"Our girls. The line lands like parody. Grotesque and striking. A president whose policies have regularly harmed women, positioning himself as guardian of our girls. That's the absurd theater of American politics in 2025: women's sports as shield and sword in a fight that has little to do with athletics. What's become clear is that the Maga movement doesn't love women's sports; it loves them as a proxy."
"Players are sick of it. A'ja Wilson said it bluntly: People love to use us as an example, as a punchline, but they don't actually watch us play. Debates over trans athletes, Caitlin Clark getting fouled or protecting women's sports rarely include the voices of the women actually playing. When those voices are ignored, the vacuum fills with nonsense."
"Take, for example, rightwing voices such as Clay Travis and Tomi Lahren, who have both backed the Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports bill. They believe women should be protected in sports, yet laughed when sex toys were thrown on to courts during WNBA games this season. (The players did not find it amusing, nor presumably did the 12-year-old girl who was hit by one of the toys.)"
A presidential executive order framed as protecting "our girls" casts women's sports as a political weapon rather than an athletic concern. The MAGA movement treats women's sports as a proxy for broader gender and power anxieties. WNBA players express frustration at being used as examples or punchlines while fans and commentators ignore their actual performances. Debates over trans athletes and high-profile players frequently exclude the voices of the women competing. Rightwing supporters who claim to protect women's sports also mocked or encouraged disrespectful behavior at games, and some actions have physically endangered young spectators.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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