Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - Speaking Out： Sophia Lorey's Story

00:00:00.540 Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line, but first...

00:00:10.980 There, the last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that refreshes.

00:00:18.000 Welcome back to the Gains for Girls podcast. Today's guest is someone who has been affected

00:00:32.020 by the gender ideology movement. Of course, negatively affected by the gender ideology

00:00:36.900 movement. Really, actually, what had happened here is her first amendment rights were infringed upon. 0.93

00:00:42.260 Her name is Sophia Laurie. She is from California. She was speaking at a public library in Davis,

00:00:49.100 California. And ultimately, for using the verbiage of biological man, the library shut the event down

00:00:55.600 and kicked her out. But she is not staying silent. She is fighting back, which is what we all need to

00:01:00.820 do. And we are so grateful to have her lawyer from Alliance Defending Freedom join on with us today.

00:01:06.460 So check out the interview with Sophia Laurie. Well, Sophia, I am so glad you are coming on

00:01:12.600 the podcast. And really, I'm just grateful for your friendship over these past few months

00:01:17.520 since your story really broke. But I wanted to kind of just start by, you know, you were a college

00:01:23.920 athlete. And so I want to give you an opportunity to talk about your time as a college athlete. Of

00:01:28.820 course, you know, the work that goes into it and what it meant to you to be able to play at the

00:01:34.560 highest level. Yeah, well, thanks for having me on, Riley. And I feel the same way. So grateful for

00:01:40.420 the friendship we have and just everything you're doing to protect women's sports and spaces across

00:01:45.920 the whole nation. It means the world to me and I know everyone else. But yeah, like you said,

00:01:51.380 I played college soccer. And so I played at Vanguard University in Southern California. And I knew since

00:01:57.740 I was about 10 years old, that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a college soccer player.

00:02:02.140 And I got to do it. I got the scholarship to do it when I was in high school and moved on,

00:02:09.940 went to Vanguard. And it was truly the best experience of my life. You know, it's a lot of

00:02:15.660 work. But being soccer, it's a fall sport. So we moved into campus a month early. So the second

00:02:22.660 college started, I already had friends. I already had my teammates. I already had those girls to

00:02:27.120 figure out campus with. And those seniors were able to show us around, give us the best routes

00:02:32.740 to get to classes, tell us the best professors to take. And so it really accelerated my college

00:02:38.860 experience. It got us going. It got us understanding how college worked. And so I was so appreciative of

00:02:44.580 that. But yeah, it was a lot of work. You know, you wake up those the first month before college

00:02:51.140 even starts. You're practicing two, three times a day. You're basically only taking a break to

00:02:56.300 eat your lunch and take a nice bath before you get back to the field. And, you know, it's here in

00:03:01.920 Southern California, it's about 100 degrees on a turf field. And so that's being said, it's normally

00:03:07.460 about 20 degrees hotter on your feet because of the turf. And so it's a lot, but it's absolutely worth

00:03:13.620 it. You know, we were fourth in the nation, my freshman and sophomore year, we got to go to nationals

00:03:19.120 where the top 16 teams go. And so those experiences, I couldn't trade for the world. I, it brought me

00:03:26.400 everything I learned that I'm now using in my career, as well as my closest friends. I'm, I lived with

00:03:32.300 my college teammates. I was in two of their weddings now at this point, been at a few others. And one of

00:03:37.920 them is now pregnant and we're celebrating her and her baby shower. And so there's so many great things

00:03:43.780 that come out of it. And yeah, it just, everything I could have imagined and more. And so that's why I'm

00:03:51.420 really choosing to speak out and make a stand for girls being able to still have those opportunities.

00:03:57.500 Absolutely. And I love how you brought up the relationships you develop as well, because

00:04:02.420 that's a big part of it. Of course, the characteristic, how you develop as a person,

00:04:06.560 but your friends, your coaches, all of those things, it plays a big part in who you are. So,

00:04:11.780 um, but you mentioned taking a stand. Uh, I'm sure a lot of people have seen the video that,

00:04:18.280 that really went viral. Um, I want to give you the opportunity to talk about it, but a little

00:04:23.240 background here. Uh, of course, this was in Davis, California, uh, a public library. I mean, tell us,

00:04:30.120 tell us what happened, uh, and really how now you've, you've developed, I would say the platform that

00:04:36.100 you have. Yeah. So I was invited to speak at, um, a forum for fair and safe sports for girls

00:04:43.320 at the Davis library in Yolo County. And so I was there not even to give the stats or stories about

00:04:51.500 girls that have been injured by men and give the scientific facts as to why men don't belong in 1.00

00:04:56.660 women's sports. I was there to simply share my experience about being a college athlete. 0.98

00:05:01.300 And that's all I had prepped. I didn't even write a speech. It was supposed to just be to about like

00:05:07.260 20 moms, dads, grandparents in the area. So it wasn't this super intense situation,

00:05:14.340 but it quickly turned into one. Um, we had a lot of protesters show up. They at first kind of just

00:05:20.700 stood outside the room as the event was getting set up. We were putting the chairs out and then all of a

00:05:25.680 sudden they all came in and took a seat. And so when we kicked off the event, I made it clear that

00:05:31.120 all these people here would have the opportunity to have questions or make their comments at the end

00:05:36.760 of the event. We had an attorney there to speak. We had, um, Kim Jones there. We had a lot of great

00:05:42.460 people there that were going to speak about this issue of men and women's sports. So I wanted them to

00:05:47.160 all be able to share their stories and their information without anything going on. And then I began to

00:05:53.800 speak after making it clear, we needed to be respectful and wait for Q and a that's when I shared

00:05:59.060 that at 10 years old, I wanted to be a college athlete and I was able to achieve that. But current

00:06:04.800 girls can't, as long as men are taking away their spots or injuring them from playing their sport quickly, 1.00

00:06:10.920 the crowd began to heckle me. They weren't too happy that I said men and women's sports. Um, the librarian

00:06:17.620 actually stepped in as well and told me that if I didn't change my language, he would actually have to

00:06:23.700 shut down the meeting. And so he, I just continued on. I knew I wouldn't have much longer. So I just wanted

00:06:29.600 to get the point across that men don't belong in women's sports. And that's when he told me I had to leave

00:06:34.900 or the meeting would be shut down. So I stepped aside and the next speaker went up ready to go. And he

00:06:41.000 eventually came in and shut down the entire meeting. Wow. You even change the verbiage to

00:06:48.120 biological male. And that still wasn't enough for the library. Uh, so it seemed as if, of course,

00:06:54.880 you know, not only were they asking you to, to change what you were saying, they were basically

00:06:59.540 asking you to deny the truth. I mean, to not say reality. And so Tyson, uh, oh my gosh, we have had

00:07:06.920 the pleasure of corresponding together on different things. Uh, one, please tell us, you know, you,

00:07:13.020 what your role is, uh, and to kind of explain the legal side of things, because now, uh, you guys

00:07:20.240 are pursuing litigation. Uh, and so would you mind explaining what this looks like? Sure. So thanks

00:07:28.240 so much for having me Riley. And, uh, for all you're doing out there, uh, I've got five kids and

00:07:33.040 coached my, my girls in soccer as well, and seeing all of the work that goes into it. So this is

00:07:38.060 important, uh, in my role as the director of the center for academic freedom, you know, our goal

00:07:42.520 is to protect that the marketplace of ideas, uh, right. And that's what the first amendment

00:07:47.800 essentially does. But what happened to Sophia and to the other women at this event was they were shut 0.95

00:07:53.660 down by a government official. They were told that you can't speak because of your viewpoint.

00:07:59.140 So the, the, the protesters there, they were able to express their viewpoint that they believe

00:08:03.460 is gender is fluid and, and that you, you know, that a man can become a woman just by

00:08:07.740 declaring it, but Sophia wasn't able to articulate her position, right. Without being censored. And

00:08:13.780 that's, that's contrary to the first amendment. I mean, it, it, it, the bedrock of our first

00:08:18.340 amendment is that a government official cannot shut somebody down simply because they disliked

00:08:23.320 their viewpoint, but that's exactly what happened. So after this happened, we heard about it and,

00:08:28.160 uh, we're great friends with Sophia and the California family council doing all the great

00:08:31.960 work they're doing out there. We heard about this. And so we said, Hey, we want to help you

00:08:35.540 out. So we sent a letter to the library and we said, look, uh, Sophia has the right to

00:08:40.660 call men, men. That's not a violation of California law. And it's protected by the first amendment.

00:08:45.900 And we would just ask that you allow them to do another event and guarantee that they won't

00:08:50.260 be censored. Unfortunately, they sent a letter back and basically, you know, obfuscated the

00:08:55.740 issue. They wouldn't really agree to it. And so we had to file a lawsuit because, um, not

00:09:01.860 only Sophia, but Beth born out there with moms for Liberty is doing great work at the library, 0.90

00:09:06.260 exposing all of these different things. She holds events at the library and we want her to be able

00:09:11.140 to hold those events without being censored by people who disagree with her viewpoints. So we

00:09:15.520 filed a lawsuit and we're asking the court to enjoin, to stop the policies that are being enforced

00:09:21.480 against Beth and, and Sophia and the other women that are trying to speak courageously on,

00:09:26.460 on really important topics like men competing in women's sports.

00:09:30.240 Well, absolutely. Uh, since, you know, the lawsuit has been filed, what, what kind of does the

00:09:37.360 timeline look like? You know, has the library responded in any way? And I guess really my

00:09:42.520 question is, uh, do you believe this is a winnable case? Because to me, obviously with no, uh, law

00:09:51.200 expertise here, what I see, and I imagine how Sophia felt was a clear violation, just as you described

00:09:58.540 of her first amendments. Uh, so I would, I would see this as a winnable case, but from a lawyer's

00:10:03.360 perspective, what are you thinking there? And of course, I know nothing is set in stone until it is,

00:10:08.560 um, but that's your perspective.

00:10:10.880 Yeah, it's absolutely a winnable case because, uh, again, the Supreme court has made clear time

00:10:15.480 and time again, that the first amendment, uh, does not allow a government official to determine

00:10:21.360 what content or viewpoint is allowed in a forum. So the library didn't have to open up its meeting

00:10:26.840 rooms for the public to use them. But when they do, they have to allow all everyone to use those

00:10:33.120 facilities, uh, regardless of their viewpoint. Um, and that is, it's clear that in no case in a public

00:10:40.080 forum, does a government have the right to censor based upon viewpoint. And that's what happened here.

00:10:44.680 Um, you know, it's, it's very difficult to articulate an argument in favor of protecting

00:10:50.120 women's sports. If we can't, if we can't distinguish between men and women, if we can't 1.00

00:10:55.380 communicate clearly, what is a man and what is a woman, right? And that's what they were trying to

00:11:00.240 do. They're trying to shut down the event. They're trying to shut down the debate by, by siding with

00:11:04.840 one side over the other, uh, in employing these speech codes. And that's, that's wrong. So thankfully,

00:11:10.560 after we filed suit, the library's attorney did reach out to us and, and said that they

00:11:15.620 are actually amending the policies. They're in the process of that and have indicated that

00:11:20.240 they will allow Sophia and the other women to come back and host another event without 1.00

00:11:24.480 censoring them. So we're thankful for that, but we obviously have to ensure one that the

00:11:29.900 policies they enact are good because the librarian clearly had a wrong view of the first amendment.

00:11:35.160 He literally said, this is a violation of California law to allow you to call men

00:11:40.400 men. Uh, and, uh, he, he clearly doesn't understand us. We need a good policy in place

00:11:45.460 that makes sure to protect, uh, everyone when they go use these policies, these, uh, meeting

00:11:51.100 rooms, um, in, in, in the future. Absolutely. Um, I remember after this story, you know,

00:11:57.960 especially that video went viral. I of course took to my social media to talk about it. Uh, and

00:12:03.160 then I was accused for inciting a bomb threat into the library, which is absolutely ridiculous. Uh,

00:12:10.580 because of course I condemn all acts of violence, regardless of who it's from. Um, but Sophia,

00:12:17.980 you know, I wanted to ask you, this episode is brought to you by Peloton. Break through the

00:12:24.220 busiest time of year with the brand new Peloton cross-training tread plus powered by Peloton

00:12:29.100 IQ with real-time guidance and endless ways to move. You can personalize your workouts and train

00:12:34.540 with confidence, helping you reach your goals in less time. Let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push,

00:12:40.840 and go explore the new Peloton cross-training tread plus at one peloton.ca. Why do you feel this,

00:12:49.320 this lawsuit is important? Uh, and what do you hope to accomplish from it? Yeah, well, you know,

00:12:56.440 it started off as being a whole issue of protecting women's sports and then the situation happens. We're

00:13:02.760 in this lawsuit and it adds this whole other factor of now it's to protect our free speech. And I think

00:13:08.840 this lawsuit's extremely important because I'm not just saying, Hey, we're here because we want our

00:13:14.760 free speech protected. We want everyone's free speech protected. I don't care if you agree with

00:13:19.240 me or disagree with me. We're here in America. We have that first amendment, right? And everyone

00:13:24.120 deserves to have that. And also we have so many things going on, um, legally and also just across

00:13:30.760 the nation here in California, all the way up to DC, people are trying to put bills into place that

00:13:35.560 are protecting women's sports. People are trying to put bills in place that are 0.80

00:13:38.440 attacking women's sports, all these different things. We can't progress as a society. We can't 1.00

00:13:43.720 figure these things out as a society if we don't even have the freedom of speech to talk and respect

00:13:49.000 each other. And so that's why this case is important. It's so we can continue to have these

00:13:53.640 conversations. And so more Americans understand we have the right to have these conversations.

00:13:58.440 Absolutely. Uh, and those issues I've realized too, they certainly go hand in hand.

00:14:04.200 Um, this, I would say the gender ideology movement as a whole and the suppression of our freedoms. 0.97

00:14:10.840 Um, you know, a lot of people would look at this, uh, and say, I think a lot of people do

00:14:17.320 say, actually, I'm certain people do because we have a lot of people from California moving to my home

00:14:22.120 state of Tennessee. Uh, but people will say, you know, California is a lost cause. You know,

00:14:27.560 there's nothing we can do here. It's an uphill battle. We can't really win this, this fight.

00:14:32.360 Uh, why is this important, especially in the state of California? You know, why,

00:14:37.160 why is it important to stay and fight? Yeah. So what people don't realize is there is a lot of

00:14:44.920 Christians here in California. There's a lot of conservatives here in California that are fighting

00:14:49.320 and fighting hard. And so we need to unite and keep fighting because right now we have a lot of

00:14:55.720 attacks coming on gender and this whole gender ideology on children from our capital, from our

00:15:01.560 legislators. And if we don't push back, it's not going to stay just here in California. It's going

00:15:07.160 to go across the whole nation. We watched it happen. We had a bill that made California basically a trans 0.98

00:15:13.240 sanctuary state that became into law in 2022. We then watched Minnesota basically recreate that same

00:15:21.480 law in 2023. So it's, it's not just staying in California. What happens in California happens

00:15:27.720 across the nation. And that also means if we can fix it and stop it here in California,

00:15:32.760 we ultimately can fix it and stop it across the whole nation. And so we actually have a ballot

00:15:37.400 initiative. We're trying to get on the ballot, um, for 2024 election and it's called the protect kids

00:15:43.880 initiative. You can go to protect kids, California, and basically it's three simple things.

00:15:49.160 It's that men can't go into women's locker rooms, bathrooms, and sports teams. It's that public schools 0.99

00:15:56.840 have to inform the parents if their child chooses to identify as a different gender or wants to use

00:16:04.040 a different locker room or have a different name. And it's also that if a child is under 18,

00:16:10.280 they can't have mutilating and sterilizing surgeries. So it's basically common sense things. And if we can get

00:16:15.960 that on the ballot, the polls are showing that here in California will be successful, that will pass.

00:16:21.880 And again, if we do that here in California, I think we see a whole change across the entire nation.

00:16:26.200 Gosh, absolutely. Uh, so to reiterate that, uh, is it protect kids, ca.org or.com?

00:16:34.120 Yes. Okay. So if you believe in the safeguarding of children, uh, parental rights and keeping women's 0.98

00:16:41.240 sports for women, uh, of course, everyone should go to protect kids, ca.org, especially if you're a 1.00

00:16:47.880 Californian, uh, and let your voice be heard. Because I think, I believe now more than ever,

00:16:54.200 people are looking for outlets to let their voice be heard. And this is certainly one of

00:16:58.040 those things. Uh, and, and so Sophia, you know, what's, what's next for you? I'm sure you could

00:17:03.960 have never imagined yourself personally in this position. Uh, so what's next as this, this lawsuit

00:17:10.440 continues on, uh, what does the future look like for you? Yeah. Well, we're hoping to host the event

00:17:16.040 at the library again. So that's going to be one of the next major things of actually being able to

00:17:21.880 share our stories, share the scientific information, share basic biology and truth

00:17:26.920 to the Davis community. And so that's coming up hopefully, um, early in 2024. We'll see that

00:17:33.160 happen as well as since I work with California family council, we'll have a big fight in the

00:17:37.960 legislative session. Um, we have some pretty rough bills coming back this year. Last year,

00:17:43.480 I had to testify to our legislators that men don't menstruate. Um, you think that would be common 1.00

00:17:49.720 sense. Um, I sat up there, I just gave a two minute speech about how they are erasing women.

00:17:55.880 It's common sense that men don't menstruate and we don't need to be using our taxpayer dollars to put 0.93

00:18:00.520 menstrual products in men's restrooms was immediately called, um, homophobic, transphobic,

00:18:07.000 a hate group, all these different names. And so the goal is really just to bring light to that,

00:18:12.840 to, you know, I know when I go and testify, it's not going to necessarily change the legislators'

00:18:18.280 minds. But if we can bring light and let Californians aware of what our legislators are

00:18:24.360 doing, I think we can see a change here in California. So the goal is for at least the

00:18:28.760 next year to make California a better place for the next generation to come.

00:18:33.080 Gosh, absolutely. And, and you hit it on the head. It is for the next generation 0.99

00:18:37.320 because they're ultimately the ones who are going to be left to deal with a lot of the nonsense,

00:18:42.360 really the lunacy, uh, that we're allowing now. And so I could not be more grateful for both you

00:18:47.800 and California Family Council, um, an amazing group of people who do amazing work, uh, in a climate where

00:18:54.040 it is tough. Uh, there's a lot of vitriol, uh, again, a lot of just, I would say lack of common

00:19:00.920 sense sometimes coming from the leaders of the state. Uh, so to stay and fight so hard is incredibly

00:19:07.160 admirable. And I believe something that people across the nation could learn from. Um, and so

00:19:12.360 before we wrap up, uh, Tyson, I wanted to very briefly ask you, um, about a case that ADF has

00:19:19.320 taken on and has done a phenomenal job with really this, this case, uh, it was the first I had heard

00:19:25.000 of this issue of allowing men into women's sports, uh, anywhere in the nation. And of course,

00:19:30.040 this is the Connecticut case. Uh, a lot of people may know of it. Um, but there was a big win

00:19:36.600 recently surrounding this case. Uh, do you mind kind of briefly explaining what just happened

00:19:43.720 and why this is a win for sanity? Uh, and of course for women, uh, especially women in sports? 1.00

00:19:49.880 Absolutely. So yeah, we represent a number of, uh, high school female track athletes in Connecticut, 0.84

00:19:57.080 uh, who were, uh, denied, uh, the ability to, uh, win state championships and, and other

00:20:04.520 track meets and accomplishments and, and get scholarships and so forth, because two men,

00:20:09.560 two biological men chose to compete. They, they moved from competing against men into the female

00:20:16.040 competition. And they came in and just start blowing out, uh, the competition. And, and we

00:20:21.000 represent our, our, our athletes were phenomenal. They were, they were at the top of their game and

00:20:25.560 yet they were getting beaten, taking away opportunities. So, uh, that actually was, uh,

00:20:30.600 authorized by Connecticut, um, the, the, their, their association of athletics, which governs all

00:20:36.600 high school athletics. And it, it allows this, it allowed men to compete in women's sports. And so we

00:20:41.160 challenged that we filed a lawsuit, uh, and the district court dismissed it. And they basically

00:20:45.800 said, well, there's really no harm to these girls. One, because a couple of them have, have now

00:20:50.680 graduated and went on. And they've also said there, there, there isn't any harm. They didn't take away.

00:20:55.720 They, they essentially said women don't have a right to win women's, uh, you know, 0.98

00:21:00.040 they have a right to compete, but they don't have a right to win. Right. Um, and we appealed

00:21:03.640 that to the second circuit. We initially lost there before a panel that went to the en banc,

00:21:09.080 meaning the entire circuit, uh, 15 judges. And they just yesterday reversed that decision

00:21:15.720 and sent it back to the circuit court and the district court and said, you have stated a claim.

00:21:20.520 If you can prove what you've, what you've alleged in here, then you do have the right to,

00:21:24.520 to, uh, potentially receive a recovery. So we're really excited about that.

00:21:28.600 As you indicated, that's the first lawsuit in the country that was filed on these issues.

00:21:33.400 It really is what spawned a lot of the discussions around this. And we're so thankful for the clients

00:21:38.680 that were willing to stand up. And we're really excited to be able to get back into court and to

00:21:42.840 prove that, that it is that, that laws that allow men to compete against women are harmful.

00:21:48.520 They do harm women every time they're taking away opportunities. Um, and, and it shouldn't be

00:21:54.280 allowed and we need to protect the ability for women to compete in, in women's sports. 0.98

00:21:59.880 That's amazing. And again, we're grateful for your work. Of course, the girls, uh, Selena has

00:22:04.920 just been a warrior. One of, one of the plaintiffs, uh, in this lawsuit has just been a warrior throughout

00:22:11.880 all of this. Um, and I, I'm so grateful for her and the other girls as well. Um, to my understanding,

00:22:17.880 there's never been a title nine case brought before the Supreme court either. Uh, so this could really

00:22:23.320 set a precedent there as well, if it makes it to that point, which hopefully it doesn't have to.

00:22:29.560 Yeah, hopefully it doesn't, but I mean, the bottom line is title nine is clear. The whole purpose of title

00:22:34.760 nine was to protect, uh, you know, women's rights to have equal access to sports. And, and so we think

00:22:41.720 that's a, you know, uh, that a clear interpretation and we're hoping we don't have to get the Supreme

00:22:46.440 court, but if that's what it takes, we're willing to fight all the ways to ensure that all women have 1.00

00:22:51.640 equal access, uh, to be able to compete and that their, their spaces are not invaded by men.

00:22:57.560 And that they have the right to win, just like you said, because just as men have the right to win,

00:23:02.520 so do women. Uh, so we are so grateful for both of you. Uh, Sophia, we will certainly be following

00:23:08.760 along, uh, with your lawsuit and what that looks like and how we can help amplify and support you,

00:23:15.720 uh, and the work that you're doing, not just for the people of California, but really for people

00:23:21.640 across the nation, uh, especially young girls and women whose future and whose opportunities are on the

00:23:27.640 line here. Uh, so thank you both very much for coming on today.

00:23:31.000 Thank you so much, Riley. So grateful for you.

00:23:35.640 Thank you guys for tuning in to the gains for girls podcast. Uh, I think we really could all

00:23:39.720 learn something from Sophia and that is to fight, uh, whatever that fight may be. Ronald Reagan himself

00:23:46.120 said that our freedoms are never more than one generation away from extinction. Uh, and I think

00:23:51.320 what Sophia went through and what others around the country country continued to go through certainly

00:23:56.280 proves that to be true. Uh, but again, thank you guys for tuning in. I hope you all had a Merry

00:24:01.640 Christmas. Uh, make sure you like comment, subscribe anywhere where you get your podcast. Uh, of course,

00:24:07.320 outkick.com and we will see you guys next week.

00:24:10.200 Bye.

Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - January 03, 2024

Speaking Out： Sophia Lorey's Story

Episode Stats

Summary

Transcript