The movement against transgender athletes in women’s and girls sports has drawn support from the majority of Americans, politicians in power and even a niche consumer market. Now, one of the leaders of that movement is calling for some big star-powered reinforcements.
Former NCAA swimmer and conservative influencer Riley Gaines has been one of the most active advocates of the movement, dating back to her infamous tie with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships. In 2024, Gaines became the first brand ambassador for the activist sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics.
The brand gained prominence and profitability by becoming the first sportswear company dedicated to promoting activism against transgender inclusion in women’s sports. It also created financial incentives for women’s college athletes across the country to take a stand on the issue by signing with the brand.
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Gaines believes two stars can help propel the brand and movement to new heights.
“People who I think would be critical to this movement are, of course, people like Caitlin Clark, people like Simone Biles, which I think is definitely a stretch, but these are women who have been able to shatter glass ceilings and break barriers, who are role models to young girls across the country,” Gaines told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview.
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“To have them emphatically say they [trans athletes] do not belong in women’s sports would be, the issue would be solved across all levels, like yesterday, if they were willing to do this.”
Gaines said it’s “not as far out of reach” as it sounds due to a culture shift among Americans to protect women and girls from transgender athletes.
XX-XY founder Jennifer Sey, a former U.S. gymnast and Levi’s executive, addressed Gaines’ pitch to Clark and Biles in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“We are always encouraging more female athletes to join the fight. And we’d love to work with anyone standing up for the integrity of women’s sports. We are in constant conversations with those who have stood up or are considering doing so,” Sey said. “We believe this ends when the athletes defend women’s sports in large numbers.”
Sey previously told Fox Business her brand surpassed a seven-figure profit in its first 10 months in 2024, but she still believes her brand is lacking a superstar women’s athlete as a brand ambassador.
“There isn’t a top-tier competitive female athlete or coach that has stood up for the protection of women’s sports,” Sey said.
“We don’t have any currently competing top-tier athletes who have spoken out. I think that’s an illustration of how far we have to go. It should be normal for them to stand up and say, ‘I will fight for the protection of women’s sports,’ and yet they haven’t because I think a lot of them are afraid of being called terrible names.”
Gaines and Sey say the brand is “in talks” with prominent women athletes, including Olympians.
“They’re in the works and (there are) conversations with many amazing athletes, Olympians and beyond,” Gaines said.
A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don’t think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women’s sports.
“Thinking about transgender female athletes — meaning athletes who were male at birth but who currently identify as female — do you think they should or should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports?” the survey asked.
Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.
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Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.
Nearly 70% of Americans say biological men should not be permitted to compete in women’s sports, according to a Gallup poll last year.
In June 2024, a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago asked respondents whether transgender athletes of both sexes should be permitted to participate in sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender identity instead of their biological sex. In that survey, 65% answered that it should never or rarely be allowed. When those polled were asked specifically about adult transgender female athletes competing in women’s sports, 69% opposed it.
Caitlin Clark, Riley Gaines and Simone Biles (Imagn)
However, resistance to opposing trans inclusion in women’s sports has prompted harassment and even crime against athletes involved in the movement, including XX-XY Athletics brand ambassadors.
Former San Jose State University women’s volleyball co-captain Brooke Slusser, who signed with the brand after speaking out against her school and the NCAA, citing her experience with transgender teammate Blaire Fleming in the fall, told Fox News Digital she had to leave campus this semester after being harassed and threatened for her beliefs.
Slusser’s former SJSU assistant coach, Melissa Batie-Smoose, who appeared in XX-XY Athletics’ recent “We See You NCAA” advertisement, had her home shot at in February and believes she was targeted for speaking out against the university’s alleged favoritism of Fleming.
“It’s crazy what we have seen from the other side,” Gaines said. “But it doesn’t have the chokehold that it once did.”
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