Caitlin Clark was named AP's Female Athlete of the Year without much competition, but one person who received votes was the cause for much controversy over the summer.
A group of 74 sports journalists from The Associated Press and its members voted on the award. Clark received 35 votes, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles was second with 25.
But Olympic gold medalist boxer Imane Khelif was third, getting four votes.
Khelif qualified for the Paris Olympics, but Khelif's gender was called into question following a disqualification from the 2023 championships before a gold medal bout over gender eligibility issues.
One boxer, Angela Carini, forfeited her bout against Khelif in Paris, saying "one punch hurt too much."
Khelif won gold in Paris and wasn't the only boxer to win a women's gold who has been disqualified for failing gender eligibility tests. Taiwan's Lin Yu-ting also won gold in another women's weight class in Paris, prompting similar outrage.
The International Olympics Committee (IOC) defended Khelif and Yu-ting's inclusion in the women's events until the very end.
"These two athletes were the victims of a sudden and arbitrary decision by the IBA. Towards the end of the IBA World Championships in 2023, they were suddenly disqualified without any due process," the IOC said during the games.
Khelif later won gold. Khelif did not lose a single round on any scoreboards in Paris.
After Carini won her eighth women's Italian title earlier this month, she claimed the victory was her "revenge."
Khelif was the most Googled athlete of the year, largely in part due to the controversy.
Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter are doing something some players who are NFL Draft bound won’t do: Play in their school’s bowl game.
Because they are playing against BYU in the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28, Sanders and Hunter both have historic disability insurance policies in the event either of them gets seriously injured during the game.
"We have a multitude of players that are draftable, that they received a draft grade. They’ve disability (insurance) all season long. We want to make sure that if something were to happen, they would cover it," head coach Deion Sanders said in a press conference Monday.
"We happen to have two players that are probably going to be the first two picks of the NFL Draft. I think we all know who those two are, and they have received, I think, the highest number of coverage that has ever been covered in college football. It far exceeds anyone that has ever played this game of college football. So, we’re happy and excited," Sanders continued.
Colorado’s athletic director Rick George confirmed Sanders’ statement that the policies are the highest ever in college football history.
George said multiple times that it was Sanders’ idea for the additional insurance claims to be taken out for Shedeur Sanders and Hunter.
Both Shedeur Sanders and Hunter are projected to go in the top five of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Hunter, the prolific two-way star, beat out Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty to win the Heisman Trophy after one of the most incredible years in college football history.
As a wide receiver, Hunter had 92 catches for 1,152 yards and 14 total touchdowns. Hunter won the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver.
Hunter also won the Bednarik Award as the nation’s best defensive player, becoming the first player ever to win both the Bednarik and Biletnikoff.
As a cornerback, Hunter had 31 tackles, 11 pass deflections and four interceptions, anchoring Colorado’s defense.
As for Sanders, the Colorado quarterback has completed 69.3% of his passes while throwing for 3,926 yards with 35 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
The star quarterback helped lead Colorado to a 9-3 record this season, a big improvement after finishing 4-8 last season.
Sanders won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, which is given to the nation’s top quarterback who best exemplifies character, scholastic and athletic achievement.
Sanders also was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.
Sanders and Miami quarterback Cam Ward are expected to be the first two quarterbacks taken off the board in April.
As of the end of Week 16 in the NFL, the New York Giants currently hold the No. 1 pick in next April’s draft and are in prime position to draft one of Colorado’s stars.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to the funky NFL schedule.
At one time, the NFL avoided Christmas games — and now, they can't get enough of them, scheduling two this year despite the day falling on a Wednesday.
That is prompting some oddities in the NFL schedule, with the Steelers one of four teams who played last Saturday and are now playing on Wednesday. What ever happened to "any given Sunday?"
Anyway, the rest is equivalent to that of teams who play on Thursday following a Sunday game, but with the Saturday contest, it all comes out to three games in 11 days for the Steelers, and former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn't happy about it.
"It's miserable. It's a shame that the league does this. It just shows that it's all about money and this is a way that they can, you know, make more money and figure this thing out, because it's not fair for the players," Roethlisberger said recently. "You wanna talk about injuries and making the game safer, changing the kickoff rule and preventing guys on hip-drop tackles, and concussions, and this that and the other, and you're going to make guys play the most violent game in the world, arguably, three games in 11 days. I mean, there's no time for your body to get healthy and rest."
The comments echo Patrick Mahomes' sentiment on the grueling schedule.
"It’s not a good feeling," Mahomes told reporters a couple weeks ago. "You never want to play this amount of games in this short of time. It’s not great for your body. But, at the end of the day, it’s your job, your profession. You have to come to work and do it."
It will be the Chiefs and Steelers in a 1:00 p.m. showdown on Christmas.
Sports fans can breathe easy on Christmas Eve as there will only be one game played on Tuesday before a full buffet of games on Christmas Day.
College football aficionados will be happy to know there is one bowl game on the slate. The Hawaii Bowl between South Florida and San Jose State. The game will start at 8 p.m. ET.
The Bulls finished 6-6 on the season and earned a second straight bowl game under head coach Alex Golesh. They had the same record last season before entering and winning the Boca Raton Bowl over Syracuse, 45-0.
The Spartans finished the season 7-5 overall in Ken Niumatalolo’s first season at the helm. The team is on a three-bowl-game losing streak. They lost the Hawaii Bowl last season and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2022. The Spartans also lost the Arizona Bowl in 2020.
San Jose State hasn’t won a bowl game since the 2015 Cure Bowl under Ron Caragher.
Sports fans looking for some action should take it all in and be able to get some sleep before opening presents and starting Christmas Day at noon ET with NBA games.
The NFL also has games on Christmas Day for the second straight year – a two-game menu featuring the Kansas City Chiefs against the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 p.m. ET and the Houston Texans hosting the Baltimore Ravens at 4:30 p.m. ET.
College football will return on Dec. 26 and the NHL will be back on Dec. 27.
Sophie Hediger, a Swiss snowboarder who represented the country in the 2022 Winter Olympics, died following an avalanche at a ski resort, officials said Tuesday. She was 26.
The incident occurred Monday at the Arosa resort in Switzerland, the country’s ski federation said in a statement.
"We are stunned and in our thoughts with Sophie's family, to whom we express our deepest condolences," Swiss-Ski CEO Walter Reusser said in a statement.
"With the tragic death of Sophie Hediger, a dark shadow has been placed over the Christmas days for the Swiss ski family. We are immeasurably sad. We will keep Sophie an honorable memory," he added.
Hediger was a participant in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. She competed in snowboard cross and in the mixed team snowboard cross. She failed to qualify for the quarterfinals in the singles event and her team lost in the mixed event in the semifinals.
Hediger bounced back in 2023 when she won a gold medal in the FISU World University Games in Lake Placid, New York. She was one of three Swiss participants who won gold medals.
She then achieved two World Cup podium finishes, including a second-place finish in St. Mortiz in January.
Brown’s stance on raw milk appeared to break from that of President-elect Trump’s nominee for the top health job in the U.S., Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Both Brown and Kennedy supported Trump during the presidential election.
The former Pittsburgh Steelers player spoke at a rally for Trump in the days before Trump’s presidential election win over Vice President Kamala Harris. Kennedy dropped out of the race and backed Trump.
The president-elect named Kennedy his nominee for Health and Human Services secretary after the win. Kennedy has said in the past he only drinks raw milk and criticized agriculture departments for cracking down on the product.
But raw milk has been blamed for the spate of bird flu deaths among animals in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an order earlier this month that all raw (unpasteurized) milk must be tested for bird flu.
Nearly 4.4% of U.S. adults report that they drink raw milk at least once each year. About 1% of adults say they consume raw milk each week, according to a 2022 FDA study.
Raw milk advocates say there are health benefits from it as well as an overall better taste.
NBA referee Jenna Schroeder had to correct a mistake in a bizarre situation during the Philadelphia 76ers’ game against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.
Early in the second quarter, 76ers center Andre Drummond was ejected for a foul on Spurs star Victor Wembanyama. However, video replay of the incident forced referees to overturn the ejection and call Drummond back into the game despite him already walking off the floor.
Schroeder was heard telling 76ers head coach Nick Nurse, "I f---ed up." Drummond was allowed back into the game.
WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
Instead of Drummond receiving the technical foul, Wembanyama was hit with a technical foul for flopping. Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey shot the technical free throw but officials then rescinded the technical foul and took away a point.
Crew chief Curtis Blair said the review showed Drummond stepped on Wembanyama's foot and that it was ruled incidental contact.
The Spurs’ 7-footer said there shouldn’t have been a foul on the play.
"Just stepped on my foot and I fell," he said. "That’s it. I just got tripped. I didn’t mean to fall. I didn’t expect the foul to be called. I just fell."
Nurse also reacted to the incident.
"The whole thing was really strange," he said.
Sixers star Joel Embiid was also ejected from the game after receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct technical fouls. He was seen rushing Schroeder at one point and needed to be held back.
"Kamala is for they/them, Donald Trump is for you," the line echoed in the ears of millions of American parents and children. The ad often played during the commercial breaks of NFL, college football and MLB postseason games.
The phrase was launched by the Trump campaign in September. It was repeated in ads, not just for Trump, but candidates down-ballot on the Republican ticket. It has been hailed as the most effective campaign slogan of the entire 2024 cycle.
The ad presented imagery of transgender people in designer clothing, while highlighting Harris’ previous support for legislation that would allow trans athletes to compete against girls and women in sports.
The Trump transition team provided an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, vowing to make good on its campaign stance on this issue.
"The Trump Administration will not be deterred by the Biden Administration’s dirty tricks. President Trump will use every lever of power to reverse the damage Joe Biden has done to our country and deliver on his promises to the American people, including protecting women and girls by keeping men out of women’s sports," Trump’s forthcoming press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
Vice President Kamala Harris never addressed the issue head-on during her campaign. Democratic allies backpedaled on it. Then people went to the polls, and data suggests the issue mattered too much for one side to simply ignore.
A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America (CWA) legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls and women’s bathrooms," as important to them.
And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."
"The American people saw an administration committed to putting men in women’s private spaces, so this kind of leadership and promise hit straight to the hearts of voters. The conclusive election results, as well as exit polling, certainly affirms that," CWA legislative strategist Macy Petty told Fox News Digital.
Trump’s campaign seized on the issue in the homestretch of the election cycle. He boasted about his stance and his pledge to ban trans athletes in women’s sports at nearly every rally in the final month.
And in the background, a brewing cultural movement stirred in nearly every corner of the country, focused on this singular issue. It was fueled by women’s rights groups and young female athletes who felt as though they were being dismissed by an unfair system – a system most common in blue states.
The International Council for Women’s Sports (ICONS), which was founded in 2023, emerged as a leading advocacy group in the protection of women athletes from trans inclusion this year. It has spearheaded viral conversations on the issue, and has taken the lead in multiple lawsuits focused on the protection of women against trans athletes.
But many of these advocates wish it didn't have to be a political issue.
"This shouldn’t be a partisan issue – it’s a matter of truth, biology, and justice. Elected officials who abandon their responsibility to defend women and girls in athletics will face political consequences, as evidenced by last month’s election," ICONS co-founder Marshi Smith told Fox News Digital.
Still, for Trump and the Republican Party, it was a movement that provided a sudden surge in support among young college-educated women. Biden’s 35-point lead among young women over Trump in 2020 shrunk to a 24-point lead for Harris this year, per an NBC News exit poll.
It was an issue that helped re-shape the electorate.
Before and after the end of the election, multiple Democrat congressional representatives have spoken out against the party’s platform on trans-in-sports issues. Rep. Seth Moulton D-Mass., and Rep. Colin Allred D-Texas, are just two of the most prominent examples. Liberal media figures, including HBO’s Bill Maher, have preached backpedaling on the issue too.
Allred and Moulton previously endorsed legislation that would allow trans athletes to compete as women, including the Equality Act and Transgender Bill of Rights.
But then Allred ran his own TV ads dispelling his support for "boys in girls’ sports" after the Ted Cruz campaign used it as one of Allred’s weak points to defend Cruz’s Senate seat.
And Moulton repeatedly condemned Democrat support for trans inclusion after the election. His comments sparked a massive pro-trans rally outside his Salem office on Nov. 17.
Salem city councilman Kyle Davis was a key organizer for that rally.
Davis, a lifelong Democrat and LGBTQ activist, has vowed to help campaign against Moulton in the 2026 midterms. Davis will throw his support behind Massachusetts state Rep. Danny Cruz to primary Moulton in two years.
"I was incredibly disappointed," Davis told Fox News Digital.
"[We] were looking toward Seth Moulton and other Democrat figures to kind of reaffirm their support for us."
Davis, a member of the LGBTQ community, says the other Democrats he has associated with have no plans to tolerate the key figures in their party running away from their support for trans inclusion. That includes President Biden, whose Department of Education withdrew its support for a proposed rule change that would have outlawed states from banning trans athletes in girls’ sports on Dec. 20.
"I think it’s disgraceful," Davis said of Biden’s withdrawal of the proposed rule. "To see, not just our congressmen, but also our president on his way out ending in this rollback of trans rights is completely inexcusable and disgraceful."
Davis is confident, based on conversations with Democrats in his state, that large factions of voters in his party will continue to prioritize protecting trans rights, including trans inclusion in sports. He wants to see his party's future candidates publicly support transgenders, unlike Harris in 2024.
"We’re going to remain firm in what has always been core to the foundation of the Democratic Party, we stand up for marginalized groups, I don’t think that’s negotiable," Davis said.
The country, by state laws, is split right down the middle on the issue.
Currently, 25 states have laws in place to restrict or ban trans inclusion in girls’ and women’s sports, while the other 25 don't have any such laws, and some, like California, have laws in place to protect trans athletes.
But even the states with laws in place to restrict it have been under siege by Democratic-appointed federal judges.
Judges Landya McCafferty of New Hampshire and M. Hannah Lauck of Virginia, who were each appointed during the Obama administration, issued rulings this year that enabled biological males to play on high school girls' soccer and tennis teams. McCafferty issued an order that allowed two transgender athletes to compete in New Hampshire, while Lauck ruled that an 11-year-old transgender tennis player was allowed to compete against girls the same age in Virginia.
Many similar incidents have gone on to earn intense national attention in 2024.
Trump made one of his strongest pitches to women voters during a Fox News all-women town hall event with Harris Faulkner in October.
During that interview, Trump shifted the national spotlight onto a situation in northern California when he made reference to San Jose State volleyball player Blaire Fleming. Trump pointed out an incident where Fleming spiked the ball at an opposing player on San Diego State during a match on Oct. 10.
"I saw the slam, it was a slam. I never saw a ball hit so hard, hit the girl in the head," Trump said during the interview "But other people, even in volleyball, they’ve been permanently, I mean, they’ve been really hurt badly. Women playing men. But you don’t have to do the volleyball. We stop it. We stop it. We absolutely stop it. You can’t have it."
San Diego State shortly after put out a statement clarifying that Fleming’s spike did not strike its player in the head, but shoulder.
But the damage was done at that point. A controversy that had already garnered some national attention steamrolled into mainstream political discussion. San Jose State’s season became a regular talking point on national political talk shows and at Trump campaign rallies leading up to the election.
Spartans co-captain Brooke Slusser became involved in two lawsuits throughout the season over Fleming’s presence on the team. Slusser alleged that she had been made to share sleeping and changing spaces with Fleming in their first year as teammates together in 2023, but was never informed that Fleming is a biological male.
Slusser has told Fox News Digital that the entire experience involving Fleming was "traumatizing."
"This season has been so traumatizing that I don't even have a proudest moment," Slusser said.
And just days before the election, Slusser spoke out in favor of Trump’s proposed ban on trans athletes in women’s sports – the same ban he proposed after claiming Fleming "slammed" a young woman in the head with a volleyball.
"I think it's completely necessary," Slusser previously said of Trump's proposed ban. "I don't think this should have ever been allowed to be a thing and legal and allowed to happen. And I think so many people know it's not right and, for some reason, they still decide to support it, for whatever other reasons they have, and I think in the back of everyone's heads, you know it's not right. I mean, if you're having to hide something for so long just like SJSU did, you have to know it's not right."
Slusser, and many other young women who have been affected by this, laid the blame squarely on the shoulders of the party that allowed it to happen.
"There is more so one side of a political party that kind of agrees with what I'm doing compared to the other, but then there's still so many people on both sides of the political parties that agree with this," Slusser said. "It's engaged in politics, but it has nothing to do with politics at the end of the day. One side is fighting it, and the other side has decided not to."
Weeks before that, San Jose State’s scandal-ridden team was scheduled to make a road trip to the key battleground state for an Oct. 26 match at the University of Nevada, Reno. Nevada players were well aware of the situation involving their upcoming opponent. And those players wanted no part in the contest against Fleming, so much so that they pleaded with their athletic department to forfeit the match. Four other teams had forfeited vs. SJSU up to that point in the season.
But the university declined their players’ request, initially. The program put out a statement insisting it would play the match, but players wouldn't be punished for opting out. Then the players went public with their grievances over the disagreement, thrusting Nevada into its own controversy in the weeks leading up to the match. Tulsi Gabbard even made a trip to one of their games for a photo-op.
When Fox News Digital pressed Nevada about why it wouldn’t forfeit, it wasted no time throwing Democratic lawmakers responsible under the bus. A university spokesperson cited an amendment in the Nevada Constitution, which outlawed the canceling of an athletic event to avoid facing a transgender person. It was an amendment added in 2022 by state Democrats.
"As a state university, a forfeiture for reasons involving gender identity or expression could constitute per se discrimination and violate the Nevada Constitution," the university's statement said.
So instead, the university let the situation play out for weeks, while the people of Nevada watched. They watched the young women on the team agonize, publicly slamming the university and administrators while praising conservatives for pledging to fight back.
Nevada captain Sia Liilii took on the role of representing her teammates, just as Slusser had for hers, in speaking out against the protocols that were preventing the team from canceling the match.
In an op-ed by Liillii and teammate Sierra Bernard published on Fox News Digital, they too came out in support for Trump.
"President Trump has our back, and this election is more important than politics but about leaders who will be standing with women on and off the court, defending our right to compete safely and fairly," Liilii and Bernard wrote. "As proud female athletes, we will continue to fight for fairness on the court and in women’s sports. But it shouldn’t be a fight we have to take on alone."
Eventually, Nevada had to cancel the match on Oct. 25, just one day before it was scheduled to be played, and less than two weeks before the election. The university said it canceled because it wouldn’t have enough players to compete, which it claimed did not make it liable for violation under the Nevada constitution.
But Liiliii and her teammates, as well as Slusser, who had to continue playing with Fleming that season, were just getting started in their activism.
And they soon had support.
Slusser and Liilii were just a handful of women’s athletes to sign NIL endorsement deals with the startup athleticwear brand "XX-XY Athletics" in 2024.
The brand, founded just this March by 1986 U.S. women's gymnastics all-around national champion Jennifer Sey, merchandises athletic gear that promotes "standing up for the protection of women’s sports."
Sey told Fox News Digital that her business has hit seven figures in sales in under eight months. Sey has achieved this despite frequent backlash and harassment from critics, and even having her brand completely banned from TikTok in June.
"Woke capitalism has been rejected and normie capitalism is back – outstanding product and uplifting marketing, underpinned by financial discipline," Sey said.
And Sey is actively expanding the industry of athletic merchandise with anti-trans, pro-women messaging. Her company recently launched the first NIL program exclusively for female athletes who believe that women's sports are for women only.
The program, called "GXME CHXNGERs," has already signed seven college athletes: Heather Arnett (softball, Pittsburgh State University), Sara Casebolt (track, University of Idaho), Ainsley Erzen (soccer and track, University of Arkansas) and Emma Vorpagel (track, Northern Illinois University) joined the three volleyball athletes.
So now, an entire generation of young athletes, currently in college and college hopefuls, will have the opportunity to make NIL money from those same messages, if they choose to pursue it.
And as the culture movement grows, so too could the revenue.
The NCAA and even the International Olympics Committee (IOC) haven’t been able to appease women’s rights groups who want trans athlete bans. But one major women’s sports organization has proven it’s possible with almost no repercussions.
The LPGA issued a sweeping rule to ban post-puberty biological males from pro women's golf competition in the first week of December. It is a move that has been widely accepted by the general golf community.
Pro women's golfer Amy Olson even said in an interview with Fox News that women's golfers were "thrilled" about the rule change.
But the idea of such a ban caused legitimate fear for the backlash a year earlier for one major women’s golf tour owner.
Venture capitalist Stuart McKinnon purchased and took control of the NXXT Golf Tour in January 2023. Transgender golfer Hailey Davidson was already a participant of that tour when McKinnon bought it.
A year later, when considering whether to ban Davidson, McKinnon said he had to have a hard conversation with his family, warning them of any potential hateful backlash for it. McKinnon also sent out a poll to the tour’s players asking what they wanted. McKinnon said the poll had to be anonymous so players wouldn’t have to fear retaliation, but almost all the responses were "overwhelmingly" in favor of banning Davidson.
"I sat down with my family, I sat down with all of my daughters and said ‘We’re in this together or not. We potentially will get a lot of backlash, a lot of hatred, people will be against us for this,' and we decided we needed to do what we felt was the right thing, and we did it," McKinnon said during an ICONS X spaces on Dec. 5.
McKinnon pulled the trigger on banning Davidson. Then, he says the decision did not prompt the backlash he warned his daughters about.
"We didn't get sued yet, and we didn't get the negative backlash, it was minimal at best, our lawyers were astonished how much little backlash there was, and it was a lot of love and support," McKinnon said.
McKinnon’s ban of Davidson set a precedent that the rest of the LPGA chose to follow in December, one month after Trump’s election victory.
The Harris campaign and other Democrats attempted to dismiss the issue of trans athletes in sports as "remote." So too has the president of the NCAA, Charlie Baker, who has repeatedly pointed out that there are fewer than 10 transgender athletes in the NCAA, out of 510,000 in total.
But no matter how remote they claim the issue to be, it has happened enough times to resonate with a sizable number of Americans. Even if those Americans haven’t had to encounter it themselves.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little was one of many Republican governors to take direct action on the issue this year. In August, he passed an executive order to enforce the "Defending Women’s Sports Act" in his state, which required schools to take steps to prevent biological males from competing with girls.
Little previously told Fox News Digital that there wasn’t a single instance of trans inclusion that occurred in his state, which prompted this executive order. But that didn't stop the people of his state from supporting a ban anyway. Little also cited former college swimmer Riley Gaines as an influential figure in his decision to pass the order.
Still, Idaho could always fall victim to the ruling of a federal judge even with their ban in place, just as the schools in New Hampshire and Virginia have.
Idaho falls under the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which is shared with California, Oregon and Washington.
"You always worry about it," Little said. "We are in the Ninth Circuit, Idaho is, which, there is a lot of judges out of California, but that's a problem that we meet with on all kinds of fronts."
California has become a national epicenter for the issue, not just with San Jose State, but several examples at the high school level.
Stone Ridge Christian High School's girls' volleyball team was scheduled to face San Francisco Waldorf in the Northern California Division 6 tournament but forfeited in an announcement just before the match over the presence of a trans athlete on the team. Gaines later held a ceremony with Stone Ridge Christian to celebrate their decision to forfeit.
A transgender volleyball player was booed and harassed at an Oct. 12 match between Notre Dame Belmont in Belmont, California, against Half Moon Bay High School, according to ABC 7. Half Moon Bay rostered the transgender athlete.
In response to complaints of boos and harassment, athletic director Steve Sell of Aragon High School in San Mateo, California, intervened. In his capacity as co-chair of the Peninsula Athletic League Athletic Directors, Sell informed Notre Dame that there could be consequences, according to ABC 7.
Martin Luther King High School in Riverside, California, is currently embroiled in one of the most contentious local controversies on the issue. A recent school board meeting by the Riverside Unified School District on Dec. 19 featured a parade of parents berating the board for allowing a trans athlete on the Martin Luther King girls' cross-country team. A lawsuit filed by two girls on the team allege that their T-shirts in protest of that player were compared to swastikas, simply because they say "Save Girls Sports."
And then, hundreds and hundreds of students at the high school began wearing the shirts every week, multiple sources told Fox News Digital. The school even revised its dress code to outlaw the shirts, and put students in detention for wearing them. But after so many of them began to wear the shirts, the school gave up on its efforts to continue enforcing the dress code.
And the shirts have since become a local social media phenomenon in the community, as multiple protesting parents were seen wearing them at the Dec. 19 meeting.
Dan Slavin, the father of one of the girls involved in the lawsuit, told Fox News Digital this issue may cause his family to take an active hand in campaigning in the 2026 California gubernatorial election.
"If nothing changes here in the next couple of years, it absolutely should be part of the next election," he said.
"I want to see policies change," Slavin added. "I keep saying the system is broken, and it's doing more harm than good. And I want to see people understand that and admit that. Sometimes, we make mistakes, and it's OK to admit that, but we need to make changes and get out of those mistakes we make."
And well beyond the borders of California, it's an issue that has garnered scrutiny on a global level, especially in 2024.
The United Nations released study findings saying that nearly 900 biological females have fallen short of the podium because they have been beaten out by transgender athletes.
The study, titled "Violence against women and girls in sports," said that more than 600 athletes did not medal in more than 400 competitions in 29 different sports, totaling over 890 medals, according to information obtained up to March 30.
"The replacement of the female sports category with a mixed-sex category has resulted in an increasing number of female athletes losing opportunities, including medals, when competing against males," the report said.
And with the next Olympics set to take place in the U.S. in 2028, the final year of Trump's second term, the world will look to see which athletes are allowed to compete in the women's category while on American soil.
And as much as states have tried to wield their autonomy on the issue in recent years, Trump's return could signal wider executive action on it, especially after a Biden administration that has made attempts to act on it as well.
On Jan. 20, 2021, just hours after President Biden assumed office, he issued an executive order on "Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation."
This order included a section that read, "Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports."
It was just the first in many steps taken by the Biden administration and Democratic lawmakers at the congressional and state level that enabled a sudden wave of trans athletes to compete as girls and women in the U.S. during the current president's term.
Since then, Biden has proposed the rule that would outlaw states banning trans athletes, a proposal his administration has since withdrawn, and issued a sweeping Title IX re-write in April. The Supreme Court struck down a Biden emergency request to enforce its policies in 10 states that were trying to contest it. And then Harris didn't give many answers on the subject during her campaign.
So now Trump is set to take office himself on Jan. 20 with a promise to keep from his famous campaign ad.
The Buffalo Bills had a less-than-convincing win in the cold against the New England Patriots on Sunday – a week after a dominant display over the Detroit Lions.
The Bills were expected to blow the lowly Patriots out of the water. But New England held its own for at least three quarters of the game. One costly mistake from rookie quarterback Drake Maye in the fourth quarter let the Bills take advantage to pick up the 24-21 win.
Bills head coach Sean McDermott was asked about the team’s first-half performance on Monday. He said he was going to make a plane comparison but didn’t want to step in it.
"Um, let’s see, I was about to use an airplane flying analogy but I’ll stay away from that," he said.
McDermott seemingly referenced a head-scratching story from last December when it was revealed he tried to illustrate how the team could come together following a season in which they had lost in the AFC Championship.
The moment was chronicled in Ty Dunne’s Go Long TD Substack.
"He told the entire team they needed to come together," Dunne wrote of McDermott. "But then, sources on-hand say, he used a strange model: the terrorists on September 11, 2001. He cited the hijackers as a group of people who were all able to get on the same page to orchestrate attacks to perfection.
"One by one, McDermott started asking specific players in the room questions. ‘What tactics do you think they used to come together?’ A young player tried to methodically answer. ‘What do you think their biggest obstacle was?’ A veteran answered, ‘TSA,’ which mercifully lightened the mood."
McDermott said last year he regretted the analogy.
This year, Buffalo is again among the top teams in the AFC and the reason for the Kansas City Chiefs’ lone loss on the season.
Aaron Rodgers doesn’t seem to have too many people in his corner as the New York Jets’ 2024 season, and his first full year under center, nears its end.
Former New York Jets star linebacker Bart Scott took issue with Rodgers’ performance following the team’s 19-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Rodgers had 256 passing yards and one touchdown pass.
The issue stemmed from Rodgers trying to get touchdown pass No. 500. He is one touchdown pass away from hitting the achievement and joining Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Tom Brady as the only players with at least 500 touchdown passes.
Rodgers said he wished Davante Adams would have caught the third-quarter pass that may have been a touchdown. It ended a 13-play drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes.
Scott wasn’t happy with the whole situation.
"To have a 10-minute drive and end up with nothing," Scott said on the SNY postgame show. "And it’s because you’re going for records, right? Sentimental records. And you’re deciding who gets your record. And I think that’s – that’s despicable."
Former Jets offensive lineman Willie Colon agreed with Scott’s assessment.
It was 9-9 when the Jets turned it over on downs. Their next drives ended in a fumble, turnover on downs and a missed field goal.
Rodgers put his teammates on notice after the game.
"I think we’re kinda past the ‘keeping it positive’ thing," Rodgers said, via SNY. "I think it’s just about perspective. Perspective informs your truth and your truth makes your reality.
"So, the reality of the situation is what it is, but your perspective is what you can change every single day. So, what you’re focusing on is the most important thing now. It’s not to change the reality of the situation – being 4-11, out of the playoffs, going into an unknown offseason."
Rodgers then spoke about what the next two weeks will mean for the future of the organization.
"You gotta figure out what it means to be a professional," he said. "That's an important part of building culture. The last two weeks we can really see who's on board moving forward and who is ready to get out. It’s just part of the game. I’ve been on a couple of teams who were out of it, and it’s interesting to watch the practice habits, the preparation habits.
"Hopefully, we’ll do the right thing, and it means a lot because everybody’s watching, and it’s a who-you-know business. There will be interesting conversations in the next couple of weeks, but just focus on the relationships we have with each other and try to finish this thing out like a pro."
A wild scene played out during a game between the Philadelphia 76ers and the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, involving NBA stars Joel Embiid and Victor Wembanyama.
Embiid was ejected with 2:59 left in the second quarter after he argued an offensive foul call. He charged right through Wembanyama, who was set up in the middle of the lane. The NBA MVP got up and immediately argued with referee Jenna Schroeder.
The seven-time All-Star was irate after getting thrown out of the game for only the second time in his career. He had to be held back by teammate Kyle Lowry, head coach Nick Nurse and several assistant coaches.
Embiid has had a tough year.
Monday night’s game against the Spurs was only the eighth game he’s appeared in this season. He dealt with left knee soreness, a three-game suspension over an altercation with a reporter and a sinus fracture.
It was the second ejection of the night, though the first was later rescinded.
Schroeder ejected 76ers big man Andre Drummond as well for a foul on Wembanyama. However, after video replay, officials rescinded the ejection.
Officials hit Wembanyama with a technical foul for flopping, but officials rescinded the technical foul after 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey already hit a technical free throw. The point was also rescinded.
The Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans have a huge matchup on Wednesday afternoon in a game that will have an impact on playoff seeding.
But Wednesday’s game is being played on Christmas Day as part of a special slate of matchups being featured on Netflix. Beyoncé is set to perform at halftime of the Ravens-Texans game and NFL MVP contender Lamar Jackson is already planning on being on the field for that.
He said he wasn’t going to be disappointed that he couldn’t watch because he will be out there.
"I'm going to go out there and watch," he told reporters on Monday. "First time seeing Beyoncé perform, and it's at our game – that's dope. I'm going to go out and watch. Sorry [head coach John] Harbaugh, sorry. Sorry fellas."
Jackson said his favorite Beyoncé song was "Irreplaceable."
The Ravens star quarterback has become one player who is irreplaceable. He’s put himself into the running for a second consecutive NFL MVP award as he has the team on top of the AFC North division and in play for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.
Should he somehow top Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen for the award, it would be the third time for him.
"If it [does] happen, it happens, [and] that'd be dope. Three times [winning it], but like you said, I'm not really focused on that," he said. "That’s never been my goal though. Even [with] the first or second one, [winning MVP has] never been my goal. I always want to finish with the championship, but I've been falling short.
"Got that accolade, but I still feel like the MVP is a team thing, though, because my teammates [are] helping me get that award, because I always say that I’m not the one catching the passes [or] blocking to help me get these passes off [and] stuff like that. That’s [the] offensive line, tight ends, receivers [and] running backs. It’s everybody, all of us included. I'm trying to win the championship. That's my biggest goal. That's been my goal ever since [I was] a little kid, but an MVP in the National Football League – that's dope. That is dope."
Green Bay Packers fans could have gotten a jump start on wrapping Christmas gifts for their loved ones as their team dominated the New Orleans Saints on Monday night, 34-0.
The Saints’ defense had no answer for Packers running back Josh Jacobs and as they inched closer to the red zone on each drive, they still came away with no points. The struggles coupled together turned into a demoralizing late-season loss for a season that was already finished.
The Packers looked good early and often on their way to clinching a playoff spot.
Jacobs’ rushing attack helped get Green Bay on the board on its first drive. It ended with a Jordan Love 2-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks. Then, Jacobs was rewarded with a touchdown of his own on the team’s second drive of the game.
Before anyone knew it, Green Bay was up 21-0 and the halftime whistle sounded. Aside from a two second-half field goals, it was all the Packers needed to win the game and improve to 11-4.
Love was 16-of-28 with 182 passing yards and a touchdown pass.
Jacobs, Emanuel Wilson and Chris Brooks each had a rushing touchdown. Jacobs led everyone with 68 rushing yards. Jayden Reed had three catches for 76 yards. Wicks had three catches for 13 yards.
Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler finished 15-of-30 with 153 passing yards and an interception. He led the team with 28 rushing yards. He was sacked three times. New Orleans only ran the ball 20 times.
Jordan Mims had five catches, leading the team, but only had 16 yards. No other player had more than two catches. Foster Moreau had 33 receiving yards to lead the team.
It’s been a really competitive NFC North. The Packers have one of the best records in football but find themselves in third place in the division because the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings are both 13-2. Both teams have also wrapped up playoff spots.
Green Bay has one more win than the Washington Commanders, which give them the No. 6 seed in the playoffs if the regular season ended Monday night. The Packers clinched a playoff spot.
The Saints have suffered through a coaching change and a plethora of injuries to most of their key players. If they had been a little luckier, they could have been in the NFC South division race with the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For now, the Falcons still hold the key to the playoff berth.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been red hot to start the 2024-25 season, and center Jarrett Allen underscored that statement with an impressive trick shot before Monday night’s game tipped off.
The Cavaliers’ matchup with the Utah Jazz was delayed because of an issue with one of the rims at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Allen had some fun trying to make sure he stayed warmed up before the tip.
Allen went to halfcourt and took a backward shot. He sunk it, and the crowd in the arena went wild.
The All-Star center is averaging 13.2 points and 10.1 rebounds per game for the Cavaliers this season. He’s averaging one steal and nearly one block per game as well. He earned Defensive Player of the Year votes last season.
He’s in his fourth full season with the Cavs. He was acquired in the middle of the 2020-21 season from the Brooklyn Nets as part of the blockbuster deal that saw James Harden head east in a trade that included the Houston Rockets.
Cleveland has been one of the bright spots in the NBA this season. The Cavaliers jumped out to 15 straight wins to begin the year and have kept up that pace even with four losses on the year. Going into the game against Utah, the team had only lost once in December.
The Cavaliers hoped to start a little Christmas break on top of the Eastern Conference and in good spirits as the rush toward the postseason truly began this week. The Cavaliers have three days off before they begin a four-game road trip starting with the Denver Nuggets on Friday.
Quinn Ewers? OK. Arch Manning? Why not. Bevo? No, thanks.
The Texas Longhorns’ beloved mascot Bevo XV will not be making the trip to the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in the next round of the College Football Playoff as the team plays Arizona State.
Peach Bowl organizers made the announcement on Monday.
"We love all of the great traditions of college football and no doubt Bevo is one of the best, but the unfortunate reality is there simply is not enough room on the sidelines of Mercedes-Benz Stadium," their statement read.
"With the constraints of the stadium and prioritizing the safety of Bevo, the players, all the network cameras, support staff, cheerleaders, and photographers, we unfortunately will not be able to have Bevo on the field at the CFP Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl"
The Peach Bowl is set to take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. It was the site of the SEC Championship between Texas and Georgia. Bevo was barred from the event as well.
Bevo had a little tiff with Georgia’s mascot Uga in the past. The mascot broke through a barricade at that year's Sugar Bowl and nearly trampled the dog and onlookers at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
Texas is coming off of a 38-24 first-round victory over Clemson. Ewers was 17-of-24 with 202 passing yards and a touchdown pass. Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner each ran for more than 100 yards.
Tiger Woods and his son, Charlie, created some excitement at the PNC Championship on Sunday when the young golfer made a hole in one during the tournament.
The Woods tandem finished in second place in the event, losing in a playoff to Bernhard and Jason Langer. It was the second straight year the Langers won the tournament.
Tiger Woods was then seen in a warm embrace with his ex-wife Elin Nordegren, who is the mother of Charlie. Sam Woods, their daughter, served as the caddie for them during the event.
Woods and Nordegren haven’t exactly been close since their high-profile divorce nearly 15 years ago. The two were seen together earlier this year to celebrate Charlie after his high school won the Class 1A state golf championship in Florida.
Woods and Nordegren were a part of a high-profile split in 2010 when Woods revealed his infidelity following a single-vehicle crash near their Florida home. They have two children together, and the source told People their tensions have cooled in recent years for the sake of their children.
"She would never go back with him but likes that he is a good father. She has seen that over the years, which worked them into a good relationship. They co-parent pretty well," the source told the magazine back in March.
"Of course, she needs to be very confident that the children are safe and happy around anyone that Tiger is with, especially if the romance becomes serious," the source added. "To that degree, she is very interested. But not on much else."
Nordegren has been dating retired tight end Jordan Cameron for the last few years.
Woods broke up with Erica Herman, who then filed a lawsuit against him. She dropped the lawsuit in November 2023.
The Houston Texans claimed wide receiver Diontae Johnson off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens on Monday after Tank Dell suffered a horrific knee injury over the weekend.
Johnson will be expected to step into a role and become a key target for quarterback C.J. Stroud as the team prepares for the playoffs. Houston has already wrapped up the AFC South title.
But Johnson comes to Houston following a tumultuous end with the Ravens.
Baltimore acquired Johnson in the middle of the season in a trade with the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 29. The Ravens suspended Johnson for one game after he refused to enter a Dec. 1 game against the Philadelphia Eagles. He was later excused from all team activities.
The one-time Pro Bowler had one catch on five targets for six yards in four games with the Ravens. He hasn’t played a game since Nov. 25 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
Johnson previously spent five years with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In his 2021 Pro Bowl season, he had 107 catches for 1,161 yards and eight touchdowns. Those numbers were career highs.
Dell suffered a dislocated kneecap and a torn ACL in Saturday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, head coach DeMeco Ryans said.
Dell is set to have season-ending surgery for the second straight year.
The Ravens and the Texans will go up against each other on Christmas Day.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow gifted his offensive lineman with samurai swords for Christmas as they have helped protect him better than most seasons since he’s been the starter.
Burrow let each of the linemen pick out a sword. ESPN noted that some of the swords date back to the 1500s. Following his three-touchdown performance against the Cleveland Browns, Burrow explained why he opted for samurai swords over cars, watches or something else.
"Well, they wanted guns," he said. "And I was like, 'I don't know about guns, guys.' So I was in the weapon mindset, and I was like, 'What's a cool weapon?' Samurai swords, I think, are pretty dang cool."
Bengals offensive lineman Alex Cappa told ESPN last week that the gift was one of the best he’s ever received.
"My favorite gift I've ever gotten by far because it's so different," he said.
Burrow is having one of the best seasons of his career. It starts with the offensive line as he’s only been sacked 37 times through 15 games. In 2022, the last time he played at least 15 games, he was sacked 41 times. He led the league in sacks in 2021 (51). The Bengals lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl that year.
The former LSU standout leads the NFL with 39 touchdown passes and 4,229 passing yards.
Cincinnati is 7-8 this season and have games against the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers left on the schedule. If the Bengals win out, they may be in line to sneak into the playoffs.
The Las Vegas Raiders may have complicated their draft position on Sunday as the team defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, and fans of the team noticed.
The Raiders would have dropped to 2-13 with a loss and would have been in a neck-and-neck race with the New York Giants for the No. 1 overall pick. But the Raiders won and the Giants lost. Las Vegas dropped to No. 6 because of the result.
As fans got upset with the Raiders on social media, head coach Antonio Pierce addressed critics during his media availability.
"We don’t do this to lose," he said, per Pro Football Talk. "We don’t do this for anybody’s fantasy football team. We don’t do this for anybody’s draft projections. None of that s--- matters to us. Only thing that matters to us is winning, and that’s all we want to do."
Las Vegas is in the midst of one of the worst seasons in its franchise’s history. Three wins is far from what they hoped for after narrowly missing the playoffs last season when Pierce replaced Josh McDaniels as head coach in the middle of the season.
The Raiders have only made the playoffs twice since losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl in the 2002 season. They haven’t made it out of the wild card round either.
Las Vegas hits the road to play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday and finishes the season against the Los Angeles Chargers on Jan. 5.
Aaron Rodgers gave those interested in the pop culture world a little Christmas treat on Monday during his weekly appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show."
The New York Jets quarterback slyly revealed he’s back in the dating world and currently has a girlfriend. He made the reveal when he, McAfee and former Green Bay Packers teammate A.J. Hawk were talking about buying gifts for the holiday online.
Rodgers’ past relationships were recalled in his docuseries "Enigma," which debuted on Netflix last week. He explained that he "hated" the fame that came with his successful football career.
The four-time NFL MVP referenced the high-profile relationships he was in. The quarterback dated Olivia Munn from 2014 to 2017, Danica Patrick from 2018 to 2020 and Shailene Woodley from 2020 to 2022.
"I didn’t do myself any favors with some of the girls I dated after that that were in the public eye," Rodgers said on the show.
Referring to the fame, Rodgers said, "I definitely hated it at first — like, really despised it."
"I enjoyed my private life," he continued. "I enjoyed being able to go places. But from Super Bowl MVP, MVP, State Farm commercials, that got a little bit more difficult."
