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Red Sox had a nightmare travel day for the ages, yet still found a way to beat the Mets in New York
If you thought your commute was brutal, maybe don't say anything to the Boston Red Sox.
Then again, the New York Mets might have had it worse. They still lost to a team running on fumes and airport coffee.
The Red Sox wrapped up a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, then headed to the airport for a flight to New York ahead of a three-game series with the Mets before the All-Star break.
NEW REPORT SUGGESTS THE NEW YORK METS ARE OPEN TO TRADING FRANCISCO LINDOR AMID DISASTROUS SEASON
A flight from Chicago to New York is pretty routine, but the Red Sox had to wait around at the airport because of an issue with their plane. According to MLB.com, it got so bad that at two in the morning, the team had to head back to a Chicago hotel and crash there for the night.
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Not ideal, but there was still plenty of time to leave early Friday morning. Of course, when the team returned to the airport, another mechanical issue delayed the flight yet again (and by that point, would you even want to get on the plane?).
After an almost 24-hour travel odyssey (by the way, with all the flights professional and college teams take all season long, I can't believe this doesn't happen more), the Red Sox finally made it to Citi Field... at 5:05 p.m. ET for what was originally going to be a 7:15 p.m. ET start time.
That got pushed back to 7:50 p.m. ET, and surely that 35 minutes made a world of difference for what had to be a pretty miserable team.
But remember, they're playing the Mets. If any team is going to find a way to lose to a team that is playing after all of that, it's "The Amazin' Mets."
The Red Sox came out with energy and scored a couple of runs in the top of the first inning, and went on to win the game 6-2.
Granted, the Red Sox are on a heater, and the Mets are still wallowing away in the NL East basement, but given the circumstances, losing this one is brutal.
If ever there is a team you should beat, it's the one that had such a hellish trip to the ballpark and only showed up in town about three hours before the opening pitch.
Former Heat teammates Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro involved in heated Las Vegas exchange: report
Tensions between former Miami Heat teammates Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro reportedly boiled over in Las Vegas early Friday.
ESPN reported, citing sources, that the two NBA stars were involved in a physical altercation at an NBA Summer League practice facility, during which the Heat center allegedly struck the Milwaukee Bucks guard in the head area. NBA Summer League returned to the Las Vegas area on Thursday. Herro attended Friday's Bucks-Heat Summer League matchup at Thomas & Mack Center on UNLV's campus.
Sources told ESPN that Adebayo initially confronted Herro over alleged social media comments criticizing his defense. The comments appeared to surface after the blockbuster deal that sent Giannis Antetokounmpo to Miami and Herro to Milwaukee, ending his time as Adebayo’s Heat teammate.
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Screenshots circulated online purportedly showed Herro questioning Adebayo’s defensive prowess in an Instagram direct message with a fan.
Herro greeted Bucks Summer League players after the Heat's 119-86 win. He also spoke briefly with ex-Heat and current Bucks forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. on the court before leaving the building without addressing the incident with Adebayo.
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Herro did speak with Prime Video during the game's broadcast and suggested there's no awkwardness in seeing his former team.
"It's all love in Miami ," Herro said. "I've seen a couple of the guys, coaching staff, Chris Quinn, Spo [Erik Spoelstra], the front office guys; we are all good in Miami. Just an opportunity for both sides to reset, get a fresh start, and both are super happy with this."
First-year Bucks head coach Taylor Jenkins told SiriusXM NBA Radio he had "no comment" on the matter, adding, "I don’t really know all the specifics."
Adebayo agreed to a three-year, $166 million extension with Miami in June 2024. The alleged DM also appeared to question whether his nightly defensive effort justified a salary approaching $60 million.
In March, Adebayo delivered a franchise-record 83-point performance against the Washington Wizards, moving past Kobe Bryant’s 81-point game for the second-highest scoring night in NBA history. Herro was named the league's Sixth Man of the Year in 2022.
In a statement, the Heat said, "We are aware and not commenting." The Bucks declined to comment on the situation.
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Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham reportedly set to release first signature sneaker
Getting a signature sneaker is a big milestone for any professional basketball player, and one of the next to get that honor is reportedly Sophie Cunningham of the WNBA's Indiana Fever.
Or, as you may know her, the one from the pointing meme that took over the internet a couple of weeks ago.
According to Sole Retriever, the WNBA star is going to be getting her own batch of shoes that are reportedly going to hit the market later this month.
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Adidas is reportedly going to drop the Crazy Energy Sophie Cunningham PE on July 24, and it will carry a not-at-all insane price tag of $120.
I'm not sure the color scheme is my style, but that's a tempting price for an athlete's signature shoe.
With this news, I saw some people whining about Cunningham getting a signature set of kicks when she averages 8 points per game over the course of her career.
To those people, I'd say, "You do realize she has 2 million followers on Instagram, a podcast, and that, for about 48 hours over the last couple of weeks, photos and videos of her pointing at the Phoenix Mercury's DeWanna Bonner were the most popular thing on the internet, right?"
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So, yeah, I think the folks at Adidas probably realize that, even if the stat line may not put her in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, there's no denying that she's marketable as hell.
Sure, sports is the ultimate meritocracy, but in business, you go with what is going to help you turn a profit.
Which is funny because Cunningham's teammate, Caitlin Clark, checks both of those boxes, a rare combination, yet the WNBA still doesn't seem to see the benefit of leaning into her popularity.
Well, Adidas isn't going to miss out on an opportunity with Cunningham, that's for sure.
Host claims WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert canceled interview as Caitlin Clark controversy mounts
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert canceled an interview on "The Dan Patrick Show," the host announced during his show on Friday. Both Engelbert and Patrick are at the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in Nevada.
Patrick said the conversation was scheduled for Thursday, but he claimed the WNBA's public relations team instructed Engelbert to cancel.
"We waited almost two hours for her. This was scheduled." Patrick said. "She was going to do a meeting in her hotel room, a conference call, and then she was going to join us... We're standing by, we're waiting to interview her."
WNBA EXPANDS REGULAR SEASON TO 50 GAMES STARTING IN 2027, THE LONGEST SCHEDULE IN LEAGUE HISTORY
Patrick added that he intended to ask questions about Caitlin Clark, and other topics including WNBA expansion.
"Then we got word... that the commissioner said that the WNBA staff, the PR staff, said that she is not allowed to do this. They would prefer that she did not do this," Patrick said.
Patrick criticized Engelbert's handling of the interview.
"You're the commissioner, and you're listening to the PR department, which is fine. But did you check with PR before you said yes to us? We promoted it all day yesterday," he said.
"It was her opportunity to finally say, 'hey, you can ask me the tough questions.' I thought this was going to be a good thing for the WNBA because people still want answers here. There’s so many people who have an opinion, agendas here, and this was a chance to sit down. And yes, would the questions be tough? Yes, yes. And I’m sure that had something to do with it.... So, it’s just disappointing.
"If you want to be treated as a serious league, this is what happens! These are tough questions, but this is a fair outlet for you — a fair platform. I will treat you with respect."
Patrick even claimed that Engelbert was golfing 50 yards away from him, while he was doing Friday's show, as his show's feed cut to footage of the commissioner driving a ball.
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Patrick previously claimed on his show that after Clark was punched in the throat by Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas, his producers reached out to the WNBA for a statement on June 25 and never received a response.
Patrick publicly criticized the league for this lack of communication on June 26, 2026, stating that the silence allowed the situation to "spiral out of control."
Engelbert has come under immense scrutiny in recent weeks after the infamous throat punch to Clark, as referees did not call the hit a foul in real time.
While Thomas was dealt a one-game suspension after the play was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant 1, the league never publicly addressed the hit on Clark, or growing history of questionable hard contact on the star since she came into the league in 2024.
Instead, the WNBA put out a statement in defense of Thomas after she allegedly received backlash online.
"The safety and well-being of everyone in our community is always the league's top priority. We are aware of Alyssa Thomas' comments, and what she and her teammates have experienced is completely unacceptable and not representative of the WNBA community. The league and our security team have been in contact with the Phoenix Mercury organization and remain committed to protecting all players," the statement read.
Clark then finished 11th in the peer-voted portion of the 2026 WNBA All-Star balloting, despite ranking in the top five league-wide in both points and assists. This sparked major controversy, with WNBA legend Candace Parker publicly criticizing players for disrespecting Clark.
"When I sat down, as much as I did not like Diana Taurasi, there ain’t no way I’m not going to write her as an All-Star," Parker said. "As much as I did not like anyone on the Lynx because they used to whoop our a—, I’m not going to not put Maya Moore or Sylvia Fowles. I think people need to look at themselves in the mirror and realize, like, man, you’ve got some insecurities if you’re sitting down and putting Caitlin Clark as the eleventh best guard."
The controversy reached a peak this past week when it reached Capitol Hill.
Eleven Republican lawmakers recently sent a letter to Commissioner Engelbert. They demanded accountability for the physical hostility directed at Clark. They even suggested federal agencies like the Department of Justice investigate the league for creating a hostile work environment.
The Indiana Fever quickly distanced themselves from the political intervention. The team released a statement confirming they had no prior knowledge of the letter. Fever head coach Stephanie White then completely refused to engage with the topic when asked about it by Fox News Digital at a pre-game press conference on Thursday.
"That's not something we can control," White said.
"We're not affiliated with those groups. We try to keep the main thing the main thing and focus on the things we can control."
Prosecutors seeking death penalty for deported illegal alien indicted in murder of sister-in-law
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty involving an illegal alien who re-entered the U.S. after being deported and allegedly killed a Florida woman before fleeing to a sanctuary city.
Bangladeshi national Shahidul Islam, 44, was indicted Wednesday by a Lake County, Florida, grand jury on a premeditated first-degree murder charge for the May 2, 2025, shooting death of his sister-in-law, Monica Islam.
Hours after Monica Islam's disappearance on May 2, she was found with a gunshot wound to the head on the side of the road, according to State Attorney Bill Gladson of the Fifth Judicial Circuit.
She was last seen walking toward Shahidul Islam's car, and Gladson said authorities discovered he made numerous "suspicious" searches online on the morning of the killing.
A search warrant uncovered bloodstains matching Monica Islam's DNA in Shahidul Islam's car, along with a bullet lodged in the passenger door and a shattered passenger window.
Following the killing, Gladson said Shahidul Islam rented a car and drove to New York City.
He was later tracked down in a joint effort between local, state and federal law enforcement partners.
After being prosecuted and sentenced for his unlawful entry into the U.S., Shahidul Islam was extradited back to Lake County. He is currently being held without bond at the Lake County Detention Facility.
Gladson's office announced on Wednesday it is seeking the death penalty, citing the severe nature of the crime and its impact on the victim's family.
"No family should ever have to endure the pain of such a senseless and horrific act of violence as this one," Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia wrote in a statement. "Shahidul Islam illegally entered our country after being deported, committed this heinous crime, and then fled to a sanctuary city."
WATCH: ANGEL MOM TURNS TABLES ON SANCTUARY POLITICIANS WITH BASIC QUESTION ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES
Ingoglia added Florida "will continue to stand firm against violent crime, sanctuary cities and illegal immigration," and "will never apologize for putting the safety of law-abiding families first."
Gladson said that while "no prosecution can restore the life that was taken," his office intends to "pursue justice on their behalf and hold this offender accountable to the fullest extent of the law."
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
New Jersey woman accused of sexually assaulting child, posting video on Snapchat: police
A New Jersey woman is accused of sexually assaulting a child younger than 13, recording the alleged abuse and sharing at least one video on Snapchat, according to court documents.
Victoria Anne Cranmer, 25, was arrested Tuesday and charged with second-degree sexual assault, second-degree manufacturing of child sexual abuse material, third-degree possession of child sexual abuse material and third-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
Authorities allege Cranmer recorded the 14-second video on May 6 inside the bathroom of a Little Egg Harbor home while the child was in her care.
STEPDAD ACCUSED OF SEX ASSAULT AS COPS WIDEN PROBE INTO GIRL’S LETHAL BENADRYL INGREDIENT DOSE
Investigators identified Cranmer through several distinctive tattoos visible in the recording, including one on her leg depicting breasts, the outlet reported.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the investigation began May 20 after the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency referred the allegations to the Little Egg Harbor Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Special Victims Unit. Detectives later obtained search warrants for both a cellphone allegedly used by Cranmer and her Snapchat account, where investigators said they uncovered additional videos saved in Snapchat's Memories feature.
According to the affidavit, the cellphone had been purchased for Cranmer by a former roommate as a birthday gift. After asking Cranmer to move out, the roommate requested she leave the phone behind. While reviewing its contents, the roommate allegedly discovered the recording, saved the video and later turned the device over to investigators, according to the affidavit.
TEACHER ACCUSED OF SEX WITH STUDENTS WAS ALLEGEDLY BLACKMAILED FOR BETTER GRADES: WARRANTS
Investigators also allege Cranmer was laughing while assaulting the child in the video, according to the court according to court documents cited by NJ.com.
At least one of the alleged recordings was shared on Snapchat, New Jersey 101.5 reported.
Cranmer was booked into the Ocean County Jail, where she is being held without bail.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office for additional information and to determine whether Cranmer has legal representation.
Christopher Nolan calls criticism of 'The Odyssey' casting decisions 'irrelevant'
I did not expect Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" to become the biggest cultural lightning rod on my 2026 bingo card, yet it's only heating up with the film set to hit theaters next week.
Nolan's adaptation has been a punching bag for many moviegoers, myself included, in the months leading up to its much-anticipated release. The criticism has largely centered on the race-swapping of Helen of Troy by casting Lupita Nyong'o, as well as the inclusion of 5-foot-nothing biological female Elliot (formerly Ellen) Page as the Greek warrior Sinon. Other complaints include the modernized dialogue and the film's apparent inspiration from Emily Wilson's liberal translation of the Greek Epic.
Now Nolan is gaslighting critics who are rightfully upset or simply questioning the film's clear liberal creative decisions by calling their concerns "irrelevant."
While speaking with The Telegraph, Nolan said that the backlash the film has received "comes with the territory."
Nolan added, "These conversations that happen before people see the film – they’re always irrelevant, because no one having them knows what the film actually is yet."
It's true that it's premature to make a final judgment about a film that 99.9% of the world hasn't seen yet, aside from a handful of traditional film critics and members of the press, who have done nothing but praise it. (What a coincidence.) The problem, though, is that Nolan seems to believe legitimate criticism carries no weight simply because the film hasn't been released to the general public.
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Is race-swapping characters an issue with the majority of moviegoers? Yes, for the most part. Audiences have been subjected to White characters portrayed by Black actors and actresses many times over the past decade or so. Those decisions are rooted in a specific left-wing political movement and their causes, including DEI.
The live action "Little Mermaid" was portrayed by a black actress, "Rings of Power" includes black dwarves and multicultural elves, the new "Harry Potter" show will include a black actor portraying Professor Severus Snape, House Velaryon characters are portrayed by Black actors and actresses in "House of the Dragon," live action "Snow White" was played by the insufferable Rachel Zegler who has Colombian ancestry, "Wheel of Time" race-swapped many characters — the list goes on and on.
Audiences can look past some race-swapping decisions because they don't necessarily preach a modern political message of diversity, equity, and inclusion or affect the character or story in a major way — if at all. Commissioner James Gordon in "The Batman" (the latest Batman adaptation, not to be confused with Christopher Nolan's trilogy), starring Robert Pattinson, was race-swapped, for example. I didn't really care, and there was little, if any, backlash. The same can't be said for race-swapping Helen of Troy or casting Zendaya as Athena.
"The Odyssey" is a Greek Epic. Helen of Troy isn’t African. Athena is a GREEK goddess. Race-swapping those characters are within themselves a political statement worthy of criticism. Denouncing those criticisms as "irrelevant" sounds more like arrogance and deflection than anything.
The film also has the Elliot Page issue. Page is a biological female larping as a male, portraying a Greek warrior. Not only is the film race-swapping, it’s gender-swapping. Again, the inclusion of Page is a blatant political statement rooted in DEI. Criticizing that casting is fair game.
I believe those two specific criticisms should not be ignored. The controversy, which Nolan created by allowing the casting decisions — not because critics like myself have questioned and condemned them — should be tackled head-on. You made the decisions. Now stand by them. Admit you race-swapped the characters. Provide your justification. Don’t deflect. Own it.
Nolan went on to say, "What I learned over my time on [the Batman] trilogy is you can’t worry about any of that [criticism] at all. What you have to do is honor the original text by interpreting it in the strongest way you personally can."
The best way you can "honor the original text" is faithfully adapting it, Christopher.
What you’re doing is being subversive. You’re making political, divisive statements with these decisions, whether you want to admit to it or not.
Audiences questioning whether the film is taking inspiration from — or even directly drawing on — Emily Wilson's liberal translation of the Greek Epic is not irrelevant. It matters to the story being adapted for the silver screen because, based on Nyong'o's comments about Homer's perceived lack of female representation in the original work (a claim that is highly disputed), your statement on "The Four Cast" that the film was made for "modern audiences," and a basic understanding of Wilson's translation, those concerns are understandable.
Nolan, you seem to be gaslighting critics throughout the film's pre-release press tour, including when "The Four Cast" pressed you about using modern vernacular, such as Tom Holland's Telemachus saying "dad" and Robert Pattinson's Antinous saying "daddy." You dismissed that criticism as rooted in illogical "cultural prejudice."
Good grief.
Scholars say the term "dad" wasn’t culturally normal until the 17th century, thousands of years after "The Odyssey" was even said to be written. You can’t just say, "Well, if you don’t like that I’m not being faithful to the source material, your criticism is irrelevant and you have prejudices to work through."
Liberal audiences, publications like Variety , and you, the director, can dismiss this specific criticism about the dialogue as silly all you want. But for an award-winning filmmaker whose work is widely praised for its immersive quality, dialogue like this pulls viewers out of what is supposed to be an authentic Ancient Greek world. It feels inauthentic and out of place in the very setting you're claiming to portray faithfully. That criticism is not irrelevant.
This movie could be fine overall, but it has some clear issues worth debating and discussing.
Finally, if Nolan truly wanted to give "The Odyssey" a modern interpretation, as he has stated, he shouldn’t have based it in Ancient Greece. Problem solved.
What's next in the battle to 'save women's sports' after SCOTUS ruling — and the hidden damage driving it
For millions of women and girls across the country, the Supreme Court's ruling on trans athletes has changed nothing.
There are still 23 states that don't have laws keeping biological males out of women's sports, and 19 of those states have policies that actively allow it. Washington state is one of those.
"No matter what the ruling with the Supreme Court was, nothing has changed," Washington high school athlete Soleil Hoefer told Fox News Digital. "It’s just really frustrating to be a part of such a movement that isn’t getting any relief like these two girls have."
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Her junior year, she said, her club soccer team played against a biological male goalkeeper during a showcase tournament in Las Vegas.
"I was a forward. Wasn’t a great matchup," Hoefer said. "Knowing that I didn’t have the physical ability to beat this man was so frustrating."
Then, during her senior year, she said she had to run against a male athlete in the 400 meters.
"The 400 meter race is already such a mental game," she said. "Knowing that no matter what I trained for and what time I ran, I would always lose was so frustrating, and knowing that this could possibly happen to my little sister is what made me stand up for it."
But Hoefer also warned of an issue that goes beyond just medals podiums, after a fellow female athlete in her state was allegedly sexually assaulted by a trans competitor during a wrestling match earlier this year.
"There’s another case that has just recently happened with a girl named Kallie [Keeler]. She’s a wrestler in Washington state. And she was sexually assaulted during a wrestling match," Hoefer said, referring to the Washington lawsuit. "So I think a big part of what comes next is our state coming to the realization of this is going to keep happening if nothing happens."
Fox News Digital previously reported that a Washington family filed a lawsuit alleging their daughter was sexually assaulted by a biological male trans athlete during a girls’ wrestling match.
Kristen Waggoner, CEO, president and chief counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), which is leading the lawsuit, said the Washington case shows why the debate over girls’ sports is not limited to trophies or scholarships.
"Kallie’s experience is not just unfortunate, it is devastating to any girl," Waggoner said, referring to the Washington wrestler. "To wrestle as a 16-year-old in a sport and believe that you’re wrestling a girl, and then learn that it not only is a boy, but to be sexually assaulted… it’s horrendous, and it’s sexual assault."
Waggoner said she wishes the case were isolated.
"I wish it was an isolated case, but it’s not," she said. "We will work until we win that case for her."
To Waggoner, the hidden damage behind the movement is not only competitive unfairness. It is what girls say happens in locker rooms, hotel rooms, bathrooms and contact sports when adults erase sex-based boundaries in the name of inclusion.
"Women and girls deserve their right to privacy and their right to physical safety," Waggoner said. "You shouldn’t have to even have to talk about sexual assault as a consequence of this because we know that differences matter between the sexes."
That same theme came through in the story of Adaleia Cross, a West Virginia student-athlete who spoke out after a trans athlete at the center of the West Virginia case that was decided by the Supreme Court, competed on girls’ teams. Cross has alleged sexual harassment and said her school district failed to protect her; the trans athlete and the trans athlete's mother have denied harassment allegations, and prior reporting said the school district found allegations unsubstantiated. Cross and ADF maintain that the harm occurred.
"I think it needs to be way more focused on than it is," Cross said of the risks of sexual harassment and abuse to girls as a result of trans athlete inclusion.
"Girls are not safe when they have to share private spaces with men, and people just don't talk about it enough. And I think that if more people were aware going forward, more people would be angry.
"It’s really hard to think about even now to know how many other kids could they be doing that to? How many other situations of sexual abuse are happening that they’re silencing?"
Hoefer shares that frustration and fear as a high schooler in a state that continues to allow males in girls' sports.
"Us having to be in spaces with male athletes... having to share bathrooms, having to share locker rooms, having to share a hotel room if we're traveling, none of it is fair. And it makes me wonder, when are people going to realize, like, it shouldn't have to come to this point where people are going through sexual assault or sexual harassment. And I want them to focus on that more, I want the media to highlight that more," Hoefer said.
"People always say 'they're lying about it. People don't do that.' But that's not what the reality is... people think it is all just about fairness, it's about safety."
Former Idaho State runner Madison Kenyon, who was a voluntary defendant on the Idaho SCOTUS case, has been a recurring figure in mainstream media coverage on the case over the last year. She, along with Waggoner, have done interviews on outlets including CNN.
Kenyon said she believes mainstream media coverage has improved since she first started speaking out six years ago, but still has not centered enough on female athletes.
"I think it should be bigger," Kenyon told Fox News Digital. "I think that we should truly be showing the stories of the women."
She said that when she first entered the debate, "nobody was talking about it" and it was "taboo." Now, she said, more Americans understand the issue, but the coverage still too often fails to show the full cost to girls.
"The media needs to show that 80% of Americans do not think it is fair for men to compete as females, that it is unsafe to have men in our locker rooms, and I wish the media would really show that part more clearly," Kenyon said.
A 2025 Gallup survey found that 69% of U.S. adults believed transgender athletes should only be allowed to play on teams matching their birth sex, while 24% said they should be able to play on teams matching their gender identity.
Waggoner said the media environment has shifted from where it was a decade ago.
"It was a tough go 10 years ago, to be able to talk about these things," Waggoner said. "But I think now as Americans have seen in real time the differences between men and women… the media has also begun to shift a little bit as well."
Still, she said interviews on major outlets can remain difficult.
"They do ask the tough questions and sometimes some unfair ones," Waggoner said. "It has been an absolute delight to see courageous young women athletes stand up for truth."
The country is now divided into three practical categories.
The first category is the 27 states with laws protecting girls’ and women’s sports based on biological sex. The second is the 19 states without such laws that still actively allow transgender athletes to compete in girls’ sports. The third is a smaller group — Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Alaska and Virginia — where there is no state statute, but state education agencies or high school athletic associations have imposed sex-based restrictions.
California is one of the clearest examples of resistance. The state has AB 1266, which protects transgender students’ ability to participate in school programs and athletic teams consistent with gender identity. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital the ruling "does not affect California’s laws."
Illinois has also pushed back. The Illinois High School Association uses a formal policy for transgender athlete participation, and Gov. JB Pritzker called the Supreme Court decision a "setback for equality."
Minnesota and Maine are also major battlegrounds. Minnesota’s high school league allows transgender athletes to compete after case-by-case evaluation, and Maine’s Principals’ Association allows students to compete on teams matching gender identity. Both states, as well as California, are being sued by President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice over their policies.
Other states are moving in the opposite direction. Nevada does not currently have a girls’ sports protection law, but Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo told Fox News Digital the Supreme Court ruling provides "important legal clarity" and said he will push lawmakers to act during the 2027 legislative session. Colorado voters are set to decide a November 2026 ballot measure that could mandate teams based on biological sex.
Vermont and Washington remain especially central to ADF’s next phase. Vermont’s Principals’ Association explicitly protects transgender athletes’ ability to participate on teams consistent with gender identity, while Washington’s WIAA maintains its gender-identity-based participation policy.
Waggoner said ADF’s strategy is to keep pushing in those states through both litigation and culture.
"You can expect that we will uproot gender ideology from the law, and we will not stop until we do," Waggoner said. "We have several lawsuits that are already ongoing in those 23 states, and we will continue to work to protect women and girls."
But she said courtrooms alone will not settle the issue.
"This isn’t just something that it can be won in the courtroom. It has to be won in the culture as well, and the two go hand in hand, so all of us have a role to play," she added.
One of those culture fights is already playing out in Vermont.
Mid Vermont Christian School recently received a $566,000 settlement in damages and legal fees after being barred from state sports and academic competitions following its 2023 girls’ basketball forfeit against a team with a transgender athlete. The Vermont Principals’ Association banned the school from athletics and other competitions after the forfeit; a settlement later allowed the school back into the state athletic association.
Chris Goodwin, the Mid Vermont Christian girls’ basketball coach, said the settlement did not resolve the larger issue in Vermont.
"From just the coaches I’ve talked to, the parents I’ve talked to outside of our school, the vast majority of them would rather not have to compete against a boy," Goodwin told Fox News Digital.
He said the state still has "a culture and environment of fear."
"I know coaches and administrators who, if they wanted to go against this policy before our case was settled, that they told me they would be punished or lose their jobs for it," Goodwin said. "Even though the case was settled, Vermont is still gonna be pretty pervasive with the transgender policies."
Goodwin said the issue is personal because he has a daughter.
"I always think about… my daughter… having to make that choice of you have to play against male athletes or you can’t play at all, and that just seems so unfair to me," he said. "It’s not right, and it goes against our religious beliefs. It goes against what our school teaches."
His wife, Bethany Goodwin, made the same point in simpler terms.
"I have a daughter, and so I know how that makes her feel to have to play against a boy," she said. "It’s uncomfortable and it shouldn’t be something that she has to even think about."
She added, "Girls obviously shouldn’t be forced to have to compete against boys and have that choice of either compete against boys or don’t compete at all. That shouldn’t be a choice they have to make."
Ryan Tucker, ADF senior counsel and director of its Center for Christian Ministries, said Vermont’s sports dispute is part of a broader religious-liberty fight. Tucker oversees ADF litigation involving churches, Christian ministries and religious schools.
"Unfortunately, religious schools, religious people overall in the state of Vermont have been under a constant attack for several decades," Tucker told Fox News Digital. "The discrimination, the hostility that was shown in the sports context is one piece of a broader pattern of problems in the state."
He pointed to other disputes involving religious schools and public benefit programs, including dual enrollment, early college and town tuitioning.
"Every time that we either win a case to open the state up or the United States Supreme Court decides an opinion that really should settle the issue, Vermont looks for a workaround," Tucker said.
After the $566,000 settlement, he said, "I think the state will hopefully think twice about taking a similar action since it cost half a million dollars this go-around."
"If Vermont continues to discriminate against people of faith, we’re gonna be there to get their back and take the state to court if we need to," Tucker said. "My hope is that at some point Vermont will get the message: the U.S. Constitution is supreme."
The legal fight is also moving into a new phase: accountability for past seasons.
The Supreme Court ruling did not award damages to female athletes affected by transgender athlete policies. But lawsuits by Riley Gaines against the NCAA and by Brooke Slusser against San Jose State and the Mountain West Conference seek damages for women who say they lost equal opportunities, privacy, safety or fair competition under policies that allowed transgender-identifying male athletes to compete in women’s sports.
Bill Bock, an attorney leading those cases for the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, said the ruling undermines institutions’ argument that Title IX required them to allow biological males identifying as female into women’s sports.
"They had no basis for what they did to women," Bock told Fox News Digital.
Former University of Arizona swimmer Marshi Smith, co-founder of ICONS, said the ruling was major but incomplete.
"We’re lacking accountability still," Smith said, pointing to titles, records, roster spots and scholarships that female athletes say they lost.
That question resonates with Kenyon, who said athletic opportunities shaped her adult life. She maintained her scholarship, got a nursing degree, works as an emergency room nurse and said sports helped pave the way for her future.
"That scholarship got me my education, my career, and literally has had an impact on the future that I’ve paved for myself," Kenyon said. "When a male competes in female athletics, women are sidelined with nowhere to go."
Kenyon said girls who lost medals and podium places deserve more than a symbolic win.
"We need to give the rewards to the women who won them," she said. "There are so many women who took first place and didn’t get their trophy or their medal, or were on a podium and never got to be on the podium."
Waggoner said the Supreme Court’s Title IX reasoning is now central to ADF’s next lawsuits. The court, she said, answered whether states can recognize biological distinctions in sports, but not whether they must.
"The logic behind the decision does help answer that question because the court recognized these differences are real, they matter," Waggoner said. "For every time a boy takes a girl’s position, it takes away an equal opportunity to a girl."
"Title IX, the whole purpose behind it is to provide equal opportunities to women and girls," she added. "So we believe it’s a violation of Title IX, and we will continue to litigate until we win that issue."
The NCAA changed its transgender athlete policy in 2025 to limit women’s competition to student-athletes assigned female at birth, and the Supreme Court’s opinion noted that the NCAA, USOPC and IOC had all drawn sex-based lines for female competition.
Waggoner hopes to see elite female athletes who benefited from Title IX speak out.
"There’s no room for cowardice. There’s only room for courage, and it’s never too late to speak out on behalf of women and girls," Waggoner said. "The equal opportunities that so many of those athletes have benefited from because of Title IX should be available to those who come behind."
Kenyon said backlash exists, but she believes it is smaller than it sounds.
"I did receive backlash and messages, but I was flooded with support, and that really kept me going," she said. "There really is a loud minority out there."
She said the Supreme Court did more than hand her side a legal win.
"I’m grateful that the Supreme Court not only ruled in our favor, but they addressed biological reality throughout their entire decision," Kenyon said.
For Hoefer, the next step is less abstract. It is not only about Title IX, state statutes, federal funding or athletic associations.
It is about Washington. It is about a little sister entering high school. It is about a state where, she says, girls still have no relief.
"Honestly, I think it just comes down to people like me speaking up," Hoefer said. "The more people speak out, parents advocate, people advocate, administrations advocate, then it’ll just kind of be an overtaking of the show of people who do think that this is wrong."
She paused on the reason she wants that change sooner rather than later.
"My little sister is now a freshman in high school," Hoefer said. "And I cannot even imagine her being in a situation where she has to compete against a boy."
Former Obama press aide accused of stealing cash, credit cards, from Minneapolis coworkers to buy kratom
A former deputy press secretary for the Obama administration was fired from his Minneapolis city job last week after allegedly stealing cash and credit cards from city employees to purchase an herbal supplement used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms.
Adam Fetcher, 42, who served as a communications officer for the city for a year before he was terminated, allegedly stole from his fellow city employees after returning from a work-approved, weeks-long rehabilitation program, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has received the case from authorities and is reviewing it, a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital has also reached out to Fetcher's attorney and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for further comment.
Fetcher was captured on surveillance cameras at a Minneapolis smoke shop purchasing kratom, which is used to treat opioid withdrawal symptoms but carries its own risk of addiction.
He allegedly stole a charge card from a city employee's purse and made a $481 purchase at the Minneapolis Tobacco & Vapor shop, less than a mile from his home, the newspaper reported. Store manager Hamza Zamara said staff helped investigators identify Fetcher as the man who allegedly used fraudulent cards to make the purchase.
Authorities zeroed in on the shop after a woman called the store claiming that someone had made a purchase using her card without permission. When Fetcher visited the shop again, employees took pictures of him and followed him outside, the news report states. They later gave investigators Fetcher's vehicle’s license plate number.
OHIO BROTHERS WHO POSED AS MIDDLE EASTERN ROYALTY RECEIVE LENGTHY SENTENCE FOR $21M FRAUD SCHEME
"We told him, ‘Hey, we know what you’re doing,’" Zamara said.
Fetcher, who earned $186,000 annually, was fired on July 1.
"Under Adam’s leadership, the Communications team has reorganized, is fully staffed, and is well positioned to manage the City’s Communications needs," City Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher wrote in an email to staff announcing the termination.
The email did not explain the circumstances of Fetcher's departure. However, Kelliher wrote in a separate memo that several city employees had reported missing cash, debit, or credit cards, as well as unauthorized charges, noting the incidents happened between mid-May and June.
"I know this information may be concerning and troubling, and I want to assure you that the City takes this sort of report seriously and has acted accordingly," she wrote, according to the email obtained by the Star Tribune. "Although we cannot provide additional details, we have no reason at this time to believe there is any ongoing risk of theft."
In addition to serving as deputy national press secretary for the Obama administration, Fetcher went on to hold senior communications roles for Patagonia, Rivian, and Lyft.
Maine contender to replace Platner grilled on response to public health crisis, Dem senator opposing his run
CNN host Brianna Keilar grilled Dr. Nirav Shah on Friday, shortly after he threw his hat into the ring for a Senate seat in Maine as embattled Graham Platner withdrew, citing Democratic Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s blistering criticism of his record.
Shah finished second in Maine's Democratic gubernatorial primary, but faces stiff opposition from parts of his own party regarding his past record. Duckworth, a combat veteran herself, revived prior criticism of how he handled a deadly Legionnaires’ disease outbreak during his tenure leading Illinois’ public health department.
"Maine deserves better than someone who put his public image before the safety of our Veterans," she wrote Thursday on X. "Too many of our heroes lost their lives under Nirav Shah’s watch as Illinois Public Health Director. I called for his resignation then, and I strongly oppose his run for Senate now."
"So as soon as you threw your hat in the ring for this Senate seat, as you are well aware, Illinois senator and combat veteran Tammy Duckworth opposed your run, citing your handling of outbreaks of Legionnaires disease at an Illinois veterans home that killed 13 people starting in 2015," Keilar noted on Friday, asking him for his response to Duckworth’s X post.
DEADLY LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE OUTBREAK SPARKS CONCERN IN MAJOR US CITY: KNOW THE SYMPTOMS
"Well, the outbreak that she‘s referring to back in 2015 was tragic," he said. "And sadly, American veterans lost their lives. And I deeply respect Sen. Duckworth and her service to this country. In this respect, I happen to disagree with her. The health department, in the setting of a legionnaires outbreak, responds to the scene of an emergency, much like the fire department does."
He added further, "In this situation, we responded after the outbreak was underway. We helped tamp it down, and we made sure that the outbreak didn‘t get any worse than it already was. This outbreak was carefully reviewed by the CDC and others. And indeed, after that outbreak, Maine‘s Democratic governor and indeed the Biden Administration both hired me for top public health positions."
Keilar proceeded to grill him, claiming that the fire department comparison is incorrect because the fire department is known for quick responses to crises.
"So I know you‘re saying they responded like the fire department would," she said. "The fire department normally responds very quickly. And I know that you have said you are proud of the response, which is certainly in line with what you‘re saying today. You said it was quick, coordinated and responsive. But aside from what we‘re hearing from the senator, Illinois’ auditor general did a pretty in-depth investigation and a report which specifically outlined how the response was none of the things that you‘re describing."
"Maine voters are known for being very independent. They want it told to them straight. How can they rely on you to be straight with them during tough times, when certainly that report is very different from how you were describing your then department‘s response to this Legionnaires' disease?" she asked. "For instance, it was, I think, about three days after it was confirmed that there were multiple cases of Legionnaires before they even went to the veterans’ home."
"Well, that latter part is not correct. The county health department was in immediate contact with the facility. And then, as the situation evolved, they then looped in the state health department. And that‘s when we became involved," Shah replied.
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"In any outbreak in crisis situation, we can always improve the coordination between state, county and federal officials," he added.
Shah went on to defend his record, particularly his service during the COVID-19 pandemic as a time he showed leadership in a time of crisis.
"I learned a lot during the legionnaire’s crisis, and I am a better leader for it," he said. "If what we demand are leaders who are unblemished, then what we will end up with are leaders who are untested. I have been a tested leader, and I am a better leader as a result."