The Supreme Court this week heard major cases on whether men who think they’re women because they’re mentally ill should be able to play sports with women who think they’re women because they’re women. The cases were a chance for the court to explore the question: is it fair for men who feel like women to play women’s sports or are we living in reality where that would be the sort of question only a nerdy nine-year-old boy would ask just before cracking up at his own joke and then making a series of snorting noises that ends with his accidentally blowing snot on his I Heart Stranger Things T-shirt?
In the event, the case was argued before a gathering of fine legal minds and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The trans-athletes were represented by the famous attorney Foster Closterfockolus who was hired by the Roland Dinghead Memorial Fund, which was named in honor of the famous trans-athlete, a girl who identified as male and joined a men’s boxing club, then sadly died.
Mr. Closterfockolus made the argument that — in theory — there are no real advantages to men who play women’s sports, so we should all live in theory instead of on earth where the idea is completely absurd. Judging by their responses to his argument, the justices seemed divided between those justices with IQ’s higher than a bowl of Cheerios and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The highlight of Mr. Closterfockolus’s argument was when he conjured up the cherished memory of transgender athletes from the past, like Abner Skullfog, a girl who identified as male and joined the local men’s ice hockey team, then, sadly, died. Mr. Closterfockolus said that to ban boys who identify as girls from girls’ sports would be to betray the memory of such pioneers who gave the last measure of devotion to free us from the shackles of sanity and common sense. Mr. Closterfockulus actually fought back tears as he went on to tell the story of another historic transgender innovator, Henry Blither, a woman who identified as a man and managed to join an NFL football team, then, sadly, died — though not before breaking through the Steelers’ offensive line to sack Aaron Rodgers.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1262-the-andrew-klavan-show?elementPosition=1&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974735 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
When Mr. Closterfockolus concluded his arguments, he was peppered with incisive questions by the brilliant justices and one from Ketanji Brown Jackson. Jackson asked, “If a man wears a skirt that’s a really soft shade of pink and has girly pleats with maybe a flower pattern, like little roses weaving in a kind of floaty, dream-like feminine way, and that skirt makes him very attractive to the sort of burly man who walks around with his shoulders and arms swinging, and then suddenly he sees this boy in his pretty pink skirt, and okay, it doesn’t develop into anything, but he takes a second look before becoming disgusted with himself, couldn’t we then say that the first boy is as much a female as that gruff detective on the HBO show about Easttown or is the whole scenario of three different local women getting kidnapped by the same man just too unbelievable?”
The next probing question came from Justice Alito who asked the attorney, “What the hell is that moron talking about and how in God’s name did she get on the Supreme Court?”
Throughout the questioning, the Justices tried to be respectful to the defendants by using their preferred pronouns without giggling, which unfortunately proved impossible.
After the question period was over, the attorney for the states banning men in women’s sports, Joan Dark, stood before the justices and wept quietly for twenty minutes before answering questions, including another intricate inquiry from Alito, who said, “Why couldn&#8217;t that dementia-riddled puddlehead of a president find a black woman who had been to law school, or could at least form an English sentence?”
But the final argument startled the justices when it came from a resonant disembodied voice that shook the courtroom, saying, “I created mankind in my image, male and female, and if you’re wondering why I didn’t ask your opinion about it, it’s because I’m omniscient and I knew there would one day be a justice on the Supreme Court who was dumber than a bowl of Cheerios.”
* * *
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. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>.
The views expressed in this satirical piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

SCOTUS II

The Supreme Court Finally Has A Justice Dumber Than A Bowl Of Cheerios

Andrew Klavan

Humor

Ketanji Brown Jackson

Samuel Alito

Satire

Supreme Court

Transgender Athletes

Justices Reenter Transgender Rights Debate With Student Athletes

My Reaction To The Trans Athlete SCOTUS Hearing

custom

Matt Walsh

Opinion

SCOTUS

What Is A Woman

WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court appears poised to allow states to keep men out of women’s sports after the majority of justices seemed favorable towards laws from West Virginia and Idaho that make participation in women’s sports contingent on sex.
After three and a half hours of arguments on Tuesday, the justices seemed skeptical of claims from transgender-identifying athletes that laws keeping them off women’s sports teams violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution and Title IX. The outcome of the cases could have far-reaching implications for protecting women’s privacy in bathrooms, locker rooms, and other sensitive spaces.
The justices heard the cases of West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox. Both cases revolve around laws in West Virginia and Idaho that prohibit men from competing on women’s sports teams.
The strongest pushback against the arguments made against the laws came from Justice Samuel Alito, who pressed lawyer Kathleen Hartnett, an attorney representing a transgender-identifying male athlete from Idaho, about what her definition of sex was.
“Is it not necessary for there to be, for Equal Protection purposes, if that is challenged under the Equal Protection Clause, an understanding of what it means to be a boy or a girl or a man or a woman?” he asked.
“We do not have a definition for the court, and we don&#8217;t take issue with the … we&#8217;re not disputing the definition here. What we&#8217;re saying is that the way it applies in practice is to exclude birth sex males categorically from women&#8217;s teams, and that there&#8217;s a subset of those birth sex males where it doesn&#8217;t make sense to do so, according to the state&#8217;s own interest,” Hartnett replied.
“How can a court determine whether there&#8217;s discrimination on the basis of sex without knowing what sex means for Equal Protection purposes?” Alito followed up. He also asked Hartnett if she thought female athletes worried about fair competition were bigots.
In a different section of arguments, Chief Justice John Roberts joined in Alito’s skepticism about ACLU lawyer Joshua Block’s reluctance to provide a definition of sex for the court.
&#8220;Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. It&#8217;s a statutory term, it must mean something,&#8221; Roberts said. &#8220;You&#8217;re arguing here there is discrimination on the basis of sex, and how can we decide that question without knowing what sex means in Title IX?&#8221;
Justice Brett Kavanaugh appeared inclined to let the debate play out at the state level, noting that 27 states have protected women’s sports while the other 23 allow males who identify as females to compete in the women’s division.
“Why would we, at this point, just the role of this court, jump in and try to constitutionalize the rule for the whole country while [there&#8217;s] still, as you say, uncertainty, debate — while there are still strong interests on the other side?” he said.
Kavanaugh also noted that sports are often a “zero-sum game” and that even one transgender-identifying athlete allowed on a women’s team could have an outsized impact.
At a press conference after the case, Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer John Bursch told The Daily Wire that he believes the issue should be national and that women in California and Massachusetts should not have their right to fair competition taken away.
During arguments, demonstrators on both sides held competing rallies. One woman from North Carolina who was holding a sign in favor of protecting women&#8217;s sports told The Daily Wire that she got on a bus at 3:00 a.m. to travel up to Washington, D.C., for the demonstration.

Trans Athletes Supreme Court Case

SCOTUS Leans Toward Protecting Women’s Sports While ACLU Can’t Define ‘Woman’

Courts

Social Issues

Transgender

U.S.

MixCollage-09-Jan-2026-12-50-PM-1486

LIVE UPDATES: Supreme Court Hears Landmark Women’s Sports Cases

Riley Gaines

Women's sports

WASHINGTON—Lainey Armistead’s first-ever trip to the Supreme Court will be to watch her own case, a high-stakes legal fight that will determine whether states have the right to keep gender-confused men from dominating women’s sports.
Armistead, a former women’s collegiate soccer player, is fighting for West Virginia’s “Save Women’s Sports” law, which barred transgender-identifying males from participating in women&#8217;s sports. The fight over the law will come to a head Tuesday as the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on West Virginia’s law and a similar measure out of Idaho.
“I just am baffled that a girl from Kentucky who went to school and at a smaller school in West Virginia would have the opportunity to be heard,” Armistead told The Daily Wire. “By them taking up this case, they&#8217;ve told me and all the other girls that we matter and that we&#8217;re important.”
Armistead was the captain of West Virginia State University women’s soccer team and played from 2019-2022 as transgender sports debate intensified across the nation. During that time, the debate rose to a fevered pitch as University of Pennsylvania transgender-identifying male swimmer Lia Thomas won a national championship title in the 500-yard freestyle in March 2022 over female swimmers.
“I never imagined that this would be something that would be going to the Supreme Court,” Armistead said. “I&#8217;m really excited to have the opportunity to stand up for women&#8217;s safety and fairness. I had the opportunity that I had from Title IX. It&#8217;s never been abstract for me.”
Armistead joined the legal fight to defend West Virginia’s law in September 2021, becoming an intervenor in the case after hearing of female athletes in Connecticut losing to a male athlete competing as a woman.
“I heard about the girls in Connecticut who were robbed and were displaced on their podiums and missed out on opportunities due to men taking their place, and it really riled me up,” she said. “Whenever I heard about what West Virginia was doing, I felt that I had a responsibility to stand up for fairness and safety.”
The justices will hear two different sets of oral arguments on Tuesday, in the cases of West Virginia v. BPJ and Little v. Hecox. The result of the cases will determine whether 27 states can keep laws in place keeping men out of women’s sports, and could impact laws protecting women’s privacy in bathrooms and other spaces.
The question <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/qp/24-00043qp.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presented</a> in the West Virginia case is whether Title IX, a measure that prohibits sex-based discrimination in education and related activities, prevents a state from keeping males out of women&#8217;s sports. It also asks whether the Constitution&#8217;s Equal Protection Clause limits states’ ability to designate sports teams on the basis of sex.
The Idaho case is <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/qp/24-00038qp.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">focused primarily</a> on the Equal Protection question, not the Title IX issue. Idaho became the first state in the country to pass a women’s sports protection bill in 2019 after a series of stories began trickling out of male athletes winning track and field competitions at the high school and collegiate level.
Idaho’s law was blocked at the federal district and appeals court level after a group of gender-confused athletes sued to block the law. West Virginia won its case at the federal district court level, but lost at appeals after a similar lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union.
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said that the lower courts ignored the obvious biological differences between men and women.
&#8220;Males on average possess physical advantages and competitive athletics that begin before puberty and only intensify after puberty. And those advantages are not eliminated by testosterone suppression after male development. The Ninth Circuit departed from settled law by redefining sex to include gender identity,&#8221; he said during a press call on Thursday.
While both cases will have separate oral arguments, the Supreme Court is expected to issue a joint opinion that will address both cases.
Both states are being represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, which helped to craft the women’s sports legislation. Jonathan Scruggs, a lawyer with ADF, said that ultimately the justices will be considering the “what is a woman?” question.
&#8220;Does your identity and the fact that you take certain medical treatments make you a woman, or is it rooted in biology? And that is something that the Supreme Court is just gonna have to face,” he told The Daily Wire.
The ACLU has argued that a person’s so-called “gender-identity” should be included in the definition of sex for purposes of federal discrimination law. They point to the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton, which included gender identity in the definition of sex for purposes of employment.
More recently though, the court ruled 6-3 in United States v. Skrmetti that Tennessee and other states had the right to protect kids from transgender procedures. The court rejected arguments that shielding kids from transgender medical interventions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.
“What matters more? Identity or biology?  That&#8217;s the key issue of the case. And the ACLU is pushing that identity plus hormone treatment make you a woman effectively,” Scruggs said. “Our argument is no, that biology matters, it matters in sports, it matters in reality.”
The Trump administration is set to argue in favor of West Virginia and Idaho and has taken a strong stance on cracking down on transgender ideology.
While much of the debate before the court will be about abstract legal issues, the invasion of males into female sports has been tangible for hundreds of women across the country. A recent report from the United Nations <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trans-identifying-males-are-cleaning-up-in-female-sports-this-un-report-quantifies-the-damage" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that transgender-identifying athletes had taken away at least 890 medals from female athletes.
In Connecticut, female track and field athletes Selina Soule, Alanna Smith, and Chelsea Mitchell lost out on at least 90 opportunities to advance or medal in an event, thanks to the participation of male athletes, Alliance Defending Freedom lawyer Matt Sharp said. ADF currently has a <a href="https://adflegal.org/case/soule-v-connecticut-association-schools/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> against the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for allowing males into female sports.
“The moment you say one man can be on a women&#8217;s team, you&#8217;re saying that every single spot on that team can now be held by a man. You could have an all-man, women&#8217;s basketball team,” Sharp said.
Apart from the fair competition issues, Tuesday&#8217;s cases could have wide-reaching implications for women’s privacy in other spaces like bathrooms or shelters.
Adaleia Cross is a former West Virginia track and field athlete who lost out on a spot to compete in a championship because a male athlete known as “BPJ” had joined her team due to his gender-identity. According to Alliance Defending Freedom, BPJ has beaten 423 girls 1100 times and deprived them of 57 medals.
Cross says that BPJ not only took away athletic opportunities, but also made “sexual remarks” to her and other female athletes in the locker room they shared.
“B.P.J. regularly outperformed A.C. and other girls on the field, changed clothes in the girls’ locker room, and made sexual remarks to A.C. and her teammates,” a <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-43/322536/20240815105603417_24-43_A.C.%20amicus%20brief.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">court filing</a> from Cross said.
Adaelia&#8217;s mom, Abby, previously alleged that BPJ made comments in the female locker room like “suck my d**k,” and “I’m going to stick my d**k in your p***y and also in your ass.”
The ACLU has denied the allegations.
&#8220;Our client and her mother deny these allegations and the school district investigated the allegations reported to the school by A.C. and found them to be unsubstantiated. We remain committed to defending the rights of all students under Title IX, including the right to a safe and inclusive learning environment free from harassment and discrimination,&#8221; the organization <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/top-dems-silent-after-trans-athlete-backed-scotus-case-accused-sexual-harassment-intimidation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox News.
Sharp said if states are not allowed to pass laws recognizing biological reality, the foundation of American society could be shaken.
“When you ignore biological reality, it&#8217;s not just the playing field. It&#8217;s in locker rooms, it&#8217;s in restrooms. It&#8217;s in medicine, as we saw in Skrmetti,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There are young women and girls that are tragically harmed when we ignore this.&#8221;
Armistead recognized this fact and said she was very grateful that West Virginia acted to protect women’s spaces. Excited to show up to court on Tuesday, Armistead said the case was about the chance to stand up for the truth.
“It&#8217;s a monumental and exciting day. And I just have been counting down the days to go in and see something that is going to be historical,” she said. “I am so hopeful for the outcome and hopeful that the Supreme Court will protect women and girls.”

Supreme Court Set To Answer ‘What Is A Woman?’ In High-Stakes Trans Athlete Cases

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

female sports

Lia Thomas

Common sense is on the line at the Supreme Court, a group of female athletes and Republican officials warned Monday.
The Republican Attorneys General Conference and prominent female athletes like Riley Gaines held a press conference on Monday ahead of oral arguments in two cases that revolve around the rights of states to pass laws that keep men off of women’s sports teams. They said that the case will have far-reaching consequences for women’s privacy and safety.
“The reason that we are here is because Idaho and West Virginia passed common sense laws that delineate the athletic playing fields in our states between the sexes,” said West Virginia Attorney General John McCuskey. “West Virginia&#8217;s law makes sure that every single woman and girl in West Virginia has a safe and fair playing field in order for them to earn and learn all of the amazing skills that come from competitive team athletics.”
The justices will hear two different sets of oral arguments on Tuesday, in the cases of West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox. The result of the cases will determine whether 27 states can keep laws in place that prevent men from entering women’s sports, and could impact laws protecting women’s privacy in bathrooms and other spaces.
“Women&#8217;s rights are under attack by the radical Left. As Republican Attorneys General, we are committed to doing everything we can to protect them. Women and girls should feel safe in the locker rooms and have the opportunity to participate in fair competitions,” said Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen.
Gaines, the University of Kentucky swimmer who rose to national prominence for speaking out after being forced to compete against male University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, said she was “pissed” off that the country had reached the point where it was even a debate whether women can have their own sports teams.
“I&#8217;m pissed off that we&#8217;ve reached a point where we seemingly have an entire political party who has diminished and erased our rights as women. That&#8217;s exactly what this is. Don&#8217;t let them frame it any other way,” Gaines said.
As Gaines noted, the case will not determine whether states must keep sports teams separate by sex, but whether states are allowed to do so.
“We are fighting for the bare minimum here,” she said. “Can we allow ourselves to be vulnerable in an intimate area of undressing such as a locker room without having to fear a man walking into that space? Can we do those things?”
Oral arguments in the case will start at 10 a.m. and are expected to last several hours.

Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump Holds Rally In Bozeman, Montana

‘Fighting For The Bare Minimum’: Riley Gaines Speaks Out Before SCOTUS Trans Case

Idaho

West Virginia

A Nevada ballot measure that would enshrine a ban in the state constitution on athletes who identify as transgender to compete on women’s sports teams is likely to be put before voters in November, drawing increased attention to the gubernatorial race.
Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo announced the “Protect Girls’ Sports” initiative last week after teasing it throughout last year. The measure would “amend the Equal Rights Amendment to protect fairness and integrity in girls’ athletics,” particularly regarding public funding, according to a press release.
“We are taking thoughtful steps to ensure girls’ sports are fair and athletes are safe,” Lombardo, who’s seeking re-election, said in a statement. “It’s important that female athletes have the opportunity to succeed in their athletic field. By bringing together a diverse coalition now, we can establish clear and fair standards that protect generations of female athletes to come.”
If the measure gathers enough signatures to qualify for a statewide vote, it would first be on the 2026 ballot as a question, then return to the 2028 ballot for final approval before being added to the constitution.
&#8220;Title IX was instituted for a reason – to create a level playing field so that girls and boys have an equal chance to succeed in our schools,&#8221; petition initiative director Adriana Guzmán Fralick said in a statement. &#8220;But there has been an attack on girls’ athletics that seeks to disrupt that equality. The people of Nevada do not support this, and I’m proud to help them make their voice heard on this issue at the ballot box.”
The issue is already a hot topic on the campaign trail, as Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, said he does not personally believe athletes who identify as transgender should compete in women&#8217;s sports, but nevertheless opposes the ballot initiative, according to the <a href="https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/lombardo-to-lead-2026-ballot-initiative-to-keep-transgender-athletes-out-of-female-sports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nevada Independent</a>.
“My faith teaches me that every person is a child of God and deserves to be treated with humanity, dignity, and respect,” the Democrat stated, according to the outlet. “And as Attorney General, I will continue defending the constitutional rights of every Nevadan.&#8221;
On December 23, Ford was listed on an amicus brief in a Minnesota case challenging a ban on transgender-identifying athletes. The <a href="https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/FAUvEllison_StatesAmicusBrief_AsFiled.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">brief</a> states that &#8220;discrimination against transgender youth—including denying them the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities consistent with their gender identity—can have serious health consequences.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-now-think-transgenderism-is-a-winning-issue-itll-be-put-to-the-test-in-2026" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Daily Wire</a> reported that Ford signed onto a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals amicus brief in 2023 regarding two minors who identified as transgender, and whether or not they could play on a girls&#8217; sports team in Arizona.
“Plaintiffs simply want to participate on their school’s girl’s sports teams with their friends,” the brief said.
“They have not experienced any of the physiological changes associated with male puberty and have no ascertainable competitive advantage over their cisgender peers,” it continued, saying that the plaintiffs identified as “girls in all aspects of their lives since an early age.”
He also signed on to a 2022 amicus brief challenging an Arkansas law on “gender-affirming treatment” for minors.
“We must protect our children from discriminatory laws that bar access to necessary, gender-affirming health care,” Ford stated in 2022. &#8220;Over and over again, evidence has shown that denying transgender youth access to gender-affirming care has a detrimental effect to their mental health and quality of life.”
The Daily Wire reached out to the Ford campaign. At the national level, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Tuesday in cases related to the issue.

Joe Lombardo Makes His First Public Statement Since Being Declared Winner Of Nevada Gubernatorial Race

Nevada Governor’s Race Shaped By Potential Transgender Ballot Measure

2026 election

Elections

Nevada

Politics

Sports

Editor’s note: This week, we’re reprinting some of our best stories from the past year. In this piece, originally published in October, Maine legislator Laurel Libby recounts her decision to no longer remain silent about boys participating in girls&#8217; sports.
* * *
There may be no state legislator more popular at The Daily Wire than Laurel Libby.
She took a bold stand for girls’ sports in Maine and refused to budge. But it wasn’t always that way.
As Libby explains, she once failed to stand strong for what was right. Never again. — The Daily Wire
* * *
America’s founders appropriately recognized freedom of speech as the most fundamental right for a flourishing republic. But in today’s America, telling the truth carries a cost.
From social media bans to government censorship to silencing dissent inside our statehouses, the message is clear: if you dare to speak the truth, you will pay a price.
I witnessed this firsthand in Maine’s Democrat-controlled state House, where I was stripped of my right to speak for the people of Maine as their elected representative simply for highlighting biological differences between boys and girls in a state competition.
And the problem is getting worse, not better. Without a renewed commitment to our founding ideals, our society may become free in theory, but authoritarian in practice.
My experience in Maine began in February with a viral social media post. A biological male, who had placed fifth in the boys’ competition the year prior, won the girls’ state pole vault championship. Seeing his female competitor relegated to second place broke my heart.
I could not remain silent.
I posted two publicly available photos side by side. One showed the athlete finishing fifth in the boys’ competition one year; the other showed him taking gold in the girls’ competition the next. Official results had already been available for all to see, but this picture made the unfairness of the situation crystal clear.
Girls in Maine, and across the country, were being forced to compete on unequal terms – not only to justify a political cause, but to signal obedience to an ideology that punishes anyone who questions it.
And punished I was. 
The Maine House Speaker demanded I delete my post. When I refused, I was stripped of my right to speak or vote in the Legislature. Unless and until I issued a formal apology, I would remain barred from representing the nearly 9,000 constituents who elected me.
This wasn’t the first time legislative leadership in Maine used procedural tools to suppress dissent. In May of 2021, the Democratic legislative leadership issued a mask mandate, solely for the State House, after Governor Janet Mills had lifted the state mask mandate.
As a result, Mainers were denied their First Amendment right to assemble, to petition their government, and to speak freely, unless they traded a piece of their liberty. 
I knew it was wrong, and alongside five colleagues, I walked in without a mask.
In response, the Speaker stripped us of our committee assignments and barred us from voting. I agonized over what to do, but in the end, I put a face shield back on, telling myself it was my duty to vote for my constituents.
But the truth is I failed to stand strong in defense of the First Amendment. And that failure taught me that when you give in to fear and intimidation, it only encourages more of both.
This year, I chose not to make the same mistake.
Now, in February, I was confronted with a choice again: to give in or keep fighting. For Maine, for our girls, and for our First Amendment, I chose to fight. 
I filed suit against the Legislature after they barred me for exercising my right to speak truthfully about protecting girls’ sports. And the Supreme Court ruled in my favor and restored my vote!
It was, by any normal standard, the right outcome. But it should never have been necessary. An elected official was forced to file a lawsuit to fulfill her duty to the people of Maine, all because she took a stand for women and girls.
These are the things of totalitarian governments, not the United States.
We still talk about the First Amendment as though it protects us in practice as well as in theory. But in much of American life, the real barriers to speech are procedural, reputational and cultural. They come from norms that shift depending on the issue at hand and the politics of the speaker.
When Charlie Kirk was assassinated, I was in Washington, DC. I called home to tell my older children, and my teenager’s first question stopped me in my tracks: “Mom, are you going to stop speaking up?” Without hesitation, I answered: “No. Absolutely not.”
If we stay silent now, we surrender the foundation of liberty. If we bow to intimidation, we hand our children a future where truth is unwelcome and freedom is conditional.
This is not someone else’s fight. It is ours. Parents, teachers, students, pastors, lawmakers, citizens – every one of us has a role to play in protecting the space to speak truthfully, even when it costs us.
This moment is where we stand to lose, or gain, the most. The only way we lose is if we make the choice to silence ourselves.
We cannot be silent. We must speak. We must stand. There is too much at stake to do otherwise.
 * * * 
Laurel Libby is a member of the House of Representatives in Maine.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Untitled design (13)

Best Of 2025: Silenced In Maine: How Standing Up For Girls’ Sports Cost Me My Voice

Best Of 2025: Silenced In Maine: How Standing Up For Girl's Sports Cost Me My Voice

Democrats

Gender

Leftists

Maine

An Olympic silver medalist is no longer staying quiet. After MyKayla Skinner&#8217;s former USA Gymnastics teammate, Simone Biles, attacked Riley Gaines this summer, she is not afraid to speak out anymore.
&#8220;We shouldn&#8217;t let transgender men be in women&#8217;s sports. How can you be one of the best athletes in the world and think that it&#8217;s okay for that to happen? They&#8217;re literally not competing because they don&#8217;t want to go up against a man,&#8221; she told The Daily Wire.
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Skinner is now calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban transgender athletes.
&#8220;I hope that they make a change and that it does happen. Because it&#8217;s not fair, it&#8217;s not right. It&#8217;s just sad to think that we even have to vote on this. Us women work so hard, especially being in the Olympics,&#8221; Skinner added.
The IOC, under its new president, <a href="https://x.com/iocmedia/status/1938227406805880959?s=20">Kirsty Coventry</a>, created a Working Group on the protection of the female category this summer. An IOC spokesperson told The Daily Wire that a final decision on banning men from the women&#8217;s category has yet to be reached.
&#8220;An update was given by the IOC’s Director of Health, Medicine and Science to the IOC Members during the recent IOC commission meetings,&#8221; the spokesperson said. &#8220;The working group is continuing its discussions on this topic and no decisions have been taken yet. Further information will be provided in due course.”
Skinner said having discussions on whether men should compete in the Olympics against women is &#8220;mind-blowing.&#8221;
&#8220;It shouldn&#8217;t even be an issue. I couldn&#8217;t imagine having to compete against a male and getting medals stripped,&#8221; The Olympian continued. &#8220;Especially having a daughter, she&#8217;s gonna be raised in this next generation, and I want her to have an even playing field like I had. Like we all had on the Olympic team.&#8221;
During the 2024 Olympics, the IOC dismissed gender tests for Imane Khelif as not legitimate. The Algerian boxer came under scrutiny for competing in the women&#8217;s category, winning gold, even though an independent analysis in 2023 revealed a &#8220;male karyotype,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/boxing/2025/06/01/imane-khelif-medical-report-proves-biological-male/">The Telegraph</a>.
Since then, other sports organizations have required sex testing to ensure fair competition. In August, <a href="https://worldboxing.org/world-boxing-confirms-mandatory-sex-testing-will-apply-in-the-female-category-at-the-inaugural-world-boxing-championships-2025/">World Boxing</a> announced mandatory sex testing for boxers wanting to compete in their competitions. Khelif has refused to take the test and appealed the rule. He hasn&#8217;t boxed in a World Boxing event since the testing was put in place.
&#8220;Watching the last Olympics, it was just so crazy that we&#8217;re experiencing this,&#8221; Skinner said. &#8220;We&#8217;re watching it, we&#8217;re witnessing it, it just shouldn&#8217;t be happening. We shouldn&#8217;t have to be competing against trans biological men. Girls need to have a safe place. That&#8217;s what I want for my daughter and the next generation to have.&#8221;
RELATED: ‘<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-were-right-leaked-medical-report-says-boxer-who-beat-up-women-at-olympics-is-a-man">We Were Right’: Leaked Medical Report Says Boxer Who Beat Up Women At Olympics Is A Man</a>
Coventry, the first female IOC President, wasn&#8217;t in power in 2024, but since being elected, she has said she wants fair competition.
“There was overwhelming support from all of the Members who were present here, and those who were able to share with us before they left, that we should <a href="https://www.olympics.com/ioc/news/ioc-president-coventry-announces-two-working-groups-to-strengthen-future-host-election-process-and-protection-of-the-female-category">protect the female category,</a>&#8221; Coventry said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Another key action emerging from the ‘Pause &amp; Reflect’ session held with IOC members on 24-25 June is the setting up of a working group that will look into the protection of the female category – on which there was broad consensus. <a href="https://t.co/09Pxwfm4Io">pic.twitter.com/09Pxwfm4Io</a>
— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) <a href="https://twitter.com/iocmedia/status/1938227406805880959?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
Republican Senator John Cornyn urged the IOC to make its decision before the 2026 Winter Olympics in February.
&#8220;As the IOC continues its deliberations, this issue has become a global policy concern and a question of athletic integrity,&#8221; Cornyn said. &#8220;In the United States, President Trump honored his unwavering commitment to women and girls with the issuance of Executive Order 14201: Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. His action reaffirmed the longstanding belief that women’s sports must be preserved for biological females.&#8221;
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While the IOC deliberates, Skinner wants more athletes to publicly state that men should not be in women&#8217;s sports.
&#8220;I would love to see more athletes, my Olympic teammates, Team USA National Team members, join this fight and stand up, because I didn&#8217;t have to go through this. If this is something that you&#8217;re really passionate about, just find the courage deep down inside, and just speak up.&#8221;
It took Skinner longer than she would like to admit to speak out on this issue. She was scared of being canceled, but said the amount of support she&#8217;s received has been overwhelmingly more than hate.
&#8220;I feel like I can finally use my platform to do something good. That&#8217;s the most important thing to me. I hope by showing that, it will really give all these athletes the courage to do the same.&#8221;
The IOC told The Daily Wire that no date has been set to vote on a transgender ban.

MyKayla Skinner

‘It Needs To Happen’: Olympic Gymnast Pushes IOC To Ban Transgender Athletes

News

Olympics

Women Sports

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office will investigate a women’s weightlifting competition after it awarded a trans-identifying competitor first prize.
The 2025 World’s Strongest Woman held in Arlington, Texas, over the weekend awarded biological male Jammie Booker first place in the competition. Booker’s inclusion in the event and eventual first place prize sparked protest from the competition’s runner-up, Andrea Thompson, to leave the podium in protest.
&#8220;Attorney General Paxton will not allow the radical left to sacrifice the integrity of girls&#8217; sports on the altar of their delusional transgender agenda. The OAG is investigating this incident and will take any and all actions to protect women&#8217;s sports both in Texas and across the nation,&#8221; Paxton&#8217;s office told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/sports/texas-ag-investigating-weightlifting-competition-trans-athlete-compete-women">Fox News</a>.
Official Strongman, which ran the competition, later <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/worlds-strongest-woman-winner-stripped-of-title-after-organizers-find-out-hes-a-man?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=World%E2%80%99s+Strongest+Woman+Winner+Stripped+Of+Title+After+Organizers+Find+Out+He%E2%80%99s+A+Man">disqualified</a> Booker after organizers said they were unaware of Booker’s sex.
“Official Strongman is inclusive and proud to run events which do not discriminate against athletes based on personal characteristics. Any athlete is welcome. But it is our responsibility to ensure fairness and ensure athletes are assigned to men or women’s categories based on whether they are recorded as male or female at birth,” the organization said in a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OfficialStrongmanWSM/posts/pfbid0t2PgVVznQX7RTjHyaab5MU1T5SuNuqjYvjgtGKK1ugCsvxEYa4f7wkzmXkHzMTY3l?rdid=cI7Q2fP7va6sK5JZ#">statement</a>.
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“Given this, we have disqualified the athlete in question from the Official Strongman World Championships 2025. All athlete points and places will be altered accordingly to ensure that the rightful places are allocated to each of the Women’s Open athletes,” it said.
At the award ceremony, Thompson, a former champion, was heard muttering “this is bulls***” as she stepped off the podium.
Booker’s victory ignited backlash across the sport as weightlifters blasted the competition and the inclusion of a male athlete in women’s sport. Three-time World’s Strongest Woman Rebecca Roberts called Thompson the true winner and insisted that “[w]omen’s divisions must remain biologically female-only.”
2023 World’s Strongest Man Mitchell Hooper said in a video that “the first time I saw Jammie, I said: ‘This woman looks different.’” He knocked Booker’s inclusion in the competition, stating, “There is a time when you have to take a stand for women’s sports.”

Weights

Ken Paxton To Probe Women’s Weightlifting Competition After Trans-Identified Athlete Wins Gold

Ken Paxton

Texas

WNBA Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said it&#8217;s likely that elite 8th grade male basketball players could beat professional female athletes, noting men&#8217;s obvious physical advantages over women.
Cunningham&#8217;s comments, which were made on her podcast &#8220;Show Me Something,&#8221; completely contradict the Left-wing transgender narrative claiming that what determines gender is self-described identity; or, further, that males don&#8217;t really have physical advantages over females.
&#8220;This is my personal opinion,&#8221; Cunningham told her co-host West Wilson, Outkick <a href="https://www.outkick.com/sports/sophie-cunningham-backs-michael-porter-jr-8th-grade-boys-wnba-stars">reported</a>. &#8220;If you are a professional football player, basketball player, really any sport &#8230; to me, if you&#8217;re in that elite level group, yeah, you should be able to beat the girls. I&#8217;m not surprised by that.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s probably true. I don&#8217;t want to be unrealistic or delusional,&#8221; she continued. &#8220;Men are just stronger, bigger, athletic. They just are a different build. So if you put them up against females, I&#8217;m like, well, yeah they&#8217;re gonna win, duh.&#8221;
Cunningham, who is set to become a free agent, made the remarks in response to NBA player Michael Lamar Porter Jr., who recently said he thinks elite male athletes as young as 8th grade could beat WNBA players. Porter said he was merely speaking from experience, referencing a time in middle school when he apparently dominated in a practice against Cunningham, then playing college ball.
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&#8220;I&#8217;ma go, probably, 8th grade, because I have real experience doing this,&#8221; Porter said, when asked what age elite males could beat pro females. &#8220;They went to University of Missouri, and I was still a young dude, and they had me playing on the scout team, and they had a few WNBA players on their team, like Sophie Cunningham, and a couple others. I think I was in the 7th or 8th grade going dumb. So, I have real-life experience.&#8221;
&#8220;I wish this would stop being a conversation ‘cause it should be common sense, but it’s just not,&#8221; Porter added.
&#8220;If women are saying, ‘He couldn&#8217;t beat them&#8217; &#8212; yeah, he could,&#8221; Cunningham agreed. &#8220;Any NBA star or player could beat a female in high school &#8230; I just don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s a fair matchup.&#8221;
The Fever guard further defended Porter, saying that he was asked his opinion and answered honestly and calling the &#8220;context&#8221; of his comments &#8220;fair.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Sophie Cunningham, who Michael Porter Jr. claims he beat in a Mizzou basketball practice in 8th grade, reacted to MPJ’s recent comments:
“I mean, it’s probably true. I think, if you are a professional [athlete], if you’re in that elite level group, yea you should be able to… <a href="https://t.co/pVbrxyYShV">pic.twitter.com/pVbrxyYShV</a>
— Courtside Buzz (@CourtsideBuzzX) <a href="https://twitter.com/CourtsideBuzzX/status/1992666783627833612?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wnba-player-rips-refs-for-allowing-cheap-shots-on-caitlin-clark-says-she-had-to-act">WNBA Player Rips Refs For Allowing Cheap Shots On Caitlin Clark, Says She Had To Act</a>

Chicago Sky v Indiana Fever

WNBA Star Throws Cold Water On Transgender Narrative

WNBA

An activist researcher who said he was working on a study on &#8220;trans youth athletes&#8221; funded by Nike says the funding was cut by the world&#8217;s largest athletic gear company after &#8220;haters got wind of it.&#8221;
Reports that Nike was funding the study on children&#8217;s athletic abilities during so-called &#8220;gender-affirming&#8221; procedures first arose earlier this year, when one of the researchers, Joanna Harper, told the New York Times that they were running fitness tests on children as they underwent them. Harper, a man who ran marathons for years before identifying as a woman in the early 2000s, now <a href="https://www.outsports.com/2025/11/11/24121287/joanna-harper-trans-women-athletes-research-nike/">tells</a> OutSports, an LGBT sports website, that Nike walked away from the study after political pressure.
Specifically, pressure from Se. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), who <a href="https://www.tuberville.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/outkick-sen-tommy-tuberville-slams-nike-and-maine-governor-over-support-for-males-in-womens-sports/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThese%20governors%20need%20to%20stand,Great%20question%2C%20Senator.">slammed Nike</a> for their lack of support for women&#8217;s sports and their funding of a study on children&#8217;s athletic abilities during &#8220;gender-affirming&#8221; care. OutSports called Tuberville &#8220;one of the most vocal transphobes in elected office.&#8221;
Tuberville wasn&#8217;t the only person who blasted Nike for reportedly being part of the study. After <a href="http://outkick.com/sports/nike-funding-study-transgender-athletes">OutKick</a> questioned Nike on its involvement in this study, some of the biggest names in sports, including Charles Barkley, spoke out against studying kids under the influence of unnatural hormones. OutKick reported back in April that a Nike executive <a href="https://www.outkick.com/sports/researcher-nike-pulled-plug-transgender-youth-athlete-study">told</a> the outlet the study &#8220;was never initialized&#8221; and wasn&#8217;t moving forward. Harper implied Nike had to make the &#8220;corporate decision&#8221; to move on from the study.
&#8220;I understand in the wake of what happened to Bud Light that Nike got nervous,&#8221; Harper said.
Harper, who is also a professor at Oregon Health &amp; Science University, said he wishes Nike hadn&#8217;t pulled out of the study.
&#8220;It was a study of fitness test results in trans adolescents,&#8221; Harper told OutSports. &#8220;And while there’s limited data on trans adults, there’s no published data on trans adolescents and their athletic capabilities. This was an exciting study.&#8221;
Harper, however, appears to have already reached his conclusion before conducting the study.
“Trans women aren’t men,” Harper told the pro-transgenderism website, rejecting the idea that transgender-identifying men should compete against other men.
“They don’t compete like men, don’t look like men and that would bring trans women into an arena where they are not welcome, not wanted and in danger,&#8221; Harper said.
Harper first broke the news of this study when he was interviewed for a New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/20/magazine/trans-athletes-women-college-sports.html">story</a> on trans-identifying volleyball player, Blair Fleming. Harper told the outlet that the study, funded by Nike, would use a 10-step fitness test to measure kids&#8217; skills before they start hormone therapy and after they medically transition. The study would repeat the fitness test every six months for five years.
The reported experimentations with children and their bodies was the latest push to justify men competing against women. Fleming was part of the International Olympic Committee&#8217;s decision to let men compete in the women&#8217;s category with testosterone suppression. The International Olympic Committee is now reportedly planning to ban men competing in women&#8217;s sports.
Nike did not respond to a request for comment on Harper&#8217;s claims.

Footwear, apparel and equipment manufacturer Nike (USA)

Activist Says Nike Yanked Funding From His Study On Trans Kids: ‘Haters Got Wind Of It’

Nike

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