Latest news with #sportsprotest
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
Girls' track and field athletes don't stand on podium next to trans athlete at Oregon state championship
A pair of girls' track and field athletes did not stand on the medal podium alongside a transgender athlete for high jump at the Oregon state championship on Saturday night. Footage obtained by Fox News Digital showed the two high school seniors, Reese Eckard of Sherwood High School and Alexa Anderson of Tigard High School, step down from their respective spots on the podium next to a trans athlete who represented Ida B. Wells High School. Eckard, in fourth place, and Anderson, in third, each finished ahead of the trans athlete, who tied for fifth place. But the two females faced the opposite direction as the other competitors received their medals from officials. The footage then showed an official confront the two young women, and gesture for them to move away. Eckard and Anderson were then seen walking away from the podium and standing off to the side. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Oregon School Activities Association for a response. The trans athlete previously competed in the boys' category in 2023 and 2024, Fox News Digital previously reported. Eckard and Anderson were praised for not standing on the podium on social media, and were even shouted out by prominent conservative activist Riley Gaines. Girls and women making symbolic gestures to protest trans inclusion in sports has become a growing trend in 2025. On May 17 at a California track and field sectional final, Reese Hogan of Crean Lutheran High School stepped from the second-place spot onto the first-place medal podium after her trans opponent, AB Hernandez stepped down from it. Hogan's stunt was lauded on social media by Gaines and others. On April 2, footage of women's fencer Stephanie Turner kneeling to protest a trans opponent at a competition in Maryland, and subsequently getting punished for it, went viral and ignited global awareness and scrutiny against USA Fencing. Oregon is one of many Democratic-controlled states that saw transgender athletes compete in girls' track and field championships this weekend, with other highly-publicized incidents taking place in California, Washington, Maine and Minnesota. The America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a nonpartisan research institute, filed a Title IX discrimination complaint against Oregon for its laws that allow biological males to compete in girls' sports on May 27. The complaint was filed to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, which has already launched Title IX investigations against the high school sports leagues in California, Minnesota, Maine and Massachusetts. "Every girl deserves a fair shot – on the field, on the podium, and in life," said Jessica Hart Steinmann, AFPI's executive general counsel and vice chair of the Center for Litigation, in a statement. "When state institutions knowingly force young women to compete against biological males, they're violating federal law and sending a devastating message to female athletes across the country." President Donald Trump signed the "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order on Feb. 5 and his administration has made combating the continued enabling of trans athletes in girls' sports by Democratic states a priority. The U.S. Department of Justice has already launched a lawsuit against Maine for its defiance of Trump's executive order, and the president suggested on Tuesday that federal funding pauses could be coming against California amid the situation involving Hernandez. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
BreakingNews.ie
15-05-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Camogie finals to go ahead with teams playing under protest over skorts rule
This weekend's camogie provincial finals will go ahead despite players battling for the right to wear shorts, with the teams saying on Wednesday that they intend to play but will do so under protest. The sport hit the headlines recently with athletes protesting a rule which allows them to wear a skirt, skort or divided skirt, but not shorts. Advertisement Last weekend's Munster final was postponed after Cork and Waterford had announced they would wear shorts and not change into skorts, and Saturday's Leinster senior and intermediate finals were at risk of suffering the same fate. All four teams, Kilkenny, Wexford, Carlow and Laois, issued a statement saying they will wear shorts and want their choice to be respected but if the rule is enforced they will change into skorts, solely to ensure the matches are not abandoned. "As part of this protest, we do not consent to any photography or video to be taken of the matches themselves, should we be forced to wear skorts," the statement said. "We call on the Leinster Council to ensure this is enforced and we ask both the media and supporters to respect our position." Two motions to introduce shorts were defeated last year, but after player, media and political pressure, the Camogie Association of Ireland called a special congress for May 22nd where another vote will be held on the matter.
Irish Times
14-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Teams involved in Leinster camogie finals will play under protest in skorts if not allowed wear shorts
The four teams involved in Saturday's Leinster camogie finals will play under protest in skorts should they not be allowed wear shorts. The Leinster senior double header at Netwatch Cullen Park involving Kilkenny v Wexford in the senior final and Carlow v Laois in the intermediate decider is set to be the latest battleground in the controversy between players and the Camogie Association. All four teams will take to the field in shorts but will step back from their protest if their games are threatened with abandonment. A statement from all four panels states: 'This weekend, following months of training and preparation, we are scheduled to go head to head for Leinster titles. Today we come together, united, to make an almost impossible choice because camogie authorities refuse to do so. READ MORE 'We will be togged out in shorts at Netwatch Cullen Park on Saturday and we want our choice to be respected. However, if the current outdated rule is enforced we will change into skorts solely to ensure the games are not abandoned. We will play the games under protest. 'As part of this protest we do not consent to any photography or video to be taken of the matches themselves should we be forced to wear skorts. We call on the Leinster Council to ensure this is enforced, and we ask both the media and supporters to respect our position. 'We have made this decision based on the belief and trust that players will be listened to and heard. We expect camogie delegates will vote for choice at Special Congress on May 22nd, and that no further protest will be necessary. We stand steadfastly with our fellow players in demanding that choice.' Their stance comes just days after the Munster senior camogie final between Cork and Waterford was postponed because both squads said they would be wearing shorts.
BreakingNews.ie
12-05-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Ireland women's boss Ward stunned by 'ludicrous' camogie shorts ban
Ireland women's team manager Carla Ward was left shocked by the current camogie controversy where players are protesting for the right to wear shorts, describing the situation on Monday as ludicrous and crazy. Camogie has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons with teams protesting a rule which allows them to wear a skirt, skort or divided skirt, but not shorts. Advertisement Former Aston Villa manager Ward took over the Ireland job in January, and the Englishwoman could scarcely believe what she was hearing when told about the issue. "It's absolutely ludicrous," Ward told RTÉ. "I'll be honest, some of the staff shared it a couple of weeks ago when it first happened, and I actually did say, 'is this some sort of joke?'. "I think it's absolutely mental to be even having these conversations in 2025." Advertisement Two motions to introduce shorts were defeated at last year's Camogie Association of Ireland congress, but after player and political pressure, a special congress has been called for May 22nd where another vote will take place. Ward, however, insisted further change is needed, after she was asked if she believed the rule does not consider the players' wishes. "100%, but what does that say about the people at the top," Ward said. "Should they really be there or should they probably move on and pass the baton to a younger generation." Advertisement In 2017, members of the Irish women's soccer team threatened to boycott a match over what they called "humiliating" working conditions. One of those players was Louise Quinn, who made her final club appearance for Birmingham City at the weekend after the defender recently announced her retirement from football at the end of this season, but she may yet add to her 121 Ireland caps. "She has made herself available until the summer," Ward said. "So we've had a few conversations and she's such a top pro. I think one thing we've lacked is leaders. "I said that we need to create new leaders. Do I think Lou can play a part in helping those young players breed leadership? Absolutely, I do." Ward names her squad next week for Ireland's upcoming Nations League games against Turkey and Slovenia. - Reuters
Arab News
10-05-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Swedish club not skirting around shorts issue as they back Irish camogie players
STOCKHOLM: Camogie players in Sweden have turned the clock back by wearing a kit from a bygone age in a show of solidarity with colleagues in Ireland currently protesting for the right to wear shorts. The Irish sport hit the headlines this week for all the wrong reasons with players, tired of a rule outlawing the wearing of shorts, ramping up protests, ultimately leading to the late postponement of Saturday's Munster final. Camogie is the female version of hurling, a ball sport played with wooden sticks, often likened to a mix between lacrosse and hockey, with a little rugby thrown in because of its physicality. Wherever you go in the world, from Uganda to Vietnam, you are likely to find people playing Ireland's national sports. Sweden is no different, and Irishwoman Michelle Cotter set up the hurling and camogie teams at Stockholm Gaels. 'The goal was to do something over here to show the players back home that their impact is reaching much further than the island of Ireland,' Cotter told Reuters. The Camogie Association of Ireland's rules state that playing gear must include skirt, skort or divided skirt, but a recent survey showed that 83 percent of players want the choice to include shorts. The Stockholm club, which includes not only Irish players and local Swedes but women from Australia, Austria, the US, Britain, France and Spain, took things back to even before the days of skorts, when players wore skirts down to their ankles. The first set of camogie rules, drawn up in 1903, stated skirts should be worn no more than six inches from the ground and, while things have improved, two motions to introduce shorts were defeated at last year's Camogie Association congress. 'Given none of us even own skorts, we togged out for training in skirts and dresses,' Cotter, who also coaches and plays on the team, said. 'It felt every bit as ridiculous as it looked.' There is still hope for change following all the media attention and controversy of the past week, after the association agreed to hold a special congress on May 22 to vote again on a motion to allow the wearing of shorts.
