San Fran Journalist Writes ‘The Dumbest Thing I’ve Read This Year,’ Attacks ‘Save Girls Sports’ [WATCH]

T-shirts advocating for the protection of girls’ sports have ignited a firestorm of debate, with some labeling the apparel as “transphobic.”

An opinion piece published in the San Francisco Chronicle by columnist Soleil Ho condemned the shirts as the “next MAGA hat” and accused them of promoting harmful rhetoric against the transgender community.

SF Chronicle “cultural critic” Soleil Ho says this is “transphobic apparel” that is “terrorizing” male athletes who are destroying girls sports. https://t.co/zjoJsnxuFJ pic.twitter.com/MrWjT0mraG

— Jared Sichel (@realjaredsichel) January 3, 2025

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The debate was fueled by an incident at a high school in Riverside, California, where two female cross-country athletes wore shirts reading “Save Girls’ Sports” and “It’s Common Sense. XX ≠ XY.”

The students donned the shirts in protest after a transgender athlete, who reportedly did not meet key varsity eligibility requirements, was placed on the varsity team, displacing one of them.

School officials allegedly forced the students to remove or conceal the shirts, arguing that the apparel created a “hostile” environment.

According to reports, administrators compared wearing the shirts to displaying a swastika in front of Jewish students.

Two girls are suing their California school after an athletic director there told them that they couldn’t wear their “SAVE GIRLS” shirts because they were “like swastikas.”

The shirts also said on the back, “It’s common sense, XX does not equal XY.”

These girls deserve justice! pic.twitter.com/oYeEH8wSjY

— Paul A. Szypula (@Bubblebathgirl) November 23, 2024

In response, the girls filed a lawsuit against the school district, claiming violations of their First Amendment rights and Title IX protections, which are meant to ensure equality in educational and athletic opportunities.

Soleil Ho, a cultural critic and former producer of the Racist Sandwich podcast, penned a scathing critique of the T-shirts and the broader movement they represent.

In the article titled “Is this the next MAGA hat? Transphobic apparel is the new hotness,” Ho dismissed the shirts as “anti-trans activewear” and argued that they perpetuate misinformation.

“On a basic level, not all cis women even have XX chromosomes, so these shirts make no sense. What are we even arguing about?” Ho wrote, adding that such protests “terrorize” the local transgender community and contribute to T-shirt sales rather than meaningful dialogue.

Ho also accused former Levi’s executive Jennifer Sey, founder of XX-XY Athletics, of profiting from the controversy.

Sey has been vocal about the Riverside case and supports the production of apparel advocating for biological distinctions in sports.

The opinion piece sparked widespread backlash online, with many critics accusing Ho of misrepresenting scientific facts and downplaying the concerns of female athletes.

Jennifer Sey responded on X (formerly Twitter), calling the article “the dumbest thing I’ve read this year so far.” Sey defended the shirts, arguing that “truth is the new ‘hotness,’” and refuted Ho’s claims that “sex, like gender, is a spectrum.”

“No—studies do not show that sex is a spectrum,” Sey wrote. “Yes, there are many ways a woman ‘can look.’ That isn’t what’s at play here. In fact, we’d really like it if this ‘movement’ stopped telling more masculine girls that they are probably boys.”

This article wins for the dumbest thing I’ve read this year so far.

Though I’m ok with the headline. Yes truth is the new “hotness.”

Here’s a fun part:

“Studies of human genetics show that sex, like gender, is a spectrum, and the cases of female athletes like Algerian boxer… pic.twitter.com/ZD0eb1WVKp

— Jennifer Sey (@JenniferSey) January 3, 2025

The incident has brought renewed attention to the contentious debate over the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports.

Supporters of the T-shirts argue that allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports undermines fairness and decades of progress made under Title IX.

A 16 year old female athlete who has a MALE on her team spoke out at the RUSD board meeting.

“And it is not OK that I have to be in a position where I’m going to practice and having to see a male in booty shorts and having to see that around me. As a 16-year-old girl, I don’t… pic.twitter.com/QSHJotvTBJ

— Sophia Lorey (@SophiaSLorey) November 22, 2024

Opponents, like Ho, view the movement as discriminatory and harmful to transgender youth.

As the Riverside lawsuit moves forward, the case underscores the ongoing clash between free speech, gender identity, and the rights of female athletes.

The issue continues to divide public opinion, with both sides claiming to champion equality and fairness.

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