Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - February 26, 2025


The NCAA's Flawed Definitions


Episode Stats

Length

44 minutes

Words per Minute

168.38011

Word Count

7,474

Sentence Count

464

Misogynist Sentences

32

Hate Speech Sentences

14


Summary

After President Trump signed an executive order banning men from competing in women s sports, the NCAA announced a new policy that was in direct conflict with the Executive Order. In this episode, we speak with former Ivy League All-American Gymnast, Kim Jones, about the new policy and why it's a bad idea.


Transcript

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00:00:24.820 Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the Games for Girls podcast.
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00:00:40.400 As you probably know at this point, a few weeks ago,
00:00:43.180 President Trump signed an executive order ultimately banning men from competing in women's sports.
00:00:47.960 Novel concept, I know.
00:00:49.880 But what we have seen following this executive order,
00:00:52.540 which was so beautifully and thoroughly written, by the way,
00:00:54.980 we have seen states, number one, states who are simply unwilling to comply,
00:00:59.200 who have publicly declared, actually, that they're going to ignore the law.
00:01:02.780 States like Minnesota, Michigan, Maine, Connecticut, Washington, Oregon, of course, California.
00:01:08.340 What is the commonality between these states?
00:01:10.420 You guessed it.
00:01:11.220 They are Democrat-run states.
00:01:13.460 Very, very blue states.
00:01:15.620 One thing we saw this past week was President Trump.
00:01:17.880 He was addressing the RGA, the Republican Governors Association.
00:01:22.060 And he was very clear.
00:01:23.520 We are going to withhold federal funding from any state that is unwilling to comply.
00:01:28.460 He specifically called out Maine.
00:01:30.160 Of course, Maine was a state that just last week had a man who placed fifth the year prior in the men's division,
00:01:36.780 poll vaulting in the women's division,
00:01:38.580 and ultimately would go on to bravely and valiantly win a women's state title.
00:01:44.920 But President Trump, that is the type of moral clarity and decisive action and accountability
00:01:51.440 that I know people are so glad is finally back in the White House.
00:01:56.900 Following his executive order, we also saw the NCAA, NCAA President Charlie Baker,
00:02:02.960 pretty immediately the next day after this EO was signed,
00:02:06.640 released a statement saying, look, we're going to do what we can to comply with federal law,
00:02:10.040 and then released a new NCAA policy.
00:02:12.580 I was quick to applaud the NCAA's movement, but very naive of me,
00:02:19.620 because once I looked at this policy, it is terrible.
00:02:22.720 We're going to get into that today with a special guest.
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00:03:27.080 Back to the policy, the NCAA policy.
00:03:29.760 We're going to get into the specifics in this episode with Kim Jones,
00:03:33.820 who she's been on this podcast before.
00:03:36.040 She's an All-American athlete herself.
00:03:38.640 But I think what really drove her, her motivating factor in ultimately deciding to,
00:03:44.020 because she's a former Democrat,
00:03:45.180 and ultimately deciding to, you know, toe the line with the bureaucrats and the elected officials
00:03:52.600 who are ultimately erasing women,
00:03:55.960 is because her daughter competed in the Ivy Leagues against Will Thomas as well.
00:04:00.940 This new NCAA policy is in direct conflict with the executive order
00:04:05.600 in regards to definitions, in regards to requests,
00:04:08.400 and of course, the intent of this policy.
00:04:10.260 And it's not in line with federal law, that federal law being Title IX.
00:04:13.540 And it's in direct conflict with Charlie Baker's promise of a consistent nationwide policy
00:04:20.420 that falls in line with the executive order.
00:04:22.780 Number one, this policy, it removes all accountability from the NCAA.
00:04:26.560 Shocker, they don't want to be held accountable or responsible or liable.
00:04:31.300 It provides loopholes for states and schools.
00:04:34.160 Some of those loopholes would come from the fact that it doesn't define sex.
00:04:37.820 It doesn't define male.
00:04:39.040 It doesn't define female.
00:04:40.800 Again, I can't believe we have to define these words.
00:04:43.280 I can't believe it's necessary, but it is.
00:04:45.160 What we've seen is unelected bureaucrats go through the back door
00:04:48.140 and reinterpret these words to mean what they want them to mean.
00:04:51.500 It does, however, define man and woman.
00:04:53.540 And in those provided definitions, it says those are just gender identities.
00:04:58.700 It doesn't define male and female.
00:05:00.400 It does define man and woman.
00:05:01.780 It doesn't identify the women's category.
00:05:04.020 How it does qualify sex, though, is by a simple birth certificate.
00:05:07.580 It is a dependent policy, of course, which means nothing.
00:05:10.340 Anyone with any amount of rationale can understand the problems here because we've learned
00:05:14.880 that birth certificates can be forged and made totally fraudulent.
00:05:18.940 In all but six states, you can change your birth certificate.
00:05:22.000 This new policy, it explicitly allows for both men and women to be on the women's team,
00:05:27.100 no matter how you read it.
00:05:28.840 In this policy, men are still allowed to receive women's benefits.
00:05:32.280 And what does that include?
00:05:33.420 Of course, it means access to their locker rooms.
00:05:35.880 This policy, in short, it does not and it cannot protect women.
00:05:40.800 There is no screening, no oversight.
00:05:43.960 Any new policy that would be made from the NCAA at this point, some of the things they have to have,
00:05:50.860 it has to define these sex-based terms and it has to provide screening or oversight.
00:05:56.880 We will get into that, what that means, what is screening.
00:05:59.300 We're going to talk about that with Kim Jones right here.
00:06:01.380 Well, Kim, thank you for joining the Gains for Girls podcast.
00:06:06.380 You have been, of course, I mean, a dear friend of mine over these past few years,
00:06:11.480 but someone who has dedicated heart, soul, blood, sweat, tears, all of the things into this mission.
00:06:19.820 Partially, I would say largely, actually, because of you were an athlete yourself,
00:06:23.800 an All-American yourself at Stanford, but you had a daughter, you have a daughter,
00:06:27.460 who competed against Will Thomas as well in the Ivy League championships.
00:06:32.960 And so that really kick-started, I think, for you, your passion for protecting women and enforcing reality.
00:06:41.420 So thank you for everything, the amount of late-night phone calls that we have been on.
00:06:46.240 I swear you just never sleep, but I'm very grateful for you and for everything.
00:06:50.960 But today, I wanted to discuss with you, really the expert of this, the new NCAA policy.
00:06:59.440 This policy came out following President Trump's keeping men out of women's sports executive order.
00:07:06.520 And this executive order, written and signed by President Trump, was thoroughly and beautifully done.
00:07:13.540 Charlie Baker, the president of the NCAA, then came out with a statement the next day saying,
00:07:17.480 Hey, well, we're going to do what we can to comply with this executive order, new things to come soon.
00:07:22.840 They released their new policy, and everyone was very quick to celebrate it.
00:07:26.160 Admittedly, even myself, I took to social media very quickly and applauded the NCAA for taking
00:07:32.040 what I believe to be the necessary action to protect women's sports.
00:07:36.540 But upon actually reading the policy, I realized how wrong I was to applaud the NCAA, to be
00:07:45.500 so naive, to believe that they essentially grew a backbone overnight and decided to protect
00:07:51.380 their athletes.
00:07:52.380 And so I wanted to just, number one, of course, your initial thoughts on this policy.
00:07:57.100 And then I kind of want to go through it with you and break it down and highlight all of the
00:08:01.220 flaws so the general public can get a good look at that as well.
00:08:05.740 Yeah, I think that's.
00:08:06.540 Great.
00:08:06.880 And I think you're spot on.
00:08:08.180 I mean, it's after the executive order came out and then Charlie Baker gave that, you know,
00:08:14.080 he gave a, I mean, it was a pretty good line saying, we're going to get in line with the
00:08:18.860 executive order.
00:08:20.060 I think everyone thought, oh, you know, fantastic.
00:08:23.220 There's no way around this.
00:08:24.900 You're not going to skirt to, you know, put alternative definitions in or do it.
00:08:30.020 And he did just that.
00:08:31.320 So that was shocking.
00:08:32.220 I remember reading at the end of his statement where I said, we stand by to help any athletes,
00:08:38.100 you know, that would struggle under this new policy.
00:08:41.880 And I was just like, oh, my gosh, again, centering the boys, like still no offer of support for
00:08:47.860 the women who have just been thrown under a bus for years now on with their just totally
00:08:55.160 discriminatory and sexist policies.
00:08:57.240 But yeah, I agree with you.
00:08:59.920 I think we all thought when we read those words, here we go, we're going to actually get something
00:09:04.900 in place where women are going to be treated well by the NCAA, or at least not well, but
00:09:10.040 at least be protected.
00:09:12.100 Because it was the time for it, right?
00:09:15.560 Everything was in place for the NCAA to do the right thing.
00:09:20.480 President Trump had been easy for them to do.
00:09:23.400 But yes, even still.
00:09:24.820 Yes, so here we are back, actually, like, as we looked at it, realizing that it's a worse
00:09:31.600 policy than we had before.
00:09:33.800 It doesn't offer any accountability or protection.
00:09:37.040 So very excited to walk through it with you.
00:09:39.160 And I agree with you that the president's executive order was spot on and exactly what
00:09:44.300 we needed.
00:09:45.000 It's just a matter of following that and making sure that policies are in alignment with it.
00:09:50.220 Absolutely.
00:09:50.620 And federal law, which we just saw this past week where President Trump, he called out
00:09:57.180 Maine.
00:09:57.640 He said, look, if you're not going to comply with this executive order, I mean, you don't
00:10:02.220 give federal funding.
00:10:03.220 So it's nice to see at least a little bit of enforcement.
00:10:06.220 But again, I believe we do have to hold the NCAA's feet to the fire.
00:10:09.980 There's really three parts of this policy.
00:10:13.020 There's an application portion.
00:10:14.800 Basically, what this portion does is abdicate the NCAA of all responsibility, basically putting
00:10:20.800 the responsibility on the schools or state or federal legislation.
00:10:26.900 They say all of that supersedes the NCAA.
00:10:29.480 Who are we anyways?
00:10:30.720 There's a definitions portion, which goes through and defines things, words and phrases and terms
00:10:36.420 we never thought we would have to define and words that they should define that they did
00:10:41.300 not define.
00:10:42.500 And there is a policy portion.
00:10:45.020 So, Kim, can you kind of walk through some of the flaws, starting with the definitions
00:10:49.420 portion?
00:10:49.880 Because I think this is the most basic, because, again, I can't believe we have to define these
00:10:55.020 things, defining things like NCAA women's team or defining things like gender identity in
00:11:02.080 this policy where it seems totally unnecessary to define.
00:11:05.220 Yeah, I actually think if you don't mind, Riley, let's kick back up just to the title of the
00:11:10.400 policy and start there, because that should have been a big tip off.
00:11:14.800 This is a policy that automatically centers those with identities there.
00:11:20.880 We have no business talking about identities in sport.
00:11:24.780 This is categories are based upon they're based upon real biological realities.
00:11:29.600 We've got weight classes, we've got Paralympics, we've got sex classes and age, obviously.
00:11:36.720 So those are things that are measurable.
00:11:39.580 Identities are not.
00:11:40.740 It should be a student athlete eligibility policy.
00:11:45.040 And I think that was a key thing to pay attention to at the beginning.
00:11:48.840 But instead, it's called the participation policy for transgender student-athletes.
00:11:55.580 So to your point, again, centering around athletes who identify, claim to be something other than
00:12:02.680 what they actually are.
00:12:04.300 Not a participation policy for women, or like you said, a broader participation policy for
00:12:10.620 student-athletes, specifically a participation policy for transgender student-athletes.
00:12:15.440 Right.
00:12:16.000 And that shouldn't have been in there.
00:12:17.320 And we all are very well aware that as soon as you're talking about sports and transgender,
00:12:24.720 the term transgender, you're talking about men having access to women's sports.
00:12:29.700 So, yeah.
00:12:31.320 And then I think just looking at the application part where you said they were really abdicating
00:12:36.480 all accountability, that was very clear in there, just even before we got down to the
00:12:41.460 substance of the policy, the NCAA exists to create nationwide policy so that we can have
00:12:50.360 collegiate sports, so that different states can compete with each other.
00:12:53.740 I mean, the point of this is to follow federal law and federal guidelines so that there is a
00:13:00.180 level playing field and agreed eligibility stance for all of the schools to follow that doesn't
00:13:05.720 put them in conflict with federal law.
00:13:07.540 So the idea that even in this policy, there would be anything written about, we're going
00:13:13.000 to like the states or local, states or local laws could take precedence over this.
00:13:18.800 No, this policy needs to be written in accordance with federal law, which would always supersede
00:13:25.120 state and local laws.
00:13:27.980 So then let's go, let's go into that right after that.
00:13:31.140 Let's go into those definitions.
00:13:32.640 Which one do you want to talk about first?
00:13:35.440 Well, I'll kind of, here's what they define.
00:13:38.120 They define NCAA men's team, NCAA women's team, mixed team, sex assigned at birth.
00:13:43.600 They're not defining sex.
00:13:44.740 They're defining sex assigned at birth, major red flag.
00:13:47.620 They define gender identity and they define transgender.
00:13:51.640 Notice, again, just looking at these definitions without even getting into the substance of how they
00:13:56.420 are defining these things, they don't define male, they don't define female, they don't
00:14:01.680 define woman or man explicitly.
00:14:04.240 They don't define sex itself, but they do, in fact, define transgender.
00:14:10.680 NCAA, I mean, you can kind of go through them piece by piece if you want, or you can just
00:14:14.380 highlight some of the major, major red flags that it doesn't take a legal mind.
00:14:19.540 That's something I've heard, you know, I have many years of legal experience.
00:14:22.980 It doesn't take a lawyer or anyone with 30 plus years of legal experience to recognize
00:14:28.580 the flaws in this.
00:14:30.380 No, 100%.
00:14:31.100 You're right.
00:14:31.980 And just, even if you just looked at the words that they listed, you should be like, whoa,
00:14:36.520 we're off base.
00:14:37.400 This doesn't fall in line with the executive order.
00:14:39.700 There's no way with these definitions.
00:14:41.860 And any lawyer with any amount of experience or anyone who's aware of the law can know that
00:14:47.420 words matter.
00:14:48.200 So, just what you've chosen to define there doesn't offer any protection for women.
00:14:54.780 How are you going to talk about a women's category if you haven't defined what constitutes
00:14:59.940 a woman or what basis we divide teams on?
00:15:04.220 Yes, every single one of those definitions is suspect, in my opinion, but the most important
00:15:09.740 one is the sex assigned at birth and the gender identity.
00:15:13.740 Those two are hugely problematic.
00:15:16.320 Defining sex assigned, they define sex assigned at birth as a birth record, what's on a birth
00:15:23.700 record.
00:15:24.740 So, without a definition of what sex is or what male or female are in this policy, we
00:15:31.040 are, every time they use the term sex assigned at birth, all you need to do is substitute in
00:15:36.420 your birth certificate.
00:15:38.520 Just say birth certificate there.
00:15:40.320 So, there is no, and a birth certificate is not an immutable characteristic.
00:15:46.200 It's not a proxy for sex.
00:15:49.120 And it is not a valid basis for dividing categories because it's a changeable document all around
00:15:57.400 the world, not just in the United States.
00:15:59.700 Well, specifically in the United States, we know that in all but six states, you can change
00:16:05.100 your birth certificate.
00:16:05.860 Washington State actually just made it to where you can change your birth certificate
00:16:09.960 in three days.
00:16:11.560 So, it is something that can very easily be made fraudulent.
00:16:16.520 Well, and I think another point that was made to me by a lawyer when I was discussing this
00:16:22.080 after going through it, she said that you can't control policy on papers.
00:16:30.340 So, whether or not, if as an institution or as a federal government, we say birth records
00:16:36.820 are not allowed to be changed anymore, it still can't be the basis for a policy because
00:16:41.840 it's not an immutable characteristic, and we can't control it around the world.
00:16:46.200 You and I both know, having competed at the highest level in the NCAA, there are a lot of
00:16:51.600 foreign athletes that come here to access the world's best opportunities in sports.
00:16:57.340 There you go.
00:16:59.960 Yeah, and so, we're not going to be able to control what birth records say around the
00:17:05.840 world, and we know just from this past Olympics that, you know, passport documents and official
00:17:12.260 documentation allowed two men to compete in the Olympics when that was what was used as
00:17:18.640 the criteria.
00:17:19.300 So, we've got all kinds of open doors, whether it's policies in a state in the U.S. or policies
00:17:28.200 around the world that allow someone to change their birth certificate.
00:17:31.500 We also know that sometimes birth records have errors on them, as does any kind of documentation.
00:17:38.520 So, we've got, and that can happen by an accident.
00:17:41.820 It can also happen by DSDs, differences of sexual development, where they're, you know,
00:17:48.100 we don't have to get into that, but where a child is mistakenly identified as, or observed
00:17:54.420 as one sex, but they are the other, and you can't figure, you don't find that out right
00:18:00.760 away.
00:18:01.600 So, there's a whole kind, there's a whole boatload of reasons why we can't use documents as a proxy
00:18:09.520 or as a substitute for sex, but it's also a moving target, Riley.
00:18:15.120 So, just because one state has, or one country has a policy about their documentation right
00:18:20.800 now, we have seen over the last decades that the policy on different documentations, it
00:18:27.860 shifts and changes, and it can be changed by different administrations.
00:18:31.440 We need something that's unchangeable, and that is your sex, to be defined.
00:18:37.160 Yes.
00:18:37.400 Now, with this, this under sex assigned at birth that defines gender identity, this was
00:18:42.880 a huge red flag to me, because it defines it as an individual's own internal sense of
00:18:48.780 their gender.
00:18:49.600 Again, number one, unnecessary to define in this policy, because it's saying the policy
00:18:54.020 is, is, you know, by sex.
00:18:56.200 That's how the incivil, at least sex assigned at birth.
00:18:58.240 So, why are they defining gender identity?
00:19:00.240 But then it goes on to list examples of gender identity.
00:19:03.200 And it defines gender identity as man and woman.
00:19:08.760 And yeah, I want to reiterate.
00:19:11.040 So, they, when you're saying this policy is supposed to be, those words were very well
00:19:15.820 chosen.
00:19:16.220 When they chose sex assigned at birth and then defined that term as your birth record, they're
00:19:21.960 not defining sex.
00:19:23.160 And they know they're not.
00:19:24.300 So, those words were carefully chosen because it kicks the door wide open for a whole host
00:19:30.860 of opportunities for men to be in women's sports, because there's no checks, there's no medical
00:19:37.680 records, there's no making, there's no oversight on that.
00:19:42.080 It's just a piece of paper.
00:19:43.400 So, if this policy were to be tested by someone saying, I'm not in violation of the NCAA policy,
00:19:50.680 especially under a different climate or a different leadership in the, in government, we would,
00:19:57.260 there would, there would be nothing stopping any man from being able to participate and compete
00:20:03.320 in the women's category.
00:20:04.800 This, that's, that's just a blatant, like, you could drive a truck through that.
00:20:09.520 It's so huge.
00:20:10.320 So, I mean, think about if, if, um, Castor Semenya decided to come and race in track in
00:20:19.800 the United States, or it's a, it's a young version of Castor Semenya.
00:20:22.900 I have my birth records.
00:20:24.740 I have my birth certificate from my country.
00:20:26.820 There's literally nothing in that policy that would stop a man, a full grown man from competing
00:20:33.080 with women.
00:20:34.500 That's right.
00:20:34.980 Which leads to the policy portion of this.
00:20:37.520 And, and you pointed out something to me, uh, when looking at the policy, uh, number
00:20:42.280 one, it's very brief.
00:20:43.540 Number one is NCAA men's team.
00:20:45.900 Uh, and it goes on to, to, you know, go through all of the, the necessary eligibility requirements
00:20:51.620 to be a part of an NCAA men's team.
00:20:53.500 And then it goes on to define and, or, or explain the policy behind what it takes to be
00:20:58.320 on an NCAA women's team.
00:21:00.160 In bullet point A, there are two bullet points, A and B. In bullet point A is student athlete
00:21:07.240 assigned male at birth.
00:21:08.740 So they can't even help themselves.
00:21:10.520 Even when specifically addressing women and the women's teams, still their first priority
00:21:17.280 is the men.
00:21:20.060 That's if you take their policy at face value that how they expect most people to read it.
00:21:25.960 But when you were back up there talking about gender identity, they actually do, um, in
00:21:32.120 it, not inadvertently.
00:21:33.180 I mean, it's, it's in there.
00:21:34.580 They define man and woman as an identity.
00:21:37.320 So meaning this is something anyone can claim.
00:21:40.020 It's an individual's man and woman is a sense of self.
00:21:42.520 So by women's team and men's team, they're not actually referring to men and women.
00:21:47.120 They're referring to identity.
00:21:48.460 This, the whole policy is gender language, gender identity language.
00:21:54.080 There's nothing in here we can take at face value.
00:21:56.760 And I think that drives home exactly.
00:22:00.040 That is what it, why it's in such opposition to both the executive orders.
00:22:05.240 Um, but really importantly, the sports executive order, there's nothing in here that is foundational
00:22:13.820 in, in protecting women on the basis of sex.
00:22:16.960 There's nothing in this policy that is tied to federal law.
00:22:21.280 There's no guarantees for women.
00:22:23.400 There's not the definition of women in here is incorrect.
00:22:26.660 So going to the women's team where they, where they appear to center men, of course, that's
00:22:32.540 the highest priority.
00:22:33.280 Like you pointed out that men are explicitly in their allowed membership on a women's team.
00:22:41.280 So the women's team already is mandatorily including men and women, no matter what way
00:22:50.940 you shake a stick at this, whether you use, you're using the words as you want to, as you
00:22:55.660 perceive them to be, or the way they're defining.
00:22:57.640 Um, it says here under the practice portion, it says competition, a student athlete assigned
00:23:05.300 male at birth, again, referring back to birth certificates may not compete on a women's
00:23:09.920 team.
00:23:10.400 Uh, but for the practice portion, a student athlete assigned male at birth may practice
00:23:15.080 on the team consistent with their gender identity and receive all other benefits applicable to
00:23:20.020 student athletes who are other otherwise eligible for practice.
00:23:22.680 And so Kim, what are some of those other benefits that these males would be able to receive?
00:23:28.840 Does that include scholarships?
00:23:30.180 Does that include a roster spot?
00:23:32.060 Does that include access to women's locker rooms?
00:23:35.340 It's everything.
00:23:36.800 There's no calling that out.
00:23:38.640 But the problem is this policy, as it's written, can't be saved with an addendum to explain that
00:23:43.680 it can't because by the policy, what you've just written, if you replace, reread that top
00:23:49.980 line and it says for male assigned at birth, what they're saying is those with an M on their
00:23:56.020 birth records can't compete.
00:23:58.740 So it doesn't, if I like use a little bit of thought process here, what that means is
00:24:04.940 that if I'm a man and I managed to put an F on my birth records, I am allowed to compete.
00:24:10.940 But if I'm a man that has an M on my birth records, I'm still allowed all access to opportunities
00:24:17.600 that were set aside for women in collegiate sport, including membership on a team and
00:24:21.960 everything that comes with it.
00:24:23.520 You and I both know that it's sex is huge.
00:24:29.420 I mean, it is the single biggest defining factor in human athletic performance.
00:24:35.060 But when you are a member of a team, you have access to a whole host of other things that
00:24:41.000 the school provides for you.
00:24:42.400 And very obviously, the concerns would be areas where women need privacy and dignity.
00:24:48.760 So the locker rooms, which you have a ton of experience with.
00:24:52.880 So what about someone like Blair Fleming?
00:24:55.700 This story, of course, garnered national attention because I wouldn't even say necessarily because
00:25:01.000 of the man on the San Jose State volleyball team, but I think more so because of the brave
00:25:06.680 women like Brooke Sussler, who is also a part of the San Jose State team, but also the five
00:25:11.400 other universities in the Mountain West Conference that ultimately decided to forfeit or boycott
00:25:16.540 these matches against San Jose State.
00:25:18.960 So but all that to say, what about someone like Blair Fleming?
00:25:22.200 Do we know the specifics of what his birth certificate looked like?
00:25:26.000 But let's say his birth certificate did say female.
00:25:29.400 Is this someone who would still be allowed under this this new current NCAA policy?
00:25:35.260 Would he still be allowed to compete on that San Jose State women's volleyball team?
00:25:39.720 The reason, according to this policy, why he wouldn't be allowed to.
00:25:43.180 Again, this policy has messed up from the foundation.
00:25:47.420 The definitions of terms and the explicit allowing of male athletes onto women's teams,
00:25:53.960 membership onto women's teams is an immediate no when it comes violation of Title IX.
00:25:58.860 So in essence, every single school that adopts this policy is in violation of Title IX.
00:26:03.760 Whether or not they allow a man on their team, they are saying that they would allow men to access
00:26:08.600 women's opportunities.
00:26:10.500 But yes, there's nothing that would stop a Blair Fleming.
00:26:14.180 And as you know, Riley, like we're tracking a whole host of young male athletes coming through
00:26:19.600 middle school and high school ranks right now, some of whom are are in the process of talking
00:26:24.760 to NCAA schools.
00:26:26.020 They are in states where birth certificate changes have already occurred and would be
00:26:31.560 super easy if they haven't.
00:26:33.560 These schools do not know that these young athletes are are young men and there would
00:26:39.080 be no.
00:26:39.920 So in this policy, there is no way to question that.
00:26:42.860 There's no screening mechanism for them.
00:26:45.240 The coaches wouldn't have it.
00:26:46.700 The schools wouldn't have it.
00:26:47.920 There has to be a screening mechanism just the same as you would have when you have a
00:26:54.620 weight class to say our weight class is 135 pounds or whatever it would be.
00:26:59.680 You have to identify what the eligibility criteria is.
00:27:03.920 And then you have to put these people on a scale to see if they meet that eligibility criteria.
00:27:09.440 For women's sports, you have to say it's for female athletes only.
00:27:13.580 And then you have to have a screening mechanism.
00:27:15.320 So let's talk about that screening mechanism.
00:27:19.280 What is what does this look like?
00:27:21.160 We've seen in the Olympics previously how they how they did.
00:27:25.140 I mean, like, I think, like 60 years ago at this point, it was in 2000.
00:27:31.440 Oh, well, not too long ago.
00:27:34.920 Maybe it was, I think, 60 years ago that they did have a pretty invasive process where they
00:27:40.560 would it was a genital examination.
00:27:42.600 And let this be on record, those in support of strong sex based policy and sex based language
00:27:50.960 are not advocating for genital inspections.
00:27:54.160 That is something we hear from the left all of the time.
00:27:57.260 I hate to make it, you know, partisan like that.
00:27:59.660 But unfortunately, that that is ultimately the way this has become.
00:28:02.760 The left says all the time that we want to look inside someone else's pants, which is
00:28:06.800 grotesque and disgusting and incredibly invasive.
00:28:09.960 And that is not what we are advocating for.
00:28:12.320 So I wanted to you to go a little bit in depth to what this this sex screening process looks
00:28:17.900 like or what it should look like.
00:28:21.580 No, I mean, it would be a cheek swab or a spit test.
00:28:25.120 And you'd be testing for the SRY gene, which is not displaying your whole genetics or putting
00:28:29.860 anything out there going through anything that isn't already completely legal.
00:28:35.300 Even for high school students, it's it's literally a fingerprint.
00:28:39.880 It's literally stepping on a scale.
00:28:41.660 It's meeting an eligibility criteria.
00:28:44.120 So the Supreme Court has already ruled that students, even in high school, can be subject
00:28:50.400 to drug screening for eligibility purposes.
00:28:54.240 Almost every state, I'm not aware of a state that doesn't require a student, a student to
00:28:59.700 go through a physical in middle school and high school.
00:29:01.820 And we do some, I don't know how, if it's all 50 states, but we have, you get to do a
00:29:10.380 small blood test for sickle cell.
00:29:12.480 In some cases, you do TB tests to make sure that you're OK.
00:29:16.520 So there's all kinds of tests that we require people to go through in order to be eligible for
00:29:22.060 something, especially for sports.
00:29:24.140 So sports are a, I mean, they're not mandatory and this is optional.
00:29:30.160 So you have to meet the eligibility requirement in order to do requirements, whether it's your
00:29:35.800 grades, whether it's, I mean, there's a whole thing that the NCAA requires you to go through
00:29:41.140 with their portal initially to make sure that you're even allowed to be recruited.
00:29:46.520 So you have to stand on a scale to wrestle in a weight class.
00:29:50.520 You have to, there's a whole host of things.
00:29:53.060 And like we said, so the idea that we would give any credence whatsoever to the idea that
00:30:01.780 verifying your sex is an invasion of privacy is insane.
00:30:08.480 It, all that is doing is saying, um, we won't protect women, even though under federal law,
00:30:14.560 we have to, so there's, there's no, um, it's an easier, less invasive, more accurate
00:30:23.480 test, initial screen for sex than almost any other criteria.
00:30:30.000 Um, so you would just spit into a tube, you take a cheek swab, you're testing for the active
00:30:36.420 SRY gene, and you've, and that's going to take care of almost everyone.
00:30:41.040 In incredibly rare circumstances, you might get an error or a surprising result, in which
00:30:47.680 case that individual just goes to their doctor to verify that like, here's the situation you're
00:30:52.740 eligible or you're not.
00:30:54.080 It's not, it couldn't be simpler.
00:30:57.460 There is nothing easier for us to do.
00:31:00.420 So you mentioned these, of course, the cheek swabs, and it reminded me, I haven't thought
00:31:04.960 about it from this perspective, actually, until you just said this, we had to do every single
00:31:10.840 week, especially those of us who were unvaccinated, like myself, every single week, I had to go
00:31:17.020 into, um, our athletic department and let them swab my nose, stick a Q-tip up to my brain.
00:31:23.660 I will never forget at NCAAs.
00:31:25.600 I believe in 2021, uh, all of the, the student athletes, we had to gather, uh, and kind of
00:31:32.120 form this line.
00:31:33.180 It was pretty Orwellian really, when you think about it and each take a step into this room
00:31:38.100 where they swabbed your nose before you were eligible to, to compete.
00:31:42.020 And you mentioned the, these drug screenings you have to do.
00:31:45.240 Uh, when I got drug tested in college, we had to go into this room where a woman stood at
00:31:52.460 the bathroom stall, she watched you, you had to pull your pants all the way down to your ankles.
00:31:57.400 You had to lift your shirt up and do a spin and then pee in a cup while this woman is watching
00:32:03.840 you.
00:32:04.540 And that wasn't considered invasive, definitely uncomfortable.
00:32:08.340 I put myself back in, in, uh, that scenario.
00:32:11.300 And of course it's uncomfortable, but that wasn't considered invasive by my university or by the
00:32:17.300 NCAA.
00:32:17.660 It was mandated by the NCAA.
00:32:20.000 These are the same people who make the argument that a simple cheek swab or spitting into a
00:32:25.900 tube is considered invasive.
00:32:28.340 It's crazy.
00:32:29.580 And it's just the activists.
00:32:31.140 It's the, it's the trans activists and the ACLU that want to call this an invasion of privacy.
00:32:36.040 It's not, your sex is not private.
00:32:38.980 Your participation is optional.
00:32:41.040 You go in and you make sure that you meet an eligibility requirement in order to do this
00:32:46.320 activity.
00:32:46.920 And this is consistent with every other kind of eligibility meeting that we have in sports.
00:32:55.300 My kids had to go through drug screening in high school in order to participate in high
00:32:59.800 school.
00:33:00.500 And like I said, there are going to be tests coming out in the next year that are dirt cheap,
00:33:07.100 super accurate, instantaneous.
00:33:09.460 I am not a fan of the COVID screening.
00:33:13.280 That was massively, this is literally just check a box.
00:33:16.580 This is your fingerprint.
00:33:17.700 Let's make sure you are who you say you are.
00:33:19.640 Let's make sure that you are not violating the rights of women.
00:33:23.160 That's it.
00:33:24.260 And there's no excuse not to do it.
00:33:27.560 Defining a policy on the basis of sex and then a screening mechanism.
00:33:32.420 Until we have, you know, if the NCAA needs to buy a year to figure this out, it's very easy
00:33:39.220 for them to say, well, the physicals need to have a line on them that says, you know,
00:33:45.940 by this definition that we've, and we've got a very clear definition for female eligibility
00:33:51.900 in sport.
00:33:52.600 That they have no reason to suspect that this individual was male at birth.
00:33:58.380 The doctor signs off on it.
00:33:59.820 And then you have another line of stages, another line that says, you know, under penalty of
00:34:05.260 perjury, I do not, I have, I was born female and I have not altered my birth records.
00:34:10.520 And then you buy yourself a year to put these screening mechanisms in place in a cheap and
00:34:17.060 efficient way.
00:34:18.420 And then we have accurate reporting for numbers.
00:34:21.340 We know who's female and participating in the NCAA and women aren't stuck in this horrible
00:34:27.540 position we've been in looking over their shoulders, wondering who's, who's competing
00:34:33.620 and participating fairly.
00:34:35.440 We're not worried about these poor girls, like the ones, the young women at San Jose state
00:34:40.520 who were set up to room and undress and take showers where their consent was stripped
00:34:45.560 from them.
00:34:46.120 They didn't know that they were being exposed to a man.
00:34:48.940 It's, we can't continue to put women and women in these positions.
00:34:53.660 So there's an easy solution.
00:34:56.140 I don't understand, especially with an 80%, with 80% of the public furious at the NCAA over
00:35:04.980 this and believing that women deserve these protections.
00:35:07.480 Why wouldn't you just step up and do the right thing?
00:35:10.220 Makes no sense.
00:35:11.100 And I think it's important to make the point that the overwhelming majority of female athletes
00:35:16.800 support sex screening.
00:35:19.600 I know at least at the Olympic level, there is a statistic done, especially after there
00:35:26.280 were several males, as you described, people with DSDs who the public often refers to these
00:35:31.360 individuals as intersex.
00:35:32.960 I would challenge that, that language is misleading.
00:35:36.260 These are individuals who are either still male or female with a difference of sexual
00:35:42.380 development, especially after that became very prominent in sports like track and field
00:35:47.360 in the Olympics.
00:35:48.580 Women supported this because we want equal opportunities.
00:35:52.140 We want fair and safe competition.
00:35:55.500 So, so yes.
00:35:56.320 Um, I guess kind of like wrapping up here, why is the NCAA, why are they fighting this?
00:36:04.920 President Trump allowed them to really be heroes.
00:36:08.420 That's maybe to put it, you know, it's hard for me to say that knowing all that's gone on
00:36:13.400 behind the scenes and kind of being subjected to, to the villain side of the NCAA, but President
00:36:19.720 Trump presented them on a silver platter, the ability to do the right thing.
00:36:24.400 And why in the world are they doubling down?
00:36:26.740 Why are they fighting this?
00:36:28.620 Yeah, well, I can't answer that question, but I can say that the way the wind is blowing
00:36:32.520 and you know this because you're on top of it.
00:36:35.060 We've already got, we had some screening in some of the international federations that
00:36:39.020 are recognizing this has to happen again in the women's category.
00:36:42.940 Aquatics, World Aquatics has it in their policy from the last Olympics.
00:36:47.300 You know that World Athletics, the largest international federation and most important international
00:36:52.900 federation under the IOC is going to be bringing the cheap swap, cheek swab back.
00:36:57.820 It needs, it's so simple.
00:36:59.920 It's so cheap.
00:37:00.720 It's so effective.
00:37:01.900 There is no reason not to do it.
00:37:04.320 It's going to be implemented in several other international federations that we are talking
00:37:08.960 with.
00:37:09.540 And it's, it's got to be implemented by the NCAA.
00:37:13.400 So there is no other choice.
00:37:14.980 And this is the way the wind is blowing.
00:37:16.800 So I, I don't understand why they're fighting it.
00:37:19.540 And like you said, you know, the public can be very forgiving of people who apologize and
00:37:26.140 reverse course when they recognize and they acknowledge that they've been in the wrong.
00:37:30.340 And there's a real opportunity here with enough voices standing up and saying, look at the harm
00:37:36.400 that has been done.
00:37:37.620 Like they brought this, they brought this to the public attention.
00:37:42.280 They are not going to be able to just disappear.
00:37:45.100 We're not going to let them just disappear into the night, continuing under the guise of
00:37:49.440 we did enough.
00:37:50.280 We're okay.
00:37:51.140 They're going to have to make it right.
00:37:53.380 They're going to have to apologize.
00:37:55.180 They're going to have to recognize that every single one of the men that have participated
00:38:00.560 in women's collegiate sports were there in violation of federal law.
00:38:04.640 Those records and awards, they need to get handed back to women.
00:38:08.700 They need to bring the women to the forefront that they've wronged and say, look, we're sorry.
00:38:14.040 We're trying to make it right now and pay their dues and work their way back into good graces.
00:38:19.140 There's no other way to go.
00:38:21.300 No, which again, we've, we've seen on behalf of the department of education now on behalf of
00:38:27.460 the white house, on behalf of, of the Trump administration, uh, they, they are doing what needs to be
00:38:33.720 done to ensure accountability, responsibility, and transparency on their end.
00:38:38.500 So, so kind of what's next.
00:38:40.140 I mean, can the white house hold the NCAA's feet to the fire?
00:38:44.160 Do they have the authority to, to do that, or at least continue to pressure the NCAA?
00:38:48.860 Oh, for sure.
00:38:49.960 The white house can do that.
00:38:51.360 Absolutely do that.
00:38:52.340 And I think, you know, the white house has the power to pull them in and say, Hey, you're
00:38:58.400 not in alignment.
00:38:59.140 That wasn't good enough.
00:39:00.320 Nice try.
00:39:00.920 Let's get you to do the right thing.
00:39:03.380 I think it's going to be, um, I mean, we're just getting started.
00:39:07.100 We're a few days out from having read the policy for the real.
00:39:10.480 So the, the anger is just starting to build and no one who's been remotely involved in
00:39:17.400 this fight is going to not make sure that the public is well-informed.
00:39:21.280 So the frustration will build and the pressure will continue to mount that, um, you know, it'll
00:39:26.720 be interesting to see if the NCAA does the right thing or if the white house gets involved
00:39:31.920 and says, yeah, you need to get back to the table here, folks.
00:39:34.980 What shout out to attorney general Ken Paxton, uh, who just this past week filed a, a temporary
00:39:40.920 injunction, uh, to prevent this NCAA policy from taking place as he recognized the glaring
00:39:46.600 loopholes.
00:39:47.100 Everyone does.
00:39:47.600 The department of education, uh, you know, recognizes the loopholes in a statement that
00:39:51.740 they've released even Fox news hosts, right?
00:39:54.120 Like, like I've been on Fox several times and these aren't people oftentimes with legal
00:39:58.980 backgrounds and they've asked me, you know, looking at this policy, it seems as if there's
00:40:02.960 some loopholes.
00:40:03.820 So everyone sees it.
00:40:05.800 If you look at it for, for five seconds, you see the problems.
00:40:09.600 If you go beyond the statement that Charlie Baker initially put out saying that he would
00:40:13.960 ultimately comply with federal law, everyone sees the problems.
00:40:18.480 Uh, so I believe we need to, to keep the pressure on it.
00:40:22.040 We've seen it work, uh, whether it is the NCAA, whether it's, you know, large corporations
00:40:27.880 or businesses or, or other organizations, public pressure works.
00:40:32.580 Uh, that is how ultimately I believe we make change as we, we have to stay on them.
00:40:37.480 What else?
00:40:38.460 What next?
00:40:40.220 What's the next thing?
00:40:42.320 Um, well, I mean, honestly, I think that's it.
00:40:44.420 Just continue the, I, and I want to reiterate, like you're saying, the department of ed has
00:40:48.220 recognized it.
00:40:49.020 The white house has called for them to admit their wrongs and fix the records.
00:40:53.920 Um, there really isn't any way escape out of this.
00:40:58.340 And you and I have both spoken to senators offices in the last few days, even it is, it's
00:41:03.720 a fast awakening.
00:41:04.780 And I think the biggest lesson from all of this is that truth is not going to stay hidden,
00:41:09.800 that you're not going to get away with it.
00:41:12.540 And the crazy thing is that the NCAA brought this to the public's attention through Leah
00:41:19.580 Thomas.
00:41:20.620 And that is the biggest scandal in sports history on the women's side right now.
00:41:26.860 I mean, I would say this eclipses the doping scandals.
00:41:30.480 So there's no way that we are going to just let this drop.
00:41:35.960 People are too aware and they're too upset.
00:41:38.440 And the public is too galvanized.
00:41:40.560 It's not going to go away until it's done right.
00:41:43.420 So we recognize now is the time.
00:41:45.900 If not now, then when we can't guarantee what happens in four years, we can't guarantee what
00:41:50.860 happens tomorrow.
00:41:52.060 So we have the ability in terms of, of federal representation for sure to get this done.
00:41:59.360 Why would we not do it now?
00:42:02.000 And do it right.
00:42:03.540 Do it right.
00:42:04.660 That's correct.
00:42:05.300 So we're, I'm grateful for you, Riley, for being such a huge voice, for being so fearless
00:42:12.220 and tireless on defending women and girls.
00:42:14.800 It's been incredible to see the effect you've had.
00:42:18.940 And, um, I just wish you all the luck in the world and stay strong.
00:42:24.100 Well, and you, and you.
00:42:26.200 So thank you, Kim.
00:42:27.740 Thank you guys for tuning into the gains for girls podcast.
00:42:30.240 I hope this was an informative episode.
00:42:32.200 I hope you learned a lot about the new policy, about the cowardice of the NCAA.
00:42:38.260 Uh, I hate it.
00:42:39.640 I hate that this is what it's come to.
00:42:41.200 I hate that the NCAA is unwilling to do the right thing.
00:42:45.680 Uh, what majority of Americans, what majority of people around the world know to be right
00:42:51.920 and true and what they support.
00:42:53.540 But the NCAA continues to be a sellout.
00:42:56.340 They continue to sit on the fence.
00:42:57.940 They are legendary fence sitters winking at both sides, uh, but it's up to us, the people
00:43:03.220 to call them out, to continue to hold their feet to the fire, to put the pressure on them
00:43:08.600 to do the right thing.
00:43:09.660 Because if we don't, uh, first of all, no one else will.
00:43:12.860 And the NCAA will change nothing because ultimately they don't care.
00:43:17.520 They don't care about, uh, their athletes, especially their female athletes.
00:43:21.700 They have made that very clear over the past few years.
00:43:24.560 Uh, so keep the pressure on, we still need to make sure too, that Congress is passing
00:43:30.180 and codifying these bills into law because ultimately the executive order, uh, let's
00:43:35.700 say in four years, God forbid someone like AOC is in the white house.
00:43:39.360 This executive order would be overturned just as quickly as it was implemented.
00:43:43.680 Uh, so we need to make sure that the Senate, uh, undertakes and hears on the floor, the Senate
00:43:49.340 floor, uh, the corresponding bill in the house was HR 28, the protection of women and girls
00:43:54.080 and sports act would pass.
00:43:55.660 We need this to be done in the Senate to hopefully get on president Trump's desk to
00:43:59.700 sign into law.
00:44:01.520 So lots of things to, to continue to look out for, uh, to continue to keep the pressure
00:44:06.340 on, but as always, very glad you guys listened.
00:44:09.840 Um, and we will see you again next week.
00:44:11.260 Bye.
00:44:11.760 Bye.
00:44:12.260 Bye.
00:44:12.760 Bye.
00:44:13.260 Bye.
00:44:13.760 Bye.
00:44:14.260 Bye.
00:44:15.260 Bye.
00:44:16.260 Bye.
00:44:17.260 Bye.
00:44:18.260 Bye.
00:44:19.260 Bye.
00:44:20.260 Bye.
00:44:21.260 Bye.
00:44:22.260 Bye.