XX-XY Athletics Truth-Tellers Draft

We decided to announce (just for fun) our dream team of truth-tellers defending women's sports and spaces.

In honor of NFL Draft Day, my little brand XX-XY Athletics is announcing our Truth-Tellers Draft, honoring brave women athletes who are standing up for the protection of women’s sports and spaces.

Here’s our fantasy team — the top 11 truth-telling female athletes we’d love to see on the field. Or mat. Or court. Plus a bonus #12. Because we can’t leave anyone out! We’re inclusive!

(Note: I’ve literally never watched the NFL Draft nor paid one iota of attention to it so if I’m getting this tribute wrong, please forgive me.)

---

Top Female Athletes Standing Up for Fairness in Women's Sports

#1 Martina Navratilova

Navratilova is one of the all-time tennis greats. She holds the Open Era record for most singles titles (167) and doubles titles (177). She also has 59 Grand Slam titles including a record-setting 9 Wimbledon singles championships. She held the #1 ranking for 332 weeks in singles and a record-breaking 237 weeks in doubles. Her legendary tennis career spanned 4 decades. 

And now, as a self-avowed Democrat, she takes the courageous position (going against the Left’s stated position) of standing up for women’s sports and is a vocal proponent of keeping women sports female.

She has said:  Women’s sports is not the place for mediocre male athletes who compete as women. Period.

#2 Riley Gaines

12x All-American swimmer from the University of Kentucky, Gaines is the leading voice defending female athletes in the U.S.

Gaines has been tireless in standing up for single sex sports and spaces ever since she made waves after tying for 5^th place with trans identified swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Championships and being told she needed to let Thomas accept the trophy on the award stand.

Gaines now works full time to defend female athletes’ right to an even playing field. In short, she’s an all-around badass.

#3 Serena Williams

Williams has drawn fans to women’s tennis like no other. And she has too many titles to count. But here’s a few: She also holds the records for the most women's singles matches won at majors (367) and most singles majors won since turning 30 years old (10). She is the only tennis player to win three of the four Grand Slams at least 6 times.

Back in 2013 Williams knew what was up. On the “Late Show with David Letterman” in August of that year, Williams unequivocally stated that there is no way women can compete with men in tennis. She said:

“Men’s tennis and women’s tennis are completely almost two separate sports. So … if I were to play Andy Murray [a men’s tennis champion], I would lose 6-0-6-0 in five to six minutes, maybe 10 minutes [. . .] It’s a completely different sport. The men are a lot faster … they serve harder … they hit harder. It’s just a different game, and I love to play women’s tennis.”

And we love to watch you play it, Serena. Now let’s keep women’s tennis female. Come back to this oh-so-right perspective, uttered before it was controversial. It wasn’t then, and it shouldn’t be now. You can help turn the tide.

#4 Taylor Silverman

Skateboarder Taylor Silverman is said to be a “right wing hero” for saying she deserved the prize money and the first-place trophy in a skateboarding competition in November 2021, where she placed second behind trans identified skater Lillian Gallagher.

“I deserved to place first, be acknowledged for my win and to get paid,” Silverman wrote on Instagram. “I am sick of being bullied into silence.”

Is it surprising that in bro skate culture a bunch of bros are telling her to shut up?

Now folks just like saying she always had weird vibes. If “weird” and “right wing hero” mean standing up for yourself and for women, we’re all in on weird and right wing hero.

#5 Angel Reese

5-star college recruit and NCAA championship winning basketball player — now WNBA player for the Chicago Sky — tweeted just the other day: Protect young women in sports!!!

Whether she meant what we mean or not, we agree and we have her back!

#6 & #7 Nastia Liukin & Shawn Johnson

2008 Team USA Olympic gymnastics medalists (team silver, all around gold for Liukin and balance beam gold for Johnson) Liukin and Johnson were agog watching males perform women’s gymnastics 6 years ago, before everyone went insane.

“I feel I’m going to be humbled because I’m guessing they can do it better than us.” — Shawn.

“Why are [men] competing in women’s gymnastics?!” — also Shawn.

Good question, ladies. Keep asking it.

#8 Val Whiting

Stanford basketball legend, 2x NCAA champion and former WNBA player Val Whiting responded to Coach Dawn Staley’s comments about trans athletes in women’s basketball (she was for it) with this:

“A lot of my basketball sisters feel differently but trans women do not belong in women’s sports. It’s not fair nor safe for biological women. There has to be another solution for trans women to be able to compete athletically besides having them compete against biological women.”

Preach, Val. There is. An open category. Let women have their own category as promised by the original (and correct) Title IX.

#9 Bethany Hamilton

Famed champion surfer Bethany Hamilton (who lost her arm in a shark attack at 13 and came back to competitive surfing just one month later), had this to say on Instagram, in challenging the World Surf League’s policy of allowing trans identified male surfers in the women’s category:

“Does this better the sport of surfing? Is this better for the women in surfing?”

Not long after, Rip Curl and Hamilton parted ways with 6 figures and 3 years left on her contract.

Hamilton asked a fair question that WSL never answered.

#10 Nancy Hogshead-Makar 

Hogshead-Makar represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics, winning three golds and one silver. She has been a fierce advocate for female athletes for decades. First standing up for safer training environments and the elimination of abusive coaching culture in the Olympic movement (which is how I met her) and now, for the protection of women’s sports and spaces. She is currently the CEO of Champion Women, an organization leading targeted efforts to advocate for equality and accountability in sports. She is a Title IX expert and a gold medal winning troublemaker of the first order.

#11 Paula Scanlan

Former University of Pennsylvania swimmer and sexual assault survivor Paula Scanlan wasn’t comfortable sharing a locker room with male bodied swimmer Lia Thomas. When she complained to her university, they told her to seek counseling. They told her if she said anything publicly she’d never get a job. So she did it anyway.

#12 The 5 Middle School Shot Putters in West Virginia

ICYMI just last week 5 middle school girls refused to compete against a trans identified male. These girls staged a step out! One by one, each girl stepped into the box when her name was called to throw, and then she stepped out without throwing the shot. (Please pardon me if I’m getting shot putting language all screwed up!)

The trans competitor won first place by more than 3 feet.

As Riley tweeted (X-ed?):

“It's a sad day when 13-14yr old girls have to be the adults in the room.”

But this is where we are. Let’s take their lead. Children are the future.

---

We’d like to also nominate a coach/GM for this dream team. The incomparable . . .

Coach/GM Sage Steele

Former ESPN sports reporter and current host of The Sage Steele Show called out all 51 Democrats who voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.

“These are feminists who are saying these young women and girls are not worth fighting for.”

Sage, we’ll fight with you any day of the week.

Winners . . . every last one of ‘em.

Now I’m going to not watch the NFL Draft!