Relatable with Allie Beth Stuckey - Ep 565 | The Women Saving Women's Sports | Guest: Ainsley Erzen

Episode Date: February 16, 2022

Today we're talking about women, women's sports, and the men trying to take it over. Despite the obvious objective differences between men and women, there are still people who think it's totally okay for them to compete together — as if trans swimmer Lia Thomas isn't setting records left and right and absolutely wrecking his competition (actual women). Then, we talk to high school track champion Ainsley Erzen about going off to compete in college sports only to find that she will have to compete against men and about her recent op-ed in the Des Moines Register calling for women's sports to be preserved for women. --- Timecodes: (0:00) Introduction (1:58) Should swimmer Lia Thomas be allowed to compete against women? (30:02) Interview with Ainsley Erzen, high school track athlete --- Today's Sponsors: CB Distillery helps you to sleep better, relieves discomfort after physical activity, & gives you a little peace & calm these days. Go to CBDistillery.com & use promo code 'ALLIE' to save 20% off your order. No prescription needed. Reliefband is the #1 FDA-cleared anti-nausea wristband that has been clinically proven to quickly relieve nausea & vomiting associated with motion sickness, anxiety, migraines, hangovers, morning sickness, chemotherapy & much more. Go to Reliefband.com & use promo code 'ALLIE' to save 20% off your order, plus free shipping! Good Ranchers's packaging makes it easy to cook their craft beef & better-than-organic chicken when you want, & to save the rest which keeps you from wasting anything. Their animals are ethically raised & sustainably sourced. Order your American meat today at GoodRanchers.com/ALLIE & use promo code 'ALLIE' to save $25 off the already low prices. --- Show Links: Duke University: "Comparing Athletic Performances: The Best Elite Women to Boys & Men" https://bit.ly/3HUpLeQ Ainsley's Op-Ed in the Des Moines Register: "Opinion: Iowa Girls Are Relying on Athletic Union to Preserve Girls Sports" https://bit.ly/3691L9M --- Previous Episode Mentioned: Ep 335: Understanding the Biblical Telos of Gender https://apple.co/3LEZS56 --- Buy Allie's book, You're Not Enough (& That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love: https://alliebethstuckey.com/book Relatable merchandise: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey

Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV

or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. Hey guys, welcome to Relatable. Happy Wednesday. This episode is brought to you by our friends at Good Ranchers American Meat Delivered Kraft Beef Better Than Organic Chicken Chipped right to your front door. Go to good ranchers.com slash alley. All right, guys, today we are talking about women's sports. We are talking about Leah Thomas, the so-called transgender swimmer, who, surprise, surprise, is dominating collegiate women's swimming. We're going to talk about this developing story, why Leah Thomas is actually able

officially to compete. There was an open letter that was written by. other swimmers anonymously at the University of Pennsylvania saying it is not fair for this man to compete against women. So we'll get into that and why ultimately it was decided that Leah Thomas is allowed to compete against these female swimmers. We will also be talking to a female athlete who will be competing in track at the University of Arkansas next year. She wrote to this very compelling and articulate article for the Des Moines Register talking about the injustice, quite frankly, of men being able to compete against women. She is a wonderful advocate for

fairness in her sport. And it takes a whole lot of bravery to be a young person today and to speak out about this issue. On the unpopular side of this issue, she is a Christian. So we'll talk about how her faith in God really gave her the strength and the courage to speak out about this. But first, let's talk about this Leah Thomas. And to start off, those of you who listen to this podcast and who know me and who know my views on this, this is going to be a little bit repetitive for you. But for those of you who may be new, I do not use incorrect pronouns to describe someone. So that means that I am not going to say that a man is a woman. Biology is not bigotry.

Therefore, calling a man a he is not bigoted. It's not mean. It's not lacking empathy or compassion. Because I am wedded to reality and because I feel an obligation or responsibility to articulate reality, I am not going to call Leah Thomas she. That is not because I hate him. that is not because I am purposely trying to be inflammatory or rude. It is because I feel an obligation to the truth.

Now, I will call previously Will Thomas Leah Thomas because someone changing their name. You can change your name to anything you want to, and I'll call you that. If you want to call yourself, you know, German Shepherd Dog, I will call you German Shepherd Dog, if that is your new name, that's fine. But I am not going to actually say that you are a dog. You are a human being. Leah Thomas is a man. So I am going to use He-Ham pronouns because I care about reality.

And I reject this idea that gender identity, so-called, and biology are separate categories. They're simply not, not biblically, but also not scientifically. We have talked many times. will link the episode in the description of this episode that the so-called, and I'm going to use that phrase a lot today because, again, I'm using the language that we are used to in this conversation, but that actually isn't accurate. The so-called science of gender identity started in the 1960s. Its philosophical legacy is really hundreds of years old, and we've talked about that before, but it is not based in biology. It is not based in any actual science. It is based

on junk psychology. And it's damaging people, not just the people who are pushed into gender transition or pushed into damaging surgeries, but also it is hurting. It is hurting women and girls whose spaces and whose athletic competitive events are now being infiltrated by men and boys that they will never be able to fairly compete against because gender identities don't compete in sports. Bodies do. And boys and girls, men and women's bodies are fundamentally different. We're very similar, but we're fundamentally different. I will remind you, again, we've talked about this, about the Duke University study that came out a couple years ago. We've cited it on this show, and we will link it again so you can read it for yourself. You do not have to

take my word for it. shows that the fastest times of the best fastest female track stars in the world are beat thousands of times, are dominated thousands of times by non-elite high school boys every year. This is a summary of the study, which again, you should read in depth on your own. Quote, if you know sport, you know this beyond a reasonable doubt. There is an average of 10 to 12% performance gap between elite males and elite females. The gap is smaller between elite females and non-elite males, but it is still insurmountable, and that is ultimately what matters. So they talk about how an Olympic female track star that the times, the record times that she has is routinely beaten, dominated by high school non-elite

boys in track. That's pretty incredible. That tells you something about the fundamental differences between male and female. The study goes on. This differential is not the result of boys and men having a male identity. More resources, better training, or superior discipline. It is because they have an androgyized body. The results make clear that sex determines winshare. Female athletes, here defined as athletes with ovaries instead of testes and testosterone levels capable of being produced by the female non-androgenized body are not competitive for the win against males.

This is Duke University, okay? This is not like Alley's Stucky Narratives.com, okay? Here to find, are not competitive for the win against males. Here to find as athletes with testes and T levels in the male range. The lowest end of the male range is three times higher than the highest end of the female range

consistent with females far lower T levels. The female range is also very narrow, the male range is broad. Now, maybe you're saying, okay, but if a transgender athlete goes on hormone therapy, so, you know, they're on hormone therapy and so their testosterone levels are lower, doesn't that just even the playing field? That doesn't, that means that a man who decides to be on, you know, estrogen hormone therapy for several years, that they'll just be the same as any woman. No, no, no. That's not how it works. If you have to, first of all, boys are born. with far more testosterone in the girls.

The differences between male and female happen in the womb. Then they lower. And boys and girls, when they're young, they have similar, not the same, but they have a similar range of testosterone levels. And then puberty hits. And then that's when things change very drastically for boys. They start producing a lot more testosterone that women never produce. That is what makes their bones more dense.

That's what gives them anaerobic, higher anaerobic. and aerobic capacity. That's what gives them greater muscle mass. Also, their brains work differently. And so if a man goes through puberty, then that means that he will never, no matter what surgery that he has, no matter what hormone therapy that he has put on, that he has put on, he will never, ever be able to fairly compete against a woman because his body has been changed irreversibly, irrevocably, when he went through puberty. So it definitely, doesn't matter that this person, Will Thomas, has been on some kind of hormone treatment. I mean, if you've seen pictures, you can see his shoulders, you can see his muscle mass,

you know that this is not a woman. And if you're trying to convince yourself in your mind that he is a woman, just stop, stop, stop trying to buy into the lunacy. You will make yourself absolutely crazy. This is a man competed against women. He went through puberty as a man. Therefore, it doesn't matter how much estrogen he puts into his body. He will always be a man and it will never be fair for him to compete against a woman. You want to know what shows this so hilariously in this clown world that we are living in? He was number 462 in men swimming when he was competing as Will Thomas. Now that he is Leah Thomas, he has ranked number one in women's swimming. You think that's just a coinky dink? You think that just happened? That all of a sudden he just,

oh, he just got so much better. No, it's because he is competing against women. And women are weaker. We don't have the same lung capacity. We have smaller hearts. We have smaller muscle mass in general. Our bones are less ends. We just can't do it.

That is not mean that female athletes aren't amazing and awesome. Of course they are. They can't compete against men. We've known this for literally all of human history, guys. For all of human history. It's insane. It's insane. It's insane.

and you don't have to be insane. Okay, you have a choice today, people. You have a choice to be sane. That is not me that you have to be mean to people who believe that they're transgender or who identify as transgender. This is not me lacking compassion for people who are confused about their gender. This is me having an abundance of compassion, teeming with compassion for the people that this affects, this negatively affects female athletes, people who are,

unable to compete fairly despite the fact that they have worked so hard in their in their events and in their in their in their in their sport let me read you a little bit more about what has gone on because you'll hear in the media that well you know all of all of lea thomas's teammates are totally supportive of him of course the media says her are totally supportive like there's no reason why are people freaking out about this? Oh, it's just those white evangelical Trump supporters. Again, all female athletes are totally happy with this. It's all about inclusivity. It's all about just being happy. And we're just going to forget that there are any differences between men and women. Well, that's not true. There was this open letter signed by 16 pin swimmers that say that

Leah Thomas should be barred from competition. And they were asking the NCAA to help them out with this. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort. We ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos.

If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen wherever you get podcasts. I hope you'll join us. So this is from Swimming World. Leah Thomas seated first in three events at this week's Ivy League championships, number two in fourth event. I would love to see how he will come in number two. that would be that would be quite incredible of course that could happen of course that's just because a man who identifies his woman might lose an event does not mean that this is all of a sudden fair like you'll remember the uh laurel hubbard i think i got kicked off twitter for saying that laurel hubbard is a man um but he can i think he competed in uh weightlifting for the Olympics over the summer and he was unable to like complete the event. And so everyone was like,

oh, this means that it's great for men to compete against women. Well, I can give you a thousand other examples of it going the other way. And so no, this is just a matter of reality. Even if Leah Thomas started losing all of his races, it doesn't actually make it fair. He still has a biological advantage over other women. So it's just, it doesn't, it really doesn't matter what the outcomes are, although the outcomes are very predictable and expected. It's still the principle of there being very significant differences here. And the ACLU would like to say, oh, you know, there are people trying to make sure that trans kids, that trans people can't play sports. That's not true at all.

I don't think they shouldn't be able to play sports. I think that they should be able to play sports against their sex. Because again, bodies compete. Gender identities do not. So this is according to the New York Post about the 16 swimmers that said, hey, yo, this is not fair. 16 pin swimmers say Leah Thomas should be barred from competition. Unfortunately, the New York Post, as well as some other outlets, including Fox News, and I believe I saw on National Review and some other outlets, they do use she, her pronouns for men.

So, you know, so much for the culture war. But New York Times says this. 16 members of the UPenn women's swimming team sent a letter anonymously to the school into Ivy League officials last Thursday. Well, this is, I think a couple weeks ago now, but to the school and to Ivy League officials last Thursday asking them to ban Leah from the upcoming NCAA championships. Here is part of what the letter says. And of course, they are using she her pronouns too, and I will read that. We fully support Leah Thomas in her decision to affirm her gender identity. to transition from a man to a woman. I almost think, though, that's like a little tongue in cheek

because if you really follow like the transgender activism, you're not even allowed to say that. You're not allowed to say transgender from or transition from a man to a woman. You have to say ridiculous language like assigned male at birth. And now they're having gender confirming therapy or gender affirming therapy or something like that. And so this ridiculous Orwellian idea is that they've really all. always been a woman, even though they were, you know, born with a male reproductive system, that that doesn't indicate what you actually are. What you actually are is what you declare yourself to be or what you say that you are, you know, when you're, when you have a certain

feeling at a certain age or whatever it is. So I almost think them even saying transition from a man to a woman is them trying to underscore that this is still a man. But they say to transition from a man to a woman. Leah has every right to live her life authentically. However, also, like, that's so ironic. Authentically, he is a man. That is authentically. You can feel a certain way, and you can even say that you feel a certain way. You can even ask people to respect that you want to identify something that's other than your biology. That doesn't actually, that still doesn't change your biology. And just because you are pretending to be something that you're not, does not mean that everyone else is obligated to pretend along with you. Okay. So,

However, we also recognize that when it comes to sports competition, that the biology of sex is a separate issue from someone's gender identity. They're exactly correct. Of course, I don't believe the gender identity and sex are separate, but that goes back to the point that we have been making that bodies are competing. Biologically, Leah holds an unfair advantage over competition in the women's categories, evidenced by her rankings that have balanced from number 462 as a male to number one as a female. If she were to be eligible to compete against us, she could now break Penn, Ivy, and NCAA. women's swimming records, feats she could have never done as a male athlete. True. So the letter was sent by Nancy Hog's head, McCar, a 1984 gold medalist in Olympic swimming. Good for her. She's also a lawyer and chief executive of champion women, which is a women's sports advocacy organization.

The swimmer slash teammates remained anonymous as they claimed they were told they would be removed from the team. Wow. Or that they would never get job offers if they spoke out again. spoke out again about Thomas being a part of women's competition. Again, I know other people have made this point. This point has been made many times, but man, the patriarchy strikes again. So women who just want an even playing field, who just want to compete fairly, they can't even speak up or they're being told by other men that they will be silenced, they will be kicked off the team, and they won't be able to get hired in the future if they speak up for their own right to compete fairly. And there are feminists who actually support this kind of thing. Now, to be fair,

there are a lot of people, a lot of conservatives that I hear, where are the feminists? Where are the feminists? There's no feminist talking about that. That's not true. There are a lot of feminists and feminist organizations who speak up about this. A lot of them, to be fair, are in the UK, good for them. But there are definitely, well, actually, Megan Murphy is not even American. I was going to say they're American feminists who also speak up about this, like Megan Murphy, whom we've had on this podcast, but she's actually Canadian. But there are, there are feminists who speak up against this, even if I really disagree with a lot of the feminists who are speaking up against this on a number of different, very important issues like abortion. I just want to acknowledge that there are

people who identify as feminists who are pushing back against the madness that men can become women. So the article goes on to say, earlier last week, a group of swimmers on the team released a statement in support of Thomas, which was in reaction to a different teammate telling Fox News that Thomas had a monumental advantage over her teammates and competitors. And so there are swimmers on the team who are apparently saying, oh, no, like we think it's great. We think it's great that he's competing. They're saying she, of course. I mean, yeah, because it also helps the university of Pennsylvania if they've got like this star, this star athlete.

So for those swimmers who did sign it, sign the open letter pushing back against this, but to, you know, fear their identities being, their identities being revealed and getting bullied and all of that. I mean, if any of you listen to this podcast, know that I support you if that is any consolation at all. And I know it can be really scary. I understand why you wanted to remain anonymous. I wish you didn't have to, but I am proud of you for even covertly trying to push back against this.

Now, this is according to the Daily Mail. Ivy League says transgender swimmer Leah Thomas will be eligible to compete in conference championship, but new rules leave her participation in the NCAA tournament in doubt. So this article says Thomas University of Pennsylvania Senior will be able to compete in the conference final scheduled for February 16th to 19th. So obviously that's coming up at Harvard University and Ivy League official told Swimming World magazine. Recent rule changes from the NCAA and USA swimming have thrown Thomas's ability to compete in the NCAA championships and to doubt. But the Ivy League confirmed that for this season, the new rules do not apply to any meets prior to the NCAA tournament. So the new rules, the new guidelines that were revealed by USA swimming say.

So it gives a more stringent threshold for testosterone. women's swimming. The new rule requires transgender swimmers competed in women's meats. Must show serum testosterone levels of less than five nanomole per liter for a continuous period of 36 months. Since Thomas began transitioning less than three years ago, the change could disqualify her. This article says the new guidelines did not mention Thomas by name, but were widely seen as making it harder for her to be able to compete. So they're saying that now the I League and the NCAA is saying, well, the rules don't apply this year. So Leah Thomas can continue to compete.

And then, of course, since he has been so-called transitioning for 33 months, by next season, it will be past 36 months. And so they're trying to find a way to get him to still be able to compete against women. And this is what the New York Times is also saying. The NCAA on Friday cleared the way for the swimmer. Leah Thomas, a transgender woman. What does that even mean? We don't know. Who has turned in the top

times in the country into events to compete in the NCAA championships next month. Say that implementing new rules for testosterone testing in the middle of the season would be unfair. The transgender athletes, I love that we're talking about unfairness, but only as it pertains to men, not the women that they are competing against. Thomas is expected to compete next week.

So that's this week. in the Ivy League championships in Boston, where she, the New York Times says, will be the favorite in the 200 and 500 freestyle races in which she has posted the best marks in the nation this season. Wow, wow, that's shocking. So apparently, it really doesn't matter. It really doesn't matter what other female swimmers say. It really doesn't matter what biology says. This is ideologically, politically, politically.

driven. This is what happens when superficial flimsy definitions of empathy, and I use that in air quotes, scare quotes, when that takes over rather than logic, rather than any kind of tethering to the truth, rather than our understanding of reality and fairness and justice, this is unfairness. This is injustice. This is insanity. And so for Christ, for Christ, Christians who are called to be reasonable, who love the bodies that God created, who loves the dichotomy of male and female. I mean, again, this is a Genesis one issue. For Christians, this is just like non-negotiable.

This isn't confusing or complex for the Christian. Maybe it is to people who adhere to a postmodern post-truth ideology. But for the Christian, again, this is foundational to what it means to be a human. This is rooted in the creation order. This is rooted in Genesis 1, which is reiterated throughout Scripture, which is repeated by Jesus himself in Matthew 19, that God made us male and female. There is no biblical category for gender identity. And because I believe that we are called not to lie, the most loving thing to do is to

affirm the reality of male and female. Remember, as we've said many times, God is love. That's what we know. We know from Scripture that God is love. So if he says something is true, then it is loving of us to repeat it. We cannot outlove God. We are not love. God is love.

We cannot out compassion him. So if he says something is true, then it is loving of us to simply affirm and to repeat that. It is loving of us, even if the world calls it hate, even if the world calls it bigotry, to say that a man is a man and a woman is a woman. for the sake of the protection of women and girls, for the sake of fairness and competition for women and girls, for the sake of the safety and security of women's only spaces. I'm talking about prisons. I'm talking about bathrooms. I'm talking about locker rooms. I'm talking about women's abuse shelters. For the sake of their security, we have to acknowledge sex differences

and to continue to separate in places where it's relevant and competitions where it's relevant men and women and boys and girls for the sake of privacy. And if you want to say this isn't happening that men are infiltrating these spaces, it absolutely is. Men are infiltrating women's prisons and abuse shelters and locker rooms and bathrooms. I mean, we hear of these instances happening on at least a monthly basis. That's just, those are just the incidents that we know of. So yes, this is happening. And I'm not saying that that characterizes every person who identifies as transgender. I'm not saying that at all. But this is an issue that will affect the more vulnerable weaker sex, which is women. I know that in itself is controversial to say,

but it's simply reality. It's simply true. Christians have an obligation to be so clear and so courageous in the truth because not only do we have biology that is urging us to adhere to the reality of men and women, but we also have our faith. We also have the biblical reality of male and female. We also have the God of the universe on our side. It's so far be it from us to go along with the insanity of this culture when we have sanity and theology and biology on our side. I know it can be scary to push back against this kind of thing when the bullies come out in full force. But as we will see in the interview that you're about to hear, courage begets courage. And we have to be the

the ones to stand up and share the arrows, especially for these young women who are speaking out and saying, this is not fair for me to have worked as hard as I have to be an elite athlete and to have it all taken from me because a man who has insurmountable advantages is taking the records and the titles and the scholarships that I have thought so hard for. That's not fair. So we have to be the ones on the front lines who are willing to stand up and say, you know what, you're right. We have to share those arrows and say, that's not fair. And our guest today is doing just that. And I know that her bravery is going to encourage you so much as well. Ainsley, thank you so much for joining us. Can you tell everyone just a little bit about who you are,

what you do? Yeah, so I'm a track runner and soccer player. Next year, I'm going to be going to the University of Arkansas to continue doing both of those. So that's really exciting. This summer, I ran the 800 meters at Nationals in Oregon, and I won that and set a state record. So that's kind of what's been going on in my life so far. That's amazing. Congratulations. You're from Iowa, going to the University of Arkansas. That's a great school. And you wrote this opinion piece for the Des Moines Register talking about the biological differences, between men and women, especially as is relevant for female athletes. Talk a little bit more about what you wrote and why you wrote it.

Yeah, so the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union recently put out a statement in the Gazette saying that they needed kind of advice and just direction on how to handle transgender athletes in women's sports since it's an issue that has been becoming more and more popular. And for anyone who doesn't know, we're one of the only states that has an athletic union, specifically for girls. So the fact that this is really their sole purpose and they're not doing their job was definitely something that was really frustrating to me. It doesn't really make sense, to be completely honest. And I think a lot of people in power who kind of have the opportunity to do something about this and whose voices really matter really weren't saying anything. No other girls were really stepping out to say anything.

I mean, you look at UPenn, what's happening there with their swim team. All of the girls there are too scared to say anything. It's kind of just widespread fear on this issue, I guess. And so I knew I had just a little bit of a platform through running through social media. So I just wanted to make sure I was doing everything I could to use my voice to speak out if no one else was going to. Tell us a little bit about the work that goes into being an athlete at your level because I was not. an athlete that is just not a gift that God gave me. And so honestly, I don't really know all of the time and the dedication and the sacrifice that goes in to being an athlete that is good enough to compete at the

collegiate level. So just tell us kind of about what your routine has been since you really started running at this level. Yeah, well, I train six days a week. A typical day for me, I usually have, you know, either weights or some sort of like speed and agility practice before school in the morning. So waking up at like 5.30 for that. And then when I get home from school, typically in the spring, I'll go straight to track practice. I usually have about a seven mile run. And then from there, I'll change real quick and then walk over to soccer practice. So it's a pretty busy schedule, but my younger sister, she does both track and soccer with me. So, and I have a lot of coaches and teammates that are just really, really supportive and understanding of how much I'm trying to juggle.

So it definitely takes an army, but I definitely have that. Yeah. You've committed a lot of your time and your energy to this. How does it make you feel the possibility of competing against males when you get to college? Is that like demoralizing or deflating? Tell us a little bit more about those emotions and reaction to that? For sure. I think for me, sports have always been something that I've kind of had to hand over to God. When I first started running in middle school, I honestly hated it because it's hard. It's so hard. And you go into the races knowing that you're going to feel awful during it and you just kind of have to suck it up and do your best. So that was something when I was younger,

I just couldn't handle. I would get so nervous. I would just feel sick the whole day because I just knew what was coming. And as I got older and I kind of grew in my faith also, I've just found joy in running because even though there is suffering, you know, you're doing it with your teammates, your family's there for you, your coaches are there for you. And I've just kind of been able to put my faith in God and know that as long as I give my best, that's going to be good enough with whatever he gives me in my legs that day. then knowing that, you know, a biological man could come into my race. And no matter how hard I work, he is just better. He's built different. God made him different. Obviously, you know, there are so many factors that go into that. We really shouldn't even have to be talking about it. That really, I think, takes away the true meaning behind sports and why so many girls love to do it.

I mean, all of the girls that I've met through track and field and soccer are all hardworking, majority of them Christian girls that trust that if they work hard and, they dream big that that God will help them accomplish those goals. And if we allow these men to come into our races, our soccer games, our swim meets, any of those things that kind of defeats that kind of defeats that purpose and takes away those opportunities. Yes. And that was something that you wrote in this piece, which is really well written. So great job on that. You say if you try to ignore biological differences, I guarantee there will be nothing left of women's sports. There will be no more Stenie McLaughlin, which, who is awesome, by the way, I love following her on

Instagram. No Serena Williams is who herself, by the way, she said several years ago, is amazing as she is. If she tried to compete against Andy Murray or any other tennis player, even a tennis player that is not as elite as she is in men's sports that she would lose every time. So even she, this powerhouse of an athlete, is admitting that she can't compete against men because as you said, there are biological differences. No Abby Wambachs, no female athletes that will be able to. to take the title of best whatever it is. How does that make you feel the idea that maybe there will be no more truly women's sports anymore? Yeah, it definitely is very demoralizing, I think, for all women. And it's not really just even about the girls that are competing right now.

It's about the women that came before us. It's about all the little girls that will, you know, come to compete in the future. And, you know, this summer, as I mentioned, I set the state record in the 800. And that was a record before that, you know, Joy Ripslinger and Shelby Hulahan, those women had set for me. And obviously, it was an extremely fast time. They are so extremely talented. And I'm so lucky that they were from Iowa and kind of set that standard for Iowa girls. But it's a time that was achievable.

And I think if we have these males coming up in the future that are allowed to compete with women, they're going to be setting times that are so far out of reach for girls. And that's not a knock on girls. That is just, you know, an acceptance of the reality that men are different. And they're going to be setting times that no girl, no girl can achieve no matter how hard she works. And so that's definitely very frustrating and definitely going to lead to some of that destruction of women's sports that I mentioned in the article. Yep. Bodies compete. So-called gender identities don't.

And that's what matters. And as you say in the article, that shouldn't even have to be sad. There should be more people speaking up. Well, I'm so thankful for you. I know it takes a lot of courage to talk about this because it's unpopular to talk about. Have you had any blowback, any pushback, or have you mostly had support? Yeah, I've definitely had a lot of both. I think the tough thing is, though, that a lot of the people that support me are,

quiet. And so that's pretty tough. And the people that don't support me are very, very loud and very consistent in voicing that. And, you know, it's no fun to go on my phone and see, like, all of these horrible things being said about me. But at the end of the day, everything they're saying are like personal attacks on my character, my faith, name calling, say I'm homophobic, transphobic. I'm just scared of losing. And as hard as it is to see those things, you know, I know my heart. I know everyone that knows me knows my heart. God knows my heart, which is most important at the end of the day and the fact that they can't think of anything else to say, you know, but name calling and those personal attacks I think tells me that I'm doing something right at the end

of the day. And, you know, even though that's not fun to see, I think what bothers me the most is just knowing how big of an issue this is and knowing how many people this impacts. And I just want to make sure I'm doing it justice because I know it is such an important issue. And I know that God has kind of put it on my heart for a reason. And I don't feel like I'm the best person to kind of stand up for this. You know, there are people that are smarter than me. There are people that are stronger than me, just more knowledgeable, more articulate, can just deal with these issues better. And I don't feel like that person quite honestly, but at the end of the day, I'm the one that was willing to speak up. So I've just been kind of trying to trust that because I was willing to do that,

God will kind of help put the things in me that I need to really carry this message. Well, I know that you don't know me, and so this doesn't carry a lot of weight, but I'm super proud of you and inspired by you. And truly, courage is contagious. Courage begets courage. So maybe you don't think that you're the best person. But as you said, and I know you already know this, God does equip the people that he calls. He doesn't necessarily call the people that might seem to the rest of the world like they are the ones that he should call, like the ones who are equipped, but he will equip you because he has called you to this. And your courage is in itself obedience. And it will bring glory to God because of that. And I love your humility as

well. It really is inspiring. So thank you for having the bravery in the midst of expected pushback and blowback and name calling. I know that you've got thick skin that's part of being an athlete at your level, but also no one likes, no one likes to be treated that way. No one likes to be named called as confident as anyone is. It's just not fun. So thank you for enduring that. Is there anywhere, and it's okay if there's not, but is there anywhere that people can reach out to you or follow you to send you just words of encouragement and support? Because there are thousands of people, tens of thousands of people who are going to be listening to this, watching this who are going to want to support you. Is there any way for people to do that?

Yeah, my Instagram is Inslee underscore Erzin and I really have been getting so much support from people there. Just lots of DMs, lots of, lots of super nice messages, just encouraging me and kind of reminding me that to stay strong in my faith that God will back truth. He is truth. So that really has been really helpful and has been something that's really encouraged me and and kept me going. Good. Well, thank you so much, Ainsley. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. Thank you so much. Okay, guys, as I said at the end of yesterday's episode, Friday, we are going to have a bonus birthday episode. I am turning 30 years old. I have mixed feelings about turning 30. It's a little, I don't know. It's just, it's a little weird. I mean, I'm thankful for every year that God

has given me, absolutely. And so much happened in my 20s. I'll talk more about that on Friday that I'm very thankful for and I just love the life that God has given me. But 30 just sounds really old. It just sounds really old to no longer be in my 20s. And so as I said on Instagram, I'm really going to milk it the next few days to talk about as someone who's just in my 20s, as a 20-something, as someone who's, you know, in my late late 20s. So I'm going to do that while I can. So you can expect that. Also, if you love this podcast, please leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. That would mean a whole lot. All right. I will see you guys back here tomorrow. Hey, this is Steve Day. If you're

listening to Allie, you already understand that the biggest issues facing our country aren't just political. They're moral, spiritual, and rooted in what we believe is true about God, humanity, and reality itself. On the Steve Day show, we take the news of the day and tested against first principles, faith, truth, and objective reality. We don't just chase narratives and we don't offer false comfort, we ask the hard questions and follow the answers wherever they leave, even when it's unpopular. This is a show for people who want honesty over hype and clarity over chaos. If you're looking for commentary grounded in conviction and unwilling to lie to you about where we are or where we're headed, you can watch this D-Day show right here on Blaze TV or listen

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