Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - Sisters Benched for Speaking Out： Title IX Locker Room Fight

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00:00:24.600 Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Games for Girls podcast.

00:00:28.160 I wanted to start this episode by playing a game of guess which one is the man.

00:00:34.040 If you're watching on YouTube.com slash OutKick, we're going to put up a picture.

00:00:37.900 And I want you to pick out, trust your eyes here, which one is the male player. 0.96

00:00:45.600 This is the Santa Rosa Junior College women's volleyball team.

00:00:49.880 If you said the man, the very tall, physically, visibly, much larger athlete standing on the far left,

00:00:59.800 then your eyes would not be deceiving you.

00:01:03.280 That is the male athlete.

00:01:04.780 We also have a clip I want to show you guys really quick.

00:01:07.160 Watch this.

00:01:07.600 If you're watching again, you can see.

00:01:12.440 But if not, look at number 20.

00:01:15.080 Look at player number 20.

00:01:16.660 So much larger.

00:01:18.260 It is very, very clear this athlete is a male athlete.

00:01:22.800 You know what this reminds me of?

00:01:23.940 It's been viral all over X, all over TikTok the past few days.

00:01:27.780 Cardi B has found herself in the middle of litigation.

00:01:30.660 The story and the circumstances are kind of crazy.

00:01:34.140 Obviously, we're not going to get into that on this episode.

00:01:36.740 But there's this meme right now going viral of Cardi B where the plaintiff's attorney is questioning her.

00:01:42.240 He says, well, how do you know that she's bigger than you?

00:01:45.780 Let's watch this.

00:01:47.260 You said she's bigger than you. 0.95

00:01:48.740 Is that correct?

00:01:49.520 This is how I feel.

00:01:51.020 How do you know that?

00:01:51.740 When someone says how.

00:01:55.080 I mean, look.

00:01:57.480 I mean, look.

00:01:58.340 How did you know that's a male athlete?

00:02:00.660 I mean, look.

00:02:02.080 Trust your eyes here, people.

00:02:03.920 A Title IX complaint has been filed by three brave athletes.

00:02:07.880 Today, we're going to be talking to two of those athletes.

00:02:10.100 They're actually sisters who are on the Santa Rosa team together.

00:02:15.140 But this complaint has been filed over safety concerns, loss opportunities, and locker room issues.

00:02:21.760 Again, we've heard the story time and time and time again.

00:02:25.580 We continue to see universities, colleges, elected officials, Democrats, really, double down on this issue.

00:02:35.220 Since filing this Title IX complaint, these athletes, again, the three brave women who were willing to put their name in their face.

00:02:43.580 So this, not without facing some of the threats that certainly they could have imagined existed.

00:02:49.720 They faced retaliation.

00:02:51.760 Their coach has removed all of these players from their starting positions.

00:02:56.380 They've been benched, and they've lost playing time.

00:02:59.520 And again, why?

00:03:00.720 For saying that player, who if you were watching, you probably guessed it for saying that player is a male.

00:03:07.600 We are going to get into all of that and more in this episode of Gains for Girls. 0.91

00:03:12.460 Again, we're talking to Gracie and Madison Shaw, two of the athletes who filed the Title IX complaint with the Office of Civil Rights.

00:03:18.740 Be sure to follow us along before we get into the interview at youtube.com slash outkick.

00:03:23.640 That's where you can find all things Gains for Girls. 1.00

00:03:26.500 Now let's get into the episode.

00:03:29.840 Well, Gracie and Madison, welcome to the Gains for Girls podcast.

00:03:33.420 I say this often when we have what I would describe as heroines like yourself on the show.

00:03:39.660 Like, these are my favorite people to talk to.

00:03:42.160 It's kind of like your ordinary, everyday person who probably never imagined that you would be in the situation that you have now found yourself in.

00:03:51.960 But you have, I mean, you've been the embodiment of courage and bravery since really being willing to put your name in your face of this.

00:03:59.140 So thank you guys so much for joining.

00:04:00.960 Do you mind just sharing a little bit about yourselves, maybe how long you've been playing volleyball, and I think what the sport has meant to you and your family?

00:04:09.660 Gosh, you guys come from a family of volleyball players.

00:04:13.540 Well, thank you very much for having us.

00:04:15.480 It's great to be here.

00:04:17.380 For me, I've been playing volleyball for now nine years.

00:04:21.340 I started in middle school, sixth grade.

00:04:24.840 I kind of come from a volleyball family.

00:04:27.080 My mom was a volleyball player and had the chance to get signed to be able to play in college and then actually was given the opportunity to switch from volleyball and then went to track. 0.94

00:04:40.320 Very athletic family, but I've had her as my coach since the very beginning. 0.99

00:04:44.720 I just, I love the game.

00:04:48.340 I've made so many great friends and I've learned a lot of very important life skills like discipline and leadership.

00:04:55.900 And I couldn't have gotten any of that without being involved in volleyball.

00:05:01.000 Yeah, I've also played volleyball since I was in sixth grade.

00:05:04.900 And we also have two younger siblings.

00:05:07.020 One who's just coming into high school.

00:05:08.840 She's on our high school volleyball team. 0.63

00:05:10.680 And my mom's coaching that team.

00:05:13.460 She's the JV coach.

00:05:15.020 And we also have a little sister who's 10.

00:05:18.460 She played volleyball as well.

00:05:19.800 So we kind of are, we're a very big volleyball family.

00:05:22.960 And so many memories have been made through volleyball friendships.

00:05:26.480 And we've had great high school volleyball teams, league champs, gone to state rounds.

00:05:32.800 So it was really, I love volleyball.

00:05:34.660 It's such a fun game.

00:05:36.800 That's, it's so true.

00:05:37.920 You speak to the memories and the relationships and the friendships.

00:05:41.980 Obviously, I played a different sport, but my best friends in life are the people that you meet playing sports.

00:05:48.800 When you're young, when you go to college, those are your, your roommates, your best friends.

00:05:53.020 And so totally in the skill sets you develop, like you said, discipline, leadership, communication, all those things translate even beyond sports.

00:06:01.660 And so really critical stuff, but to come from a family of, of four sisters, four girls who all play volleyball.

00:06:09.500 Your mom played, she coaches.

00:06:11.920 What about for you two specifically?

00:06:14.080 Like, what is the dynamic?

00:06:15.560 Like playing on a team with your sister?

00:06:18.940 Because I have two sisters and my oldest sister played softball.

00:06:22.840 While I swam, my youngest sister's a gymnast.

00:06:25.760 I think I would have killed my sisters if we had to share a team together.

00:06:32.180 So what's that dynamic like?

00:06:34.740 Yeah, it's definitely, it's been an amazing opportunity to be able to have such a close relationship with my sister and being able to play sports with her.

00:06:42.560 Um, we do have to say when we're on the team, our teammates knew who the sisters were on the court because yeah, it's just, you have that different relationship where you're more tough on each other.

00:06:54.600 You really try to bring out the best in each other.

00:06:56.500 And sometimes it's, you show it a little differently to your sister than your friend or your teammate on the team.

00:07:02.160 So it's, it's definitely been a great experience and I love it.

00:07:05.700 Okay.

00:07:05.800 So you guys have found yourself in the midst of this situation, which I gave some background in the intro and the intro.

00:07:11.740 So would you mind telling a little bit about, I mean, specifically what I'm referring to and how you found out this was something that you both would have to be kind of dealing with?

00:07:22.720 Last year I committed to the volleyball team.

00:07:25.800 I was the starting outside hitter.

00:07:28.040 I played all six rotations, never really came off the court.

00:07:31.420 It was honestly one of my best volleyball seasons.

00:07:35.280 I learned so much and I just felt like I was going to be able to go into my next season feeling I had the opportunity to be.

00:07:41.740 Earned scholarships and continue my volleyball career in transfer to a four year.

00:07:47.360 But I was really concerned about this male athlete.

00:07:51.980 And I was currently a red shirt on our team.

00:07:54.920 And I wanted to raise these concerns of my safety, not only just for me, but for my teammates and other female athletes that are going to be participating in games and playing against this person.

00:08:07.680 And our privacy, how it's being invaded every time in the locker room situation.

00:08:13.740 And really, the level of playing field was changed drastically when we have a male athlete on the team. 0.99

00:08:21.720 So I went and talked to my athletic director, my Title IX coordinator, and my coach and spoke out about these concerns that I've had.

00:08:30.500 And that I was demanding my Title IX rights should be upheld by our school and that our female athletes should be prioritized in women's sports.

00:08:40.280 And they were telling us that their current policy is that they're going to allow transgender male athletes participation on women's sports.

00:08:50.860 And I just felt my voice was not being heard.

00:08:53.700 They were not taking it seriously into what I was saying and how I felt my rights were being violated.

00:09:00.220 So I decided to file this complaint in hopes that they would change their mind.

00:09:04.560 Wow.

00:09:05.780 Was there any, like, clarity or transparency, I guess maybe is a better word, from your university or maybe from the coaching staff that this athlete was a male?

00:09:17.700 Or was this something that you guys, as women, as female athletes, again, who were sharing the locker room, sharing the court with this athlete,

00:09:25.280 is this something you guys had to kind of deduce or maybe even question on your own?

00:09:29.100 Oh, my gosh, we might be on a team with this male athlete.

00:09:32.860 And we had all of these concerns.

00:09:34.380 So we went to our athletic director before the season started so that we were hoping that we would have answers about what was going to happen before the season even started.

00:09:44.860 And every time we were just turned away with, oh, we don't really know what policy we can follow.

00:09:50.700 We need to wait until this meeting and then we'll have an answer.

00:09:53.400 And it got pushed all the way until August when we were having games starting, scrimmages starting.

00:09:58.900 And we were told, even at one point by our Title IX coordinator, that we can't assume anyone's gender here.

00:10:06.040 When, if any person looks at this male athlete with your eyes, you can tell that that is not a female athlete.

00:10:13.380 Well, that's the real harm being done.

00:10:16.640 And it is truthfully pretty Orwellian when you think about it.

00:10:19.420 You have these adults who, I mean, are talking to young girls.

00:10:24.600 And the message that they're sending is to, you know, kind of let your guard down, be vulnerable, and disregard what your eyes are telling you.

00:10:31.580 So, you know, just accept that this person is the same as you simply because they say they are.

00:10:38.320 And that's a really harmful message, again, I think, especially to send to young women.

00:10:43.840 One of the, of course, I've looked at the complaint that has been filed with the Office of Civil Rights at this point.

00:10:49.320 And one of the concerns was the concern of, of safety.

00:10:53.700 And we've seen other stories, I think, especially in the sport of volleyball, where women have been injured.

00:11:01.160 Some have suffered season-ending injuries.

00:11:03.700 Some women have suffered career-ending injuries. 1.00

00:11:05.980 People like Peyton McNabb, who's been on this show before.

00:11:08.880 I mean, she was partially paralyzed on her right side after being hit by a male on the other side of the court.

00:11:14.500 And so, can you talk about the moment when you realized, again, that this wasn't necessarily just about fairness and competition, but about physical risk?

00:11:24.560 So, last year, during the spring, I realized that this was big.

00:11:30.520 The bigger picture wasn't just my privacy being invaded and fair competition, but we're putting ourselves at risk every time we step onto that court with a male athlete.

00:11:40.080 And one of our teammates was at the net, and the male athlete was serving from the end line, which is 30 feet away from the net.

00:11:51.180 So, this is not like a hard-driven ball from at the net.

00:11:54.080 That's even worse.

00:11:55.400 But having that much distance between each of the players, she was hit in the head, in the back of the head, by the serve. 1.00

00:12:02.920 And there was so much power, so much force behind it, that it ended up in a concussion.

00:12:08.220 And she was out two weeks of her sophomore year season, which is, in junior college, is your last year playing.

00:12:15.920 And so, that made me realize that this is not fair.

00:12:20.280 We should not be having to – yes, I mean, injuries happen, especially in volleyball.

00:12:25.320 It's inevitable.

00:12:27.440 But this one in particular could have been prevented because we're allowing this male athlete who has physical advantages over these females to be participating and putting us at risk.

00:12:39.540 I love that point you make because it's so true.

00:12:43.420 It's often an argument or rebuttal used on the other side is they say, well, injuries happen in sports.

00:12:49.420 Of course they do.

00:12:50.500 That's part of playing sports.

00:12:51.840 There's, you know, no one on this podcast or this episode is here to say that injuries shouldn't happen.

00:12:58.000 But it's the fact that this one was avoidable, preventable, and should have never happened.

00:13:03.940 So, that to me is – it's heartbreaking.

00:13:09.220 Again, that there are adults who know this, who know that you're being put at risk, yet still kind of being willing to let you guys be the sacrificial lambs in the story, if you will.

00:13:19.600 Which one more point I want to make about volleyball specifically – and really, it's kind of across the board with most sports.

00:13:26.980 Like, there's a difference in women's gymnastics versus men's gymnastics.

00:13:31.740 Like, they're not even – they don't compete the same events.

00:13:33.600 Same thing with baseball versus softball.

00:13:35.540 Like, the size of the field, the size of the ball.

00:13:38.300 Softball throws underhand.

00:13:39.500 Baseball throws overhand.

00:13:40.860 Basketball, there's differences.

00:13:42.520 What about in volleyball?

00:13:43.480 Like, what is the – what is the height of the net for men's volleyball versus women's?

00:13:49.220 Like, is there a difference there?

00:13:51.640 Yes.

00:13:52.520 The net in men's volleyball is higher than a woman's net by five feet. 1.00

00:13:59.460 And –

00:13:59.680 Five inches.

00:14:00.160 Five inches.

00:14:00.700 Sorry, I didn't mean five feet.

00:14:01.820 By five inches.

00:14:02.520 And when you play co-ed sports, which there's co-ed volleyball leagues, men have to hit behind the 10-foot line.

00:14:11.900 And you can't put up a block.

00:14:14.200 Like, there's certain rules that ensure safety to the female athletes because there is that biological difference. 1.00

00:14:20.440 And I, myself, even at the end of August, I got hit by a ball by this female athlete – or male athlete. 0.98

00:14:27.720 And I was ready.

00:14:29.640 I knew the male athlete was going to hit the ball.

00:14:32.660 And I just couldn't react fast enough.

00:14:34.420 And it hit me in the face.

00:14:36.260 And that just shows how men have that biological advantage of being stronger, faster, have broader shoulders, which are advantage in many sports, not just volleyball.

00:14:46.120 And why there is two separate sports leagues.

00:14:49.140 Of course.

00:14:51.320 Yeah, that's absurd.

00:14:54.240 So you go on to file this Title IX complaint, again, citing the physical concerns that we just talked about, citing the fairness, obviously losing out on opportunities, the privacy concerns as it pertains to the locker room.

00:15:10.860 What has been the response that you have received, maybe from teammates or from your coaching staff or from your university?

00:15:18.620 I know there was a statement issued by your university that we saw when OutKick reached out and asked them.

00:15:26.640 They responded, as many would probably imagine, because it's the pretty standard response that we have seen, whether it's from an academic institution, whether it's from a corporate institution, whatever it is.

00:15:39.560 Basically, they're committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all students and employees.

00:15:45.580 But when they say all students, they are pretty exclusively leaving out being inclusive to women.

00:15:54.940 So what has the response been that you guys have received?

00:15:58.680 Well, from the beginning, we've stated, especially for the locker room situation, how it's uncomfortable.

00:16:05.340 I mean, the locker room is supposed to be a space that we're supposed to feel comfortable in.

00:16:09.420 We're vulnerable when changing.

00:16:10.900 And when you put a male athlete into that vicinity, it really makes the females feel like we're not being protected.

00:16:19.160 Our privacy is being violated.

00:16:21.900 And they still continue to say that since this male athlete is identifying as a female athlete and they're on the women's team, they have full access to this locker room.

00:16:33.100 And, I mean, just me, Gracie, and Brielle, when we have to go to practice or before games to change, just having that, like, anxiety that, oh, my gosh, I'm going to be having to change in front of a male.

00:16:45.700 I personally never had to change in front of a male.

00:16:48.340 So this is, like, insane that they're allowing this and choosing what's more comfortable for the male athlete than prioritizing their female athlete's privacy.

00:16:57.900 Yeah, it's so violating to be really forcibly put in that position.

00:17:05.320 You guys have since, again, shown extreme bravery and sacrifice.

00:17:12.400 Again, I think that's important for people to realize, especially people who, I mean, maybe if the people listening or watching this, they've played sports, they understand the sacrifices that naturally come with sports.

00:17:23.540 But I think those who haven't played sports, again, we're talking, you're missing out on social events.

00:17:30.680 Oftentimes schoolwork becomes compromised because you're at tournaments or games or, you know, traveling with your team, whatever it is.

00:17:37.360 Like, there's a lot that goes into this.

00:17:40.440 You guys have decided to stand up for women's sports and spaces in a different way beyond this filing this OCR complaint as well.

00:17:51.720 Can you talk about what that's looked like?

00:17:54.140 I think we might even have a video to show from your tournament, even just this past weekend, if we can clip to that really quick.

00:18:08.880 Can you describe what's happening in that clip there?

00:18:12.960 I'm sitting on the sideline because I have chose to stay on the team and come to practice, come to the weights.

00:18:20.340 I'm spending at least five hours on volleyball every single day.

00:18:24.460 And I said to my team, I'm not going to compete while my Title IX rights are being violated and that I have a male athlete on this team.

00:18:33.820 And ultimately, I chose to make that choice because that's me putting the choice in the coach's hands.

00:18:40.200 Like, look, I'm showing up to everything.

00:18:42.300 I'm putting the hard work in and I will play on this team as long as there isn't a male athlete.

00:18:47.820 So you're there, but you're protesting by not standing, not playing.

00:18:54.760 This is something that I've kind of dubbed as Project Boycott with emphasis on the word boy.

00:19:02.460 Anytime there's a man or a male athlete on the field or the court or whatever the athletic setting is, we've seen this rise in women. 1.00

00:19:12.920 Do exactly what you're doing, saying, look, we're not going to even allow you to trample on our rights in the way that you have been.

00:19:20.060 And so, Madison, what about you?

00:19:21.240 You've made the choice now to step away completely until the situation changes.

00:19:25.700 Can you share, you know, why you felt like this was the strongest decision that you could make?

00:19:31.680 I would agree with Gracie.

00:19:33.860 There's so much time and effort you put into being in a collegiate level sport.

00:19:39.340 And I've made it very clear that I want to be on the team.

00:19:43.140 I want to play.

00:19:44.320 But every time I would go to practice or I showed up for the first six games and I felt disappointed.

00:19:53.520 I felt betrayed by our school and honestly very upset.

00:19:57.060 And it was just taking such a mental toll on me.

00:19:59.200 And I realized that this is not good for me.

00:20:02.780 I should not be feeling this way.

00:20:04.640 So I decided to step away until a time that they allow our team to be females for a woman's team. 0.93

00:20:12.420 And there's no longer a male athlete jeopardizing my safety, my privacy and my ability to have fair competition.

00:20:19.380 I mean, what you're describing is like seemingly the bare minimum.

00:20:24.760 And again, the people who are paid, like oftentimes pretty glamorous salaries, the people who are paid and trusted to protect you both and the rest of your team.

00:20:35.100 They have failed to act.

00:20:37.320 Actually, not only have they failed to act, they've basically told you that this man's feelings are worth more than your, again, your physical safety, which is a pretty troubling thought.

00:20:50.480 And important to mention, obviously this is happening in California, but it's not just about your school.

00:20:57.700 We've seen schools, whether it's high schools or colleges, oftentimes even younger.

00:21:02.240 We've seen this at the professional level.

00:21:03.860 So really all ranges and levels of sports, we've seen this happen across the country.

00:21:09.320 Uh, we've seen other, whether it's elected leaders, unelected leaders, people like Governor Newsom, of course, who have shown similar failures to protect girls.

00:21:18.540 Do you feel like the experience that you guys are kind of in the midst of now is part of this much bigger story?

00:21:27.340 I believe that, I mean, it was super nerve wracking to have to go because at the beginning of all of this, I was on the team by myself wanting to stand up for my rights.

00:21:37.800 So my sister and Brielle, they were not committed to the team yet, and this was in the spring.

00:21:42.520 And so when I got the courage to stand up and tell my athletic director and my coach how this is wrong and that we should not be having a male athlete on our team, it was very nerve wracking.

00:21:54.940 And I just knew that I was called to do this.

00:21:59.800 I was called to really create a voice for other young female athletes that are probably in the same situation as me.

00:22:07.400 I think back, you know, when relating this to my own personal experience, which I think it's important to make the point that it is virtually the same every time, you know, these stories that continue to break, continue to happen.

00:22:20.080 It's, it's pretty much always a pretty mediocre man who becomes this like record smasher in the women's category. 1.00

00:22:26.620 Like that's pretty standard across the board.

00:22:28.980 But when I compare it to, you know, what we went through, what I went through, like I didn't feel qualified.

00:22:35.800 I didn't know anything about this issue.

00:22:38.100 I didn't know anything about our government.

00:22:39.800 I was like the worst public speaker you could possibly imagine.

00:22:43.280 Like my face would turn the color of a tomato anytime I had to like be in a setting even like this.

00:22:48.940 Like I was so not the person who I would imagine would have any ability to have impact.

00:22:56.700 But I quickly realized like when you feel so strongly and so passionately, when you care so deeply about the topic at hand, you're willing to do whatever it takes.

00:23:09.280 And in those moments, you find it within yourself, like all the things you thought you didn't know, you're suddenly given, you know, the ability to either research it, understand it, it all clicks kind of, and you can speak eloquently, you can talk about these things, you can have impact.

00:23:26.580 And so I totally agree there.

00:23:28.300 Uh, and I think the point too, being that you both have younger sisters, uh, and so knowing that this is something that they could deal with at some point, if they haven't already, which is a crazy thought, given that your younger sister, your youngest sister's only 10 years old, uh, even, I mean, living in the state of California, it would not be an unreasonable thing to imagine that this is something that she will one day have to deal with that alone.

00:23:54.300 And I would imagine is enough reason, uh, for you both to be involved as it stands now.

00:24:01.240 Again, you guys are kind of taking the, the protests that you are, or the firm stand that you are.

00:24:07.000 I don't really like the word protests.

00:24:08.280 It kind of sounds like antagonistic.

00:24:10.440 It's really not what you guys are doing.

00:24:12.720 I mean, you're, you're again, the heroes in this story for doing what you're doing, but I mean, it's important to note, like every day that passes without action, without, uh, seeing some sort of,

00:24:24.300 administrative level of, uh, whether it's repercussions to the male athlete, uh, or prioritization of the female athletes is another day that you both lose a chance to play the sport that you love.

00:24:37.320 And so now with this, this, uh, title nine complaint being filed, what is your message?

00:24:42.820 I think specifically to the department of education about the urgency of acting quickly on this complaint and the others that are filed around the nation.

00:24:51.540 I think that our hopes for filing this complaint was because we first filed our title nine complaint with, to the school directly, and we still, to this day, haven't gotten a response and realize, we realized that this issue is just going to be ignored if we don't make a bigger deal out of it.

00:25:09.760 So by filing our ORC complaint, we, um, we are hoping that they will change their policies.

00:25:19.340 They will make it so that only females are in female sports and that male athletes stay out of female sports and that they act quickly.

00:25:27.880 Because the more that we don't change these policies, the more male athletes are going to think it's okay to be on these female teams because they can get around it. 1.00

00:25:35.640 They can, they can go in the locker rooms, they can compete in the teams, they can get play time and win games.

00:25:42.800 And that's not okay.

00:25:44.720 Totally.

00:25:45.200 Yeah, and I've, I've said that I really want to play this season.

00:25:49.740 And so my, I'm really hoping that they're able to see clearly that this is not right and that we need to uphold the title nine rights that gave women the equal opportunity to compete in sports.

00:26:03.840 And I'm hoping that they will change their policies so that I will be able to play and that's really my end result.

00:26:11.940 And for all the female athletes that are doing the same as either not playing or, um, stepping away from the team for the time being, because we all deserve as female athletes to be able to compete.

00:26:23.940 100%, um, 100%, um, what's your university, what's your college is doing right now, uh, is explicitly violating your title nine rights.

00:26:34.940 And so continue to stand tall, stand firm, uh, maybe you don't have the support you would have imagined from your, your college, or maybe it is the exact support you would imagine from your college.

00:26:49.420 Please know that there are so many people, and hopefully you've felt this, especially through social media in the past few weeks as the story has really garnered national attention.

00:26:59.940 Hopefully, you know, that there are so many people in your corner cheering you on, uh, watching you as you continue to, to go down the path that you are with hopes that their daughter or maybe their granddaughter doesn't have to go through what you guys are currently going through.

00:27:16.220 And so, uh, I appreciate you if there's anything that, that I can do, we can do, uh, would be just happy to do it.

00:27:24.420 Um, and you guys, like I said, you guys are heroines.

00:27:27.700 And I just appreciate all the, uh, female athletes like you, Riley and Brooks Lesser and organizations like ICONS that have really made it possible for us to have the courage to speak out and to know we have a support system.

00:27:41.340 Yeah.

00:27:42.800 Yeah.

00:27:43.280 And also we want to thank everyone.

00:27:45.000 We've had so many people.

00:27:46.220 People reaching out, our friends, our family, people that we don't even know that are saying, thank you so much for standing up.

00:27:51.960 And that support has been really helpful through all of this, along with ICONS, of course, helping us navigate everything.

00:27:57.260 That's awesome.

00:27:57.940 And yes, ICONS, uh, we've had Kim and Marshy, Kim Jones, Marshy Smith on this podcast many times to talk about, uh, I mean, their own personal stories, uh, to talk about the, the litigation that has been ongoing, whether it's the Gaines versus NCAA lawsuit.

00:28:14.940 Uh, ICONS, uh, ICONS, as, uh, Gracie Madison said, has been involved in, uh, helping filing of this Title IX complaint.

00:28:23.660 Uh, the work that they're doing is incredible.

00:28:26.160 And so you can check out ICONS at ICONSwomens.com, uh, get involved there.

00:28:31.340 They have lots of ways and resources and different things to help keep people up to date with what's going on and give them kind of like a call to action to ultimately help really foster an environment where women's sports are just for women novel, right? 0.99

00:28:47.380 Like what a novel concept in the year 2025, we have to say that out loud and continue fighting for it.

00:28:54.100 Uh, which is again, is why I'm so grateful for you both.

00:28:56.180 So thank you.

00:28:58.580 I cannot believe that we are talking about this even still in the year 2025.

00:29:04.580 I want off of this roller coaster.

00:29:06.420 Uh, can't imagine the school will act with any sort of efficiency or swiftness and getting the male athlete off of the women's team because they've allowed it up until this point.

00:29:16.720 So, uh, I think we will continue to see this story of this team in particular in the headlines, in the breaking news, trending on social media as more and more people become aware of it.

00:29:27.880 Uh, these women, these three brave women deserve to be applauded for their courage, uh, for their strong stance.

00:29:36.040 Hopefully we see the department of education, the Trump administration get involved very quickly so they can go back to playing the sport that they love.

00:29:44.300 Uh, appreciate you guys.

00:29:45.980 Be sure to go to youtube.com slash outkick, like comment, subscribe.

00:29:50.380 Uh, that's the best way to be able to engage with this show.

00:29:53.560 So you never miss an episode.

00:29:55.140 We will see you guys again next week.

00:29:57.880 We'll see you guys again next week.

Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - September 27, 2025

Sisters Benched for Speaking Out： Title IX Locker Room Fight

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