These female athletes need to speak up about keeping women's sports for women, like Sophie Cunningham did

The issue of biological men participating in women’s sports has been a major issue for years now. It’s a polarizing debate among people from the highest offices in government to everyday citizens.Yet despite the prominence of this issue and conversation, many of the world’s most influential female sports stars have never publicly addressed it.

Some have, unfortunately, openly and unapologetically supported male "inclusion," while others have offered carefully measured responses. Shockingly, many have simply never been asked about it, from what I can see in the public record.Sophie Cunningham became one of just a handful of prominent female athletes to take a strong stance in the effort to "protect young girls" by keeping women’s sports female.

Cunningham’s statements have made me wonder what exactly some of the most prominent female athletes (past and present) have said on the issue.SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM SPEAKS OUT TO PROTECT GIRLS AS WNBA ALL-STAR INITIATIVE BACKS ‘GENDER-EXPANSIVE’ GROUPSimone Biles became one of the highest-profile female athletes to directly weigh in on the issue in June 2025 during her public feud with Riley Gaines on X.Biles, arguably the most influential and popular female athlete currently competing today, criticized Gaines after commenting on a Minnesota high school softball championship team, which was playing with a male.

Biles wrote that Gaines was "truly sick" and later argued that sports organizations should find ways for transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports, rather than excluding them altogether. A wildly anti-woman take, if you ask me.After receiving relentless backlash, Biles apologized for her personal attacks against Gaines, but did not retract her support for "inclusion."

Biles, when speaking to media following the dispute, reaffirmed that she supports "inclusion," while acknowledging the conversation around fairness is complex in her opinion.WNBA PLAYER FACES BACKLASH OVER OP-ED CRITICIZING IOC FOR POLICY TO PROTECT WOMEN'