Photos have been circulating online of L.A. Dodgers pitcher Blake Treinen honoring conservative Charlie Kirk at last night&#8217;s game against the San Francisco Giants.
Treinen wrote the name &#8220;Charlie Kirk,&#8221; sandwiched between two crosses, on the side of his hat.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Blake Treinen with ✝️Charlie Kirk✝️ on his hat tonight 🙏 <a href="https://t.co/ZKApLCDO1m">pic.twitter.com/ZKApLCDO1m</a>
— decoy (@decoyposts) <a href="https://twitter.com/decoyposts/status/1966726435466604785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
Kirk, 31, was assassinated while answering questions at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Kirk had massive influence with young conservatives, founding Turning Point USA at just 18 years old. The conservative was known just as well for speaking openly about his faith in God as he was for talking politics.
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, Kirk was asked before his death about how he wanted to be remembered. Unsurprisingly, he pointed to his faith in Jesus Christ.
“How do you wanna be remembered? … [If] everything just goes away [and] you could be associated with one thing, how would you want to be remembered?” Kirk was asked.
“I want to be remembered for courage for my faith,” Kirk responded. “That would be the most important thing. The most important thing is my faith in my life.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Charlie Kirk on how he wanted to be remembered.
Question: “How would you wanna be remembered?”
Charlie: “I wanna be remembered for courage for my faith. That that would be the most important thing. The most important thing is my faith in my life.” <a href="https://t.co/fwBV9UVefc">pic.twitter.com/fwBV9UVefc</a>
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1965974414748692572?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
Treinen, too, has been outspoken about his Christian faith. When the Dodgers won the World Series in 2024, for example, the pitcher <a href="https://churchleaders.com/news/500008-god-is-absolutely-god-says-pitcher-blake-treinen-after-dodgers-win-world-series.html">said</a>, &#8220;God is absolutely good.&#8221;
&#8220;I gotta give a shout out to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for this moment, man. It’s a lot of hard work, what I’ve gone through,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;This moment is such a blessing.”
Taking on questions from the press, Treinen said it was &#8220;God&#8221; on his mind after the final game. &#8220;Everything I’ve been through, it’s just so good to be here and have this platform,&#8221; he said.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dodgers-ace-clayton-kershaw-adds-bible-reference-to-rainbow-hat-for-pride-night">Dodgers Ace Clayton Kershaw Adds Bible Reference To Rainbow Hat For Pride Night</a>

World Series – Los Angeles Dodgers v New York Yankees – Game 5

Star Dodgers Pitcher Pays Tribute To Charlie Kirk On Mound

Charlie Kirk

Christianity

General

Los Angeles Dodgers

Major League Baseball

Religion

Sports

U.S.

Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter was ejected early in the season opener Thursday night after he was caught spitting on Dak Prescott, the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.
The incident occurred following the opening kickoff at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly. As some staff tended to an injured player, Carter was seen going helmet to helmet with Prescott. 
Carter was immediately hit with a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected from the game. An Eagles staffer escorted him off the field, with cameras following and announcers expressing their shock.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Jalen Carter was ejected from the Eagles’ season opener after appearing to spit at Dak Prescott.
(🎥 NBC) <a href="https://t.co/HbETVk1ALd">pic.twitter.com/HbETVk1ALd</a>
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1963761757760930233?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Footage later emerged showing Prescott spitting towards Carter first, which is why he claimed he retaliated. But the quarterback insists he was just spitting forward and not aiming at anyone.
“I was just looking at him and I was right here in between two linemen,” Prescott said of the incident. “I guess I needed to spit, and I wasn’t going to spit on my linemen, so I just spit ahead.”
“He asked or goes, ‘Are you trying to spit on me?’ At that point, I felt like he was insulting me,” the Cowboys quarterback continued. “I wouldn’t spit on somebody, and I’m damn sure not trying to spit on you, we’re trying to play a game… He just spit on me in that moment, and it was more of a surprise than anything. The refs obviously saw it and threw a flag. I was like, ‘Hell yeah, we get 15 yards to start the game off,’ I didn’t realize he was getting ejected. Unfortunate that he did and hell of a player.”
Carter issued an apology after the game. 
“You know it was a mistake that happened on my side, and it just won’t happen again,” Carter <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/eagles-dt-jalen-carter-ejected-before-playing-snap-after-spitting-on-cowboys-qb-dak-prescott-in-season-opener">told reporters</a> after the game. “I feel bad for just my teammates and the fans out there. You know, I’m doing it for them. I’m doing it for my family also but the fans, they show the most love. You heard them out there and not being able to start the game to finish the game just f*** me up, but it won’t happen again.”
Despite losing one of their best defensive players, the Eagles managed to eke out a win for week one, besting the Cowboys with a final score of 24-20.

Jalen Carter

Eagles’ Jalen Carter Ejected After Spitting On Cowboys QB, Says He’s Sorry

Eagles' Jalen Carter Apologizes After Being Ejected For Spitting On Cowboys QB Dak Prescott

Dallas Cowboys

Football

Philadelphia Eagles

After a video of him snatching a hat from a child at the U.S. Open went viral and ignited widespread outrage, Polish businessman Piotr Szczerek publicly apologized for his actions.
Szczerek, head of the paving company Drogbruk, shared his regrets on the company’s official Instagram page and stated that all other comments attributed to him and his wife were fake. The exec explained that he didn’t mean to take the hat from the little boy, saying he thought it was meant for him.
The footage captures tennis star Kamil Majchrzak holding out the hat toward the child until Szczerek abruptly intercepted, grabbed the hat, and tucked it into his wife’s tote bag. In the video, he appears to ignore the child’s protestations.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Hat-snatching CEO Piotr Szczerek Breaks Silence After US Open Backlash" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WLB1BIDstPk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“I would like to unequivocally apologize to the boy who was harmed, his family, as well as all the fans and the player himself,” Szczerek <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DODrR8ZCMsI/?hl=en">wrote on Instagram</a>, via a translation. “I made a serious mistake.”
“In the emotions, in the crowd’s joy after the victory, I was convinced that the tennis player was handing the cap in my direction — for my sons, who had earlier asked for autographs,” the CEO went on. 
“Today, I know that I did something that looked like deliberately taking a souvenir from a child. That was never my intention, but it doesn’t change the fact that I hurt the boy and disappointed the fans. The cap has since been given to the boy, and apologies made to the family. I hope that at least in part I have repaired the harm I caused,” he added. 
“It is a painful but necessary lesson in humility,” Szczerek wrote.
Since the incident, Majchrzak located the boy, who was identified as Brock, and posed for photos with him. “Hello World, Together with Brock we wish you a great day!” the tennis pro wrote in an Instagram caption shared on Saturday.
He showed a photo of himself giving more gifts to Brock in another Story. 
Szczerek has been targeted online since the incident, with angry individuals bombarding his company with negative reviews and publicly criticizing him for his actions.

Kamil Majchrzak

Polish CEO Apologizes After Viral US Open Hat-Snatching Incident

Polish CEO Apologizes After Viral US Open Hat Snatching Incident

Poland

Scandals

Tennis

US Open

viral video

New details from the Minneapolis school shooter&#8217;s manifesto reveal his anguish over his transgender identity, sparking a fierce national debate over motive. A patriotic &#8220;flagging&#8221; movement sweeps the U.K. as public backlash grows against the government&#8217;s mass migration policies and a surge in migrant crime. The multi-billion dollar college football season kicks off this weekend amid a new era of paid athletes and an expanded playoff.
It’s Friday, August 29, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>Minneapolis Shooter’s Manifesto Reveals Transgender Anguish</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-966753" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Newly deciphered writings from the trans-identified shooter who attacked a Minneapolis Catholic school reveal his anguish over his gender identity, sparking a fierce national debate over the motive for the massacre.
Two days after the horrific attack that left two children dead and 17 others injured, authorities have deciphered parts of the shooter’s cryptic manifesto. According to a translation from the New York Post, the writings reveal a deep internal struggle: &#8220;I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brain-washed myself,&#8221; one passage reads. &#8220;I regret being trans. I wish I was a girl I just know I cannot achieve that body with the technology we have today.&#8221;
Many on the Right are pointing to a growing number of mass shootings committed by transgender offenders and arguing that affirming a transgender identity, which they view as a form of mental illness, creates mental anguish that can lead to violence. The White House said Thursday that HHS is investigating potential links between &#8220;gender affirming drugs&#8221; and violence.
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Many on the Left and in the legacy media have either avoided the transgender component or insisted that discussing it is bigoted. &#8220;Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community&#8230; has lost their sense of common humanity,&#8221; said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. MSNBC&#8217;s Jen Psaki claimed that discussing the shooter&#8217;s identity is an attempt to &#8220;distract from what matters,&#8221; which she said is gun control. Several outlets, including The New York Times, have run headlines claiming the shooter&#8217;s motive is a &#8220;mystery,&#8221; despite his explicitly anti-Christian and anti-Trump writings.
&nbsp;
<h2>‘Flagging’ Movement Sweeps U.K. Amid Migrant Backlash</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-966749" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.29.25-Fri-SH2.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: A new patriotic movement known as “flagging” is sweeping the United Kingdom, as public anger grows over the government&#8217;s mass migration policies and a surge in violent crime committed by migrants.
The organic movement involves citizens raising the Union Jack and the St. George’s Cross flags on lampposts and in public spaces. It grew out of protests against the government&#8217;s practice of housing illegal immigrants in local hotels, which has led to a number of rapes and assaults on local people.
Critics have labeled the movement &#8220;xenophobic,&#8221; but supporters point to a double standard, as local councils that have been quick to take down British flags have been afraid to remove Palestinian flags from heavily Muslim areas.
The backlash comes as government data shows a surge in crimes committed by foreign nationals. According to the Centre for Migration Control, convictions of foreign nationals for sexual offenses increased by a &#8220;staggering 62%&#8221; between 2021 and 2024. A recent viral video from Scotland shows a 12-year-old girl brandishing an axe and a machete to defend herself and her 14-year-old sister from a man with a foreign accent who appears to have been harassing them. The girl has since been <a href="https://x.com/PoliceScotland/status/1960745568747102433">charged</a> by police with possession of a knife &#8212; the man involved has not been charged and has <a href="https://uk.news.yahoo.com/migrant-confronted-schoolgirl-12-wielding-104332586.html">publicly</a> denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the girls approached him.
&nbsp;
<h2>College Football Kicks Off in New Era of Paid Athletes</h2>
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Topline: The multi-billion dollar college football season kicks off this weekend, ushering in a new era of paid athletes, an expanded 12-team playoff, and a slate of high-stakes opening matchups.
This season marks the second year of the expanded 12-team playoff and the first full season since the House v. NCAA settlement, which allows universities to pay athletes directly through revenue sharing, in addition to existing Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) deals.
The opening weekend is packed with marquee games. On Saturday, the action kicks off with preseason number one Texas, led by quarterback Arch Manning, visiting the reigning national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. The afternoon features Alabama traveling to Florida State, and the primetime game is a top-10 showdown between LSU and Clemson.
The action continues through the holiday weekend with Miami hosting Notre Dame on Sunday, and the collegiate head coaching debut of eight-time Super Bowl champion Bill Belichick on Monday night, when his North Carolina Tar Heels host TCU.

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Morning Brief: Minneapolis Shooting Fallout, UK Immigration Backlash, A New Era Of College Football

College Football

Crime

Immigration

Jen Psaki

Minneapolis

School Shooting

U.K.

United Kingdom

World

President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to strip federal funding from California school districts that defy his administration’s transgender policies.
The Trump administration interprets Title IX as requiring schools to maintain separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams for males and females, a stance that directly conflicts with California state law allowing students to use facilities and join teams based on gender identity.
“Any California school district that doesn’t adhere to our Transgender policies, will not be funded,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115066339632774609">wrote</a> on Truth Social early Thursday morning. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump’s ultimatum comes after the Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-president-means-business-trump-admin-sues-california-over-transgender-athlete-policy">sued</a> California last month for continuing to allow transgender-identifying males to compete in female sports. The suit argued that California was depriving young girls of athletic opportunities. 
“Title IX was enacted over half a century ago to protect women and girls from discrimination. The Justice Department will not stand for policies that deprive girls of their hard-earned athletic trophies and ignore their safety on the field and in private spaces,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. “Young women should not have to sacrifice their rights to compete for scholarships, opportunities, and awards on the altar of woke gender ideology.”
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The California Department of Education was allocated around $44 billion in federal funding for fiscal year 2025.
Aside from California, other school districts across the country could also lose funding over transgender policies, including multiple districts in Northern Virginia. The Education Department <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-places-five-northern-virginia-school-districts-high-risk-status-and-reimbursement-payment-status-violating-title-ix">said</a> this week that the Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County school districts are all in danger of losing federal funding for violating Title IX. 
“States and school districts cannot openly violate federal law while simultaneously receiving federal funding with no additional scrutiny,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said. “The Northern Virginia School Divisions that are choosing to abide by woke gender ideology in place of federal law must now prove they are using every single federal dollar for a legal purpose.”
In February, Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/keeping-men-out-of-womens-sports/">executive order</a> saying that “it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.”
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-vows-large-scale-fines-on-california-after-boy-wins-girls-track-events">Trump Vows &#8216;Large Scale Fines&#8217; On California After Boy Wins Girls&#8217; Track Events</a>

Sir Keir Starmer visit to Washington DC

Trump Issues Ultimatum: California Schools Must Follow Transgender Policies Or Face Consequences

California

Department of Education

Donald Trump

Education

Executive

gender ideology

Politics

Title IX

Transgender

Transgender Athletes

The following is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
* * *
With the first female umpire now working in baseball, it’s time to take a look at how women have made historic strides in the world of professional sports by ruining everything.
You see, in the past, professional sports provided a safe method for wives to get their husbands out of the damned way by placing them in front of the television where they could watch something completely meaningless that wasn’t porn. That way, the wives could get their work done, and if they occasionally dropped in on the TV room with a sandwich and a beer, their husbands would happily devote the rest of their lives to their support and happiness. Later, over dinner, the husbands could describe every play of the game in agonizing detail, which would give the wives time to mentally organize their schedules for the week, since they didn’t have to listen to a word their husbands were saying because it was just about a guy on TV hitting a ball with a stick for some reason. At least their husbands hadn’t spent the day watching some naked girl pretend to enjoy getting strangled during sex, which would only give them bizarre ideas about how they should spend the rest of the weekend.
Now all that has changed. Women are invading every aspect of sports so that men can watch other men doing useless things for no reason while thinking about sexual strangulation at the same time. For instance, after ball games, attractive female sportscasters are now assigned to interview players so male viewers can listen vaguely to some athlete saying, “You’ve gotta take it one game at time,” while simultaneously wondering what the female sportscaster would look like if she were wearing some ridiculous leather contraption and a pair of handcuffs.
Having more women athletes on the field has also changed the nature of sports by ruining everything. Sports used to reflect masculine values like winning and also more winning. But now sports also have to reflect female values which run the gamut from incomprehensible to non-existent depending on the woman’s mood on any given day. For example, when gymnast Simone Biles quit the Tokyo Olympics because she had some girly problem called the twisties, most men felt this was tantamount to losing which, according to many sports analysts, is approximately the opposite of winning. But no. The men were swiftly informed that, in fact, Simone Biles had been very brave to quit like a girl over her girly twisties. And ever since then, Olympic women’s gymnastics has included Quitting as an event, along with Crying, Hugging the Winner as if You Were Happy for Her, and Giving Men a Look that Says they Better not say Something Insensitive or There’ll be Hell to Pay.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show">WATCH: The Andrew Klavan Show</a></h3>
In women’s basketball, Caitlin Clark has completely transformed the game by causing people to realize there’s such a thing as women’s basketball. To thank her, black women players have been repeatedly beating the living crap out of Clark for being talented while white. This turns out to be a game that men will actually watch because it involves women wrestling with each other, so now men are showing up at women’s basketball games and hurling sex toys down at the court, which has also made the women’s game more popular by including sex toys. Even so, a woman’s basketball game remains the least popular American event that isn’t a colonoscopy, and when the players recently marched outside the stadium holding signs that said “Pay us what we’re worth,” they discovered they actually owed the league $15,000 apiece.
To prove that it’s not only women who ruin everything in sports, the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings have hired two male cheerleaders. So now, instead of an occasional amusing glimpse of pretty girls prancing around the sidelines in an intriguingly suggestive way, Vikings fans are being treated to two prancing homosexuals, something no sentient creature wants to see except other homosexuals who aren’t even watching sports because they’re homosexual.
And as for the first female umpire, so far her ball and strike calls have been about one and a half percent less accurate than the average male’s, which is being hailed as really great for a girl, and should transform the sport completely, by ruining everything.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fifth installment, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-That-Cameron-Winter-Mysteries/dp/1613166869/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGZUC370LG46&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y_NI0mDOKeowShheDQTVx5NH-fAeimJoCD56_T0Acpl8C0mup7uJf-nGGSRLEItaaekoDnvS2vWLMa4Zd2UBXQ8Y-g-P502jOWz-Y8IX3ZQsdlO7WMLrg1xIhNoKmjCorSWUR4C2l_RbiZ7apJ1MfPzGOrrEf7AdAXX6xwnJRVP_XqUfWuMuVthTWscaU3P4vgmS86-96n-721enHfX12CFQWTajqFbVnrsDkexfUf4.6_gTH6h1Bb9Pn375QdF_VAVZSayDvjQBBKGXE-MTiFo&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=klavan&amp;qid=1754049918&amp;sprefix=%2Caps%2C80&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After That, The Dark,</a> is now available for Pre-Order. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>
The views expressed in this satirical article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Indiana Fever v Connecticut Sun

Caitlin Clark Penalized For Being Talented While White

Andrew Klavan

Baseball

Humor

Satire

Simone Biles

Women

Women's Basketball

Many NFL fans are furious over videos of male cheerleaders being introduced as part of the 2025 cheerleading squad for the Minnesota Vikings.
While male cheerleaders have been part of NFL squads for several years, a clip of rookie cheerleader Blaize Shiek being introduced went viral on social media, igniting significant backlash. Shiek is one of two male cheerleaders on the Vikings squad, joining Louie Conn this season. 
“Dear Minnesota Vikings, Just Stop. Sincerely, All Sane Americans,” one popular reply on X <a href="https://x.com/OutlawPatriotX/status/1955419078971232490">said</a>. 
“Because nothing says ‘football’ like watching Chad do high kicks in booty shorts,” another person <a href="https://x.com/Salt_T1/status/1955362061497799027">quipped</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨BREAKING: The Minnesota Vikings under MAJOR backlash after the team hires a MALE as their LEAD CHEERLEADER for the 2025-26 NFL football season.
Recent Videos of the cheerleader are going VIRAL online with many calling to cancel the team. <a href="https://t.co/uwuMAWDTr2">pic.twitter.com/uwuMAWDTr2</a>
— The Patriot Oasis™ (@ThePatriotOasis) <a href="https://twitter.com/ThePatriotOasis/status/1955289676404727941?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 12, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Others noted that even though male cheerleaders are nothing new, the presentation now is vastly different. 
“Im not opposed to male cheerleaders like those guys on college teams that help with stunts or whatever but I am opposed to guys holding pom poms,” one person observed, echoing what others have been saying about Shiek’s flamboyant, overly feminine look and behavior.
Shiek seemed to troll critics with a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DNI80qpNB4e/?hl=en">video</a> posted on Instagram. In it, one female Vikings cheerleader asks another, “Wait, where are the boys?” to which the second woman replies, “I don’t know. I heard they were throwing a fit.”
Then Shiek and Conn strut forward with their pom poms, as Shiek dramatically flipped his hair back and forth.
“SEE YOU AT 3,” Shiek wrote in the caption, referencing kickoff time. He went on to cheer during a preseason Minnesota Vikings game against the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
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The response got so bad that the Vikings released a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxztOLNyLfI">statement</a> to NBC News on Wednesday.
“Male cheerleaders have been part of previous Vikings teams and have long been associated with collegiate and professional cheerleading,” the team said. “We support all our cheerleaders and are proud of the role they play as ambassadors of the organization.”
Per The Spun via <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/article/12-nfl-teams-adding-male-212045510.html">Yahoo Sports</a>, 12 out of the 32 NFL teams have male cheerleaders. And while many X users were celebrating that Shiek is at least a male who isn’t pretending to be female, that’s not the case everywhere. 
In 2022, Justine Lindsay became the first transgender-identifying man to become an NFL cheerleader with the Carolina Panthers.
“I have had so many parents of young kids in the trans community say thank you for what I’m doing and that their son or daughter is watching me,” Lindsay said at the time, per <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/first-openly-transgender-nfl-cheerleader-justine-lindsay-a-face-of-the-possible">NFL.com</a>. “They are so pleased to see that I’m tearing down that wall.”
Lindsay will be cheering again for the Panthers for the 2025 season.

Vikings cheerleaders

Fan Backlash Against Male NFL Cheerleaders Intensifies, Vikings Issue Statement

Cheerleaders

Minnesota Vikings

I expect to cover a lot of cultural madness in my line of work. But I never thought I’d ever find myself voluntarily writing about sex toys.
But over the past few weeks, spectators of WNBA games have taken to throwing rubber phalluses on the court during games.
And so, here we are.
I’m not going to pretend I’ve been a solemn moralist about this from the start. Like many of you, my group texts lit up with this story. The memes? Outstanding. Some of the best work the internet has produced in months. Humor has a way of finding you in moments of absurdity, and I laughed out loud.
But somewhere between a chuckle and a thousand retweets, we blew past a very obvious line.
There’s a difference between laughing about something and endorsing the thing itself. And this? This isn’t streaking, where the joke is on the guy who gets embarrassed, tackled, and escorted out. This is a targeted attempt to humiliate the athletes playing. It’s not about the clown in the stands — it’s about degrading the women on the court.
And one can all but guarantee it’s been men every single time. No woman is throwing this. We’ve all been to enough sporting events to know this is some guy in his late twenties, liquored up, in ripped jeans. Or, as <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/article/nyc-man-wearing-beavis-butthead-064652224.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new images</a> have exposed the first person to be caught, a guy in a Beavis and Butthead shirt. This stuff writes itself.
Spoiler: this guy’s not a hero. He’s a creep.
He’s also not an athlete — his toss didn’t make it to the court, and instead <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/12-year-old-girl-struck-sex-toy-thrown-wnba-game-brooklyn-suspect-soug-rcna224292" target="_blank" rel="noopener">struck a 12-year-old girl</a> who proceeded to “freak out.”
As of this writing, we’ve had four of these incidents, not counting the one above. They’ve happened in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and most recently in Seattle. You could almost imagine Vegas laying odds on it, and in fact, they have. According to Legal Sports Betting and SCCG Management, prop bets have included:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Will the next dildo still be green? — Yes at –200, No at +150.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Color odds: rainbow at +500, pink at +300, blue at +1400.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Even wagers on how it gets removed—kicked off the court vs. picked up by hand, both around –120.</li>
</ul>
It’s the same energy as the “streaker” prop bet before the Super Bowl — except it makes an unwilling punchline out of the athletes on the court.
Here’s the awkward truth for WNBA fans: the stunt worked. It generated more buzz for the league than any actual highlight this season. I wouldn’t be surprised if Google search trends for “WNBA” spiked higher in those moments than they did for last year’s Finals. On one level, you could call it a marketing success story. On the other hand, you could call it what it is — a sad commentary on the state of sports attention spans.
The players themselves have been clear. Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams called it “super disrespectful,” and “really immature,” and said that “whoever is doing it needs to grow up.” Sophie Cunningham took to social media: “Stop throwing dildos on the court … you’re going to hurt one of us.” Cecilia Zandalasini, who had to keep playing through one of the incidents, said, “I’ve never seen anything like that … we stayed locked in.”
Imagine working your entire life to reach the top of your sport — grueling training, constant travel, the pressure of competing at the highest level — and now that you’ve made it, instead of talking about a game-winning three, you have to talk about people chucking sex toys at you.
The WNBA isn’t my go-to watch. But that’s irrelevant here. Respect is not conditional on entertainment value. I don’t have to love your sport to acknowledge your dignity as a professional athlete. And a woman!
This also isn’t happening in a vacuum. Kids go to these games. Parents bring their daughters to watch their heroes in action, to dream about someday playing on that same court. What does it say about our society if those kids have to watch security scramble to clean up a sex toy, or worse, duck out of the way as one flies through the air?
To the inevitable “lighten up, it’s just a joke” crowd — no. There’s a baseline of decency that keeps sports a place where everyone can enjoy themselves. We used to know this instinctively. But now we’re so addicted to viral moments that the only question is whether someone caught it on their phone.
Again, I’m no prude. I’ve laughed at this. I’ve probably laughed harder than I should have. But part of being an adult is knowing when the joke has gone too far. We live in a culture that already does enough to cheapen sex, mock boundaries, and chip away at basic respect. We don’t need to import that into women’s basketball.
The irony is impossible to ignore. For years, women’s sports advocates have been fighting to protect female athletes from unfair competition — most of it coming from men trying to insert themselves, literally, into the women’s category. Now, they’re being forced to dodge rubber reminders of that fight mid-game.
This whole situation has been fun, but it’s time to bring the national conversation back to things that matter. If we’re talking about women’s sports, we should be talking about removing male anatomy from women’s sports, not flinging rubber replicas onto the hardwood.
Because once the gag becomes more important than the game, we’re no longer sports fans. We’re just another symptom of the cultural rot we claim to be laughing at.
Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast “We The People.” Follow him on Instagram and X @GatesGarciaFL.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

WNBA Finals – Game Four

The WNBA Sex Toy Incident Was Funny. But It’s Gone Too Far.

WNBA

Women's sports

Taylor Swift poked fun at her image among NFL fans in a sneak peek from her appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelce&#8217;s podcast, set to premiere Wednesday night.
The 35-year-old pop star <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-new-heights-podcast-upset-male-sports-fans-1236042683/">made a joke</a> about being a guest on the “New Heights” sports podcast, which is hosted by Travis and his brother, Jason Kelce. Travis is currently the tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, and Jason retired in 2024 after playing center for 13 years with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“You guys have a lot of male sports fans that listen to your podcast. And I think we all know that if there&#8217;s one thing that male sports fans want to see in their spaces and on their screens, it&#8217;s more of me,&#8221; Swift said with a laugh on the episode teaser ahead of the upcoming episode.
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The “Shake It Off” singer was referring to NFL fans who got annoyed by Swift constantly being shown on camera during Chiefs games last season. But some league officials insisted her attendance helped bring the sport to a new audience, boosting viewership numbers. 
The league said in a <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38568388/nfl-defends-focus-swift-kelce-pop-cultural-moment">statement</a> in October 2023 that they had “seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport&#8221; with Swift around and said “the vast majority” of the broadcast remained “focused on the game, our players, and [a] variety of other initiatives.”
That same month, Travis agreed that the focus on Swift was overdone.
&#8220;I think it’s fun when they show who was at the game. I think it brings a little bit more to the atmosphere, brings a little bit more to what you’re watching. But at the same time I think…,” Travis <a href="https://people.com/travis-kelce-says-nfl-overdoing-it-focus-on-him-and-taylor-swift-8347224">said</a> at the time.
&#8220;They&#8217;re overdoing it,&#8221; Jason suggested, prompting Travis to agree.
&#8220;They’re overdoing it a little bit for sure, especially my situation. [But] I think they’re just trying to have fun with it,” the Chiefs player said.
Swift’s full interview with Travis and Jason premieres at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday. It’s expected to draw an above-average number of listeners after the pop star just announced her upcoming studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” on Tuesday.

Swift and Kelce

Taylor Swift Pokes Fun At ‘Male Sports Fans’ Sick Of Seeing Her

Taylor Swift Pokes Fun At 'Male Sports Fans' Sick Of Seeing Her

Celebrities

Entertainment

Jason Kelce

Taylor Swift

Travis Kelce

UFC CEO Dana White announced on Monday that the pay-per-view model is going away following a &#8220;historic deal&#8221; between the UFC and Paramount, which owns CBS.
Paramount announced on Monday morning that it struck a seven-year $7.7 billion deal with the UFC, giving CBS and Paramount+ exclusive broadcast and streaming rights to one of America&#8217;s fastest-growing sports. Under the new deal — which will go into effect next year — Paramount will have access to all 30 UFC Fight Nights, along with 13 additional major UFC events, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/11/business/paramount-ufc-fights-deal.html">reported</a>. Some of the UFC&#8217;s top matchups will be broadcast on CBS, and all of the fights will be available with a subscription to Paramount+, with no additional pay-per-view fees.
White celebrated the news, writing in a <a href="https://x.com/danawhite/status/1954876574404366488">statement</a>, &#8220;This historic deal with Paramount and CBS is incredible for UFC fans and our athletes. For the first time ever, fans in the US will have access to all UFC content without a Pay-Per-View model, making it affordable and accessible to view the greatest fights on a massive platform.&#8221;
&#8220;This deal puts UFC amongst the biggest sports in the world,&#8221; White added. &#8220;The exposure provided by the Paramount and CBS networks under this new structure is a huge win for our athletes and anyone who watches and loves this sport.&#8221;
The deal marks one of the first major moves from Paramount&#8217;s new CEO, David Ellison, who became the company&#8217;s head honcho just last week after his company, Skydance Media, took over Paramount.
“We could not be more excited about this,” Ellison told the Times. “From my perspective, the U.F.C. is really a unicorn sports asset.”
“We think it is going to be incredibly material in terms of increasing our engagement on Paramount+, driving subscriber acquisitions and also meaningfully growing revenue across the business,” Ellison added.
Since 2019, the UFC has been broadcast and streamed on ESPN and ESPN+. Under that deal, ESPN paid $550 million per year for rights to UFC coverage. The ESPN-UFC streaming model was highly criticized by fans who had to pay both a subscription fee and a pay-per-view fee for the biggest fights. To watch fights on ESPN+, UFC fans were charged a monthly subscription for the Disney streaming service on top of a pay-per-view fee for some of the biggest fights.
Under the UFC-Paramount deal, fans will pay for a Paramount+ subscription, which is $8 per month for a basic subscription or $13 per month for a premium subscription, and there won&#8217;t be any additional fees for marquee fights.
“For our fan base, this is going to be much easier, much more accessible, much less expensive, and something that is going to ultimately attract and keep a lot of subscribers with Paramount+,” said Mark Shapiro, the president of TKO, which owns the UFC.

Dana White

Goodbye, PPV: Dana White Drops Major UFC Bombshell After ‘Historic Deal’ With CBS

Goodbye, Pay-Per-View: Dana White Drops Major UFC News After 'Historic Deal' With CBS

ESPN

Paramount

Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg, whose combination of power and scintillating defense led the Chicago Cubs to their first-post-season appearance in 38 years in 1984, died Monday at the age of 65.
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With great sadness, we share that Ryne Sandberg has passed away today. <a href="https://t.co/LJJ0jGqSy5">pic.twitter.com/LJJ0jGqSy5</a>
&mdash; Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1950004404104425975?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Ryne Sandberg. Second to None. <a href="https://t.co/jR0FCCiXwD">pic.twitter.com/jR0FCCiXwD</a>
&mdash; Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1950187053146341691?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&quot;The last couple of days, he wanted to speak to me, Andre [Dawson] and Mark Grace. He told us that he loved us and he loved all you <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Cubs</a> fans too. Go Cubs.&quot;
An emotional Shawon Dunston speaks on the impact his legendary double play partner, Ryne Sandberg, made on him. <a href="https://t.co/OiHCJpAEcD">pic.twitter.com/OiHCJpAEcD</a>
&mdash; MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1950245687561769133?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 29, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;
Sandberg, the father of five children and eleven grandchildren, had been fighting metastatic prostate cancer, which he announced in January 2024 before he went into remission in August, then revealed the cancer had spread and returned last December.
“The support has been tremendously overwhelming right from the first week, and it’s continued throughout,” he told the Chicago Tribune last year. “It’s just been incredible and I think that’s been as much medicine to me as anything really.”
“While I am continuing to fight, I’m looking forward to making the most of every day with my loving family and friends,” he wrote on July 16. “I haven’t been to Wrigley Field as much as I hoped in the first half but I’m watching every game and am excited to see Wrigley rocking like 1984!”
Sandberg, who won nine Gold Gloves, and made the All-Star team in ten consecutive seasons, won the national League’s MVP award in 1984, when he batted .314 with 19 home runs, 36 doubles, 19 triples, 84 RBIs, 114 runs and 32 stolen bases. On June 23, 2024, the Cubs unveiled a statue of Sandberg to mark the 40th anniversary of “The Sandberg Game,” when he slugged game-tying home runs in the ninth and 10th innings off St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame reliever Bruce Sutter in an 11-inning Cubs win at Wrigley Field.
“Some of the things I wanted on the statue was being on the balls of the feet, being ready for every single pitch,” Sandberg told reporters when the statue was unveiled. “My defense was very important for me. For me, it was ‘Bring your glove every single day.’ You might go into some hitting slumps, but as far as defense goes, as long as I did my pregame work, I wanted to play defense every day for the pitcher, for everybody on the field.”
“In 16 seasons, Sandberg hit .285 with 282 home runs and 1,061 RBIs in 2,164 games. His 68.1 wins above replacement rank third in Cubs history behind Cap Anson (84.8) and Ron Santo (72.2),” the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/07/28/ryne-sandberg-chicago-cubs-dies/?lctg=B4845491D5F64499A4E4B513EB&amp;utm_email=B4845491D5F64499A4E4B513EB&amp;utm_source=listrak&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.chicagotribune.com%2f2025%2f07%2f28%2fryne-sandberg-chicago-cubs-dies%2f&amp;utm_campaign=trib-chicago_tribune-breaking_news_sports-nl&amp;utm_content=alert">Chicago Tribune</a> noted. “Sandberg hit 25 home runs or more six times, including a career-high 40 in 1990, and had back-to-back 100-RBI seasons in ’90 and ’91. His 344 steals rank fourth on the Cubs’ all-time list.”
Growing up in Spokane, Washington, Sandberg was All-State in basketball and named to Parade Magazine’s Prep All-America Football Team, receiving scholarship offers from Nebraska and Oklahoma.
“I never thought it was a mistake to decide on baseball instead of football and college,” he recalled. “But I thought it was going to be a long, hard road. They say the odds are that only one or two guys in A-ball will ever make it to the big leagues.”
In mid-season 1994, hitting only .238 and in the middle of a terrible slump, he temporarily retired. “I am not the type of person who leaves my game at the ballpark feeling comfortable that my future is set regardless of my performance,” he admitted. “And I’m certainly not the type of person who can ask the Cubs organization and Chicago Cubs fans to pay my salary when I am not happy with my mental approach and performance.” He returned for the 1996 and 1997 seasons.

Ryne Sandberg Chicago Cubs

Cubs Hall Of Fame Second Baseman Ryne Sandberg Dies At 65

Chicago Cubs

Hall of Fame

Ryne Sandberg

Anyone paying attention to the fight for women’s sports already knows that Riley Gaines isn’t backing down. And as the nation starts to wake up, she’s no longer alone.
The 12-time All-American swimmer and tireless women’s advocate has become a household name by doing something simple but radical: she’s speaking the truth. Now, Gaines is teaming up with XX-XY Athletics, the only athletic brand unapologetically championing biological women, to launch a collaboration that’s as bold and brave as she is. 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Riley Gaines&#039; Be Bold Collection Is Here" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tuEEVWfPcMQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The retro-inspired Be Bold collection is infused with red, white, and blue to showcase unapologetic pride in this nation. But the brand and the styles aren’t just fashion — they represent a cultural pushback. And according to XX-XY founder Jennifer Sey, the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
“The first drop launched on June 23rd, the anniversary of Title IX. So it&#8217;s a celebration of all that Title IX represents, the opportunity it presented for women and girls across the country,” Sey told The Daily Wire in an exclusive interview. “And it sort of highlights the fact that we need to continue to fight to uphold it. We’re not going backwards.”
Not long before the collection’s June release, the Department of Education ruled that the University of Pennsylvania <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-university-of-pennsylvania-has-entered-resolution-agreement-resolve-its-title-ix-violations#:~:text=This%20action%20follows%20the%20Department's,the%20Trump%20effect%20in%20action.">violated Title IX</a> by allowing a biological male to compete on the women’s swim team, therefore robbing female athletes of records, awards, and their dignity. 
The school was forced to apologize and restore honors to athletes like Gaines. Shortly after, the Supreme Court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/red-states-set-to-defend-womens-sports-at-supreme-court">announced</a> it would hear two landmark cases involving men competing in women&#8217;s sports. Sey said it’s all proof that the cultural tide is turning, and that this collection will help capture that truth.
“The world is shifting under our feet,” she said. “That’s in large part due to Riley’s work.”
Sey has a background in standing up for what’s right. A former elite gymnast and the first whistleblower in her sport to expose abuse, she spent decades at the helm of major brands like Levi’s before founding XX-XY Athletics in 2023 with a singular mission: to stand up for real women.
“I looked around at all the big brands pretending to champion female athletes, and none of them really did. They make money off of it, but behind the scenes, they treat women with astonishing disregard,” she said.
With Be Bold, Sey is hoping to turn that hypocrisy on its head.
The collection wasn’t just inspired by Gaines. It was built with her.
“She was totally involved,” Sey said of the line of fitness apparel. “The red, white, and blue color scheme? That’s all her. The name Be Bold? That’s how she signs her books. We leaned into her favorite pieces and her signature style.”
<div id="attachment_951509" style="width: 586px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-951509" class="size-large wp-image-951509" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5664-576x576.jpg" alt="Cropped performance tank" width="576" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5664-576x576.jpg 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5664-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5664-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5664-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5664.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px" />XX-XY Athletics</div>
Gaines’s go-to item is the cropped performance tank, Sey says, stressing that all the pieces both make a statement and support real athletes who need their sportswear to work as hard as they do. These are high-quality items designed for female athletes who have both principles and high standards.
Another standout from the collection is the oversized concert tee, a nod to both Gen Z-approved oversized street style and old-school Americana. The back of the tee features the 37 words of Title IX, a fashionable protest.
<div id="attachment_951511" style="width: 586px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-951511" class="size-large wp-image-951511" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Title-9-T_7385-576x576.jpg" alt="Title IX tee" width="576" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Title-9-T_7385-576x576.jpg 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Title-9-T_7385-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Title-9-T_7385-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Title-9-T_7385-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Title-9-T_7385.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px" />XX-XY Athletics</div>
And for the non-athletes, there are plenty of options for a more casual look, like a vintage-inspired velour tracksuit straight out of 1972.
“When I was on the national team in the very early 80s, velour tracksuits were our dress sweats that we wore to march out at major international competitions,” Sey recalled. “So we definitely allude to them with some of the styling…we definitely use 1972 as a grounding point.”
<div id="attachment_951513" style="width: 586px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-951513" class="size-large wp-image-951513" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Velour-tracksuit-576x576.jpg" alt="Velour trackuit" width="576" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Velour-tracksuit-576x576.jpg 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Velour-tracksuit-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Velour-tracksuit-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Velour-tracksuit-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Velour-tracksuit.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px" />XX-XY Athletics</div>
This collection isn’t just about Riley, nor is it just a fashion statement. It’s about offering a platform to female athletes who’ve been abandoned by major brands and sports teams too afraid to take a side.
“One of the things we pride ourselves on is we scoop up athletes that no one else will touch. We will platform and empower the female athletes,” Sey said. “So they don&#8217;t feel so alone. Oftentimes they&#8217;re the only ones on their team or in their community [speaking up]. But when they realize there&#8217;s this network of women across the country who are doing the same thing, it&#8217;s incredibly powerful to have that.”
<div id="attachment_951507" style="width: 586px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-951507" class="size-large wp-image-951507" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5634-576x576.jpg" alt="leggings and tank" width="576" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5634-576x576.jpg 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5634-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5634-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5634-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Riley-leggings-and-tank_5634.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px" />XX-XY Athletics</div>
Sey says Gaines will continue working closely with the brand to identify and support more athletes who have the courage to speak up.
“At the end of the day, we&#8217;re all about supporting female athletes. I mean, that&#8217;s what it comes down to,” she said.
XX-XY’s gear isn’t just for show. A runner recently completed the Boston Marathon in under three hours wearing one of their tanks. That same style shows up in the new Be Bold collection, but this time reimagined in patriotic hues.
The idea behind Be Bold is simple but subversive: give everyday Americans an easy way to express support for truth, fairness, and biological reality without having to say a word.
“The reason I started the brand, or at least part of it, was I felt like if we could create something really cool that was also world-class products, we could give people an easy way to sort of rep their advocacy,” Sey said. “The mainstream brands do this. Why can&#8217;t we do it?”
Sey, who’s been targeted by critics and called every name in the book. But she says the backlash isn’t stopping her. 
“Noisy doesn’t mean right,” she said. “You’ve got to screw up your courage and stand by women and girls.”
The Gaines collaboration is just the beginning. Sey teased more limited-edition drops on the horizon, plus a deeper partnership with Riley that goes beyond just appearing in ads. 
<div id="attachment_951515" style="width: 586px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-951515" class="size-large wp-image-951515" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Gaines-group-576x576.jpg" alt="Gaines group" width="576" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Gaines-group-576x576.jpg 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Gaines-group-300x300.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Gaines-group-150x150.jpg 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Gaines-group-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/Gaines-group.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px" />XX-XY Athletics</div>
When asked where she dreams of seeing pieces from the Be Bold collection show up, Sey didn’t hesitate.
“We would love to see someone wear any item atop a podium at an NCAA championship,” she said, “Or walking into the Supreme Court wearing a Title IX tee, that would be amazing, right?”
As the legal battles heat up, broader cultural beliefs continue to influence how this topic is perceived in the general public. Sey says the silent majority is finally starting to speak up. 
“You know, I think this movement for common sense is sort of billed as right-wing by the mainstream media. But the fact is, it&#8217;s not. It&#8217;s a really broad-based coalition. You can&#8217;t have 80% of Americans [agreeing] and have it only be the right. It’s just regular people.”
The Be Bold collection is available now at <a href="https://www.xx-xyathletics.com/pages/riley-collaboration">xxxyathletics.com</a>.

Riley Gaines

Be Bold: Riley Gaines and XX-XY Athletics Drop Americana-Themed Collab To Celebrate Title IX

Be Bold: Riley Gaines and XX-XY Athletics Drop Americana Themed Collab To Celebrate Title IX 

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