martin Luther King High School to a transgender athlete who had just transferred to the school. Starling and Slavin also alleged that when they wore shirts that said “Save Girls Sports” in protest, they were scolded by administrators who compared the shirts to swastikas.

The plaintiffs are looking to bring statewide change to California.

“Plaintiffs seek a federal ruling that AB 1266 violates Title IX as well as a decision holding the District accountable for violating their First Amendment rights. They demand injunctive relief to stop schools from forcing biological girls to compete with and against males, a judgment affirming sex-based protections in athletics and compensation for damages caused by these discriminatory policies,” the Advocates for Faith & Freedom spokesperson said.

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Transgender athlete supporters hold up signs at left as Tori Hitchcock, center, of the Young Women for America, and Salomay McCullough, right, show off their “Save Girls Sports” shirts. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Ryan Starling previously told Fox News Digital the loss of his daughter’s varsity spot disrupted his entire family emotionally, because cross country played a pivotal role in her life. And then when his daughter and other girls on the team confronted their school administrators about it, he claims, they were told “transgenders have more rights than cisgenders.”

“It’s been told multiple times to not just Taylor, but her sister,” Ryan Starling said, adding that Taylor is one of three triplets, and all three are active on varsity sports teams. “All the administrators at Martin Luther King have stated this comment, and the Title IX coordinator for the Riverside Unified School District has stated ‘that as a Cisgender girl, they do not have the same rights as a transgender girl’ to multiple girls, not just our daughters, but multiple girls on campus.”

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An RUSD spokesperson declined to give an official comment on Ryan Starling’s claims in a conversation with Fox News Digital.

The RUSD previously provided a statement to Fox News Digital insisting that its handling of the situation has been in accordance with California state law.

“While these rules were not created by RUSD, the district is committed to complying with the law and CIF regulations. California state law prohibits discrimination of students based on gender, gender identity and gender expression and specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender in physical education and athletics. The protections we provide to all students are not only aligned with the law but also with our core values which include equity and well-being,” the statement said.

Dan Slavin previously told Fox News Digital his family may continue to raise awareness of this issue in the 2026 California gubernatorial election if the issue hasn’t been resolved.

“If nothing changes here in the next couple of years, it absolutely should be part of the next election,” he said.

“I want to see policies change,” Slavin added. “I keep saying the system is broken, and it’s doing more harm than good. And I want to see people understand that and admit that. Sometimes, we make mistakes, and it’s OK to admit that, but we need to make changes and get out of those mistakes we make.”

California State Assemblymember Kate Sanchez announced in early January she is introducing a bill to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls and women’s sports.

Sanchez, a Republican, will propose the Protect Girls’ Sports Act to the state legislature. Currently, 25 states have similar laws in effect.

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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.

February 1, 2025