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Tuesday’s Supreme Court hearing on trans athletes in women’s sports inspired confidence that the majority of justices will side with the legal defense to “save women’s sports” and uphold state bans against biological males in those sports.
But some activists are far from satisfied with the way the hearing went.
Several female athletes linked to the case and others who rallied outside the court in support of the cultural movement spoke to PK Press Club Digital about their reactions to the hearing, the arguments and the judges’ questions.
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These women’s reactions at the hearing ranged from hopeful optimism about a historic decision to jaded disappointment at the judges’ positions and choice of words:
The accused
Female athletes in the case speak before the U.S. Supreme Court after the justices heard arguments on challenges to state bans on transgender athletes in women’s sports, January 13, 2026, in Washington, DC. On January 13, the United States Supreme Court addressed the hot-button issue of transgender athletes in women’s and women’s sports. (Olivier Contreras / AFP)
Madison Kenyan
Kenyan, a former Idaho State women’s cross country and track and field runner, is a voluntary defendant in the case Little v. Hecox, which she decided to join after having to compete against a trans athlete during her freshman year in 2019.
“It filled me with excitement and hope for future generations. It should never be about the rights of states to protect women’s athletics. I’m happy to see so many people stand up and support something as simple and true as this.”
Mary Kate Marshall
Marshall was Kenya’s teammate at Idaho State and had to experience competing against the trans athlete with Kenya, then joined in alongside her teammate.
“It’s always sad to see people who have been deceived by the lie that men can become women. No amount of hormones can do that. I hope more people will see biological reality for what it is: true and unchangeable.”
Lainey Armistead
Armistead, a former captain of the West Virginia State University women’s soccer team, intervened in the defense of West Virginia sports law in BPJ v. West Virginia.
“It’s been a long journey to get to the Supreme Court, so it was incredibly meaningful for me to see the argument in person. It was a great experience and I’m truly hopeful that the Court will protect women’s sports.”
INSIDE SCOTUS HEARING WOULD BE A TURNING POINT IN CULTURAL WAR AGAINST TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS
The demonstrators
Brooke Slusser
Former San Jose State University women’s volleyball star Brooke Slusser with her parents, Paul and Kim Slusser. (Courtesy of Kim Slusser)
Slusser, a former co-captain of women’s volleyball at San Jose State University, sued the NCAA, the Mountain West Conference and her school’s representatives after discovering that a teammate she had been rooming with and had moved on with was a biological male in 2024. Her story attracted immense media attention during an election-season news cycle and resulted in a federal investigation into the school.
“It was definitely surreal,” Slusser said of Tuesday’s event, and she looks forward to the case being resolved, adding that “not knowing what’s going to happen next and not getting an answer yet” is difficult for her.
Stephanie Turner
Stephanie Turner, an American fencer who refused to compete with a transgender athlete in high school, speaks before the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices hear arguments in challenges to state bans on transgender athletes in women’s sports, January 13, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Olivier Contreras / AFP)
Turner, a competitive fencer, became an overnight sensation in the “Save Women’s Sports” movement when images went viral of her kneeling to protest a trans opponent at a competition last spring. She was disqualified by USA Fencing for refusing to confront the opponent and has not competed in USA Fencing since.
“Let me say I was a little disappointed, not because there weren’t some very strong stances from the Supreme Court justices on the language, and they were capitulating to new age terms like cisgender.”
Payton McNabb
Payton McNabb was seriously injured after being struck in the head and neck by a spike from a transgender-identifying man on the opposing volleyball team. (Courtesy of IW Features and Payton McNabb)
McNabb suffered permanent brain damage when she was hit in the head with a volleyball by a trans athlete during a North Carolina high school game in 2022. McNabb has since become a leading activist in the movement and was honored by President Donald Trump’s 2025 joint address to Congress.
“It wasn’t long ago that many women were afraid to speak out on this issue. Now, seeing this issue taken seriously at the highest level and seeing people no longer afraid to stand up for women and girls was incredibly powerful. It reminded me of how far this movement has come and why it’s so important to continue speaking out.
“The hardest part was realizing that we have Supreme Court justices who cannot define what a woman is. To me, that takes away credibility. How can someone sit on the highest court in the land and not understand the basic biological reality? The fact that the definition of ‘woman’ has even reached the Supreme Court, and we don’t know how it’s going to happen, is astonishing and pathetic.”
Kaitlynn Wheeler
Wheeler is a former University of Kentucky swimmer who faced transgender UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA Championships.
“What struck me most was how little there was talk about girls. During oral arguments, there was constant talk about men and boys, their feelings, their experiences, their access, and the girls that Title IX was literally written for were basically an afterthought. And it makes me sick.
“Then there’s this pressure to reduce women to a threshold of circulating testosterone, as if that’s all we are. As if womanhood can be boiled down to a lab result. It’s insulting. Women are not a level of hormones. We are complex. We are different and we deserve protections because of that, not in spite of it.”
Macy Petty
Petty, a former women’s volleyball player at Lee University who faced a transgender opponent during her college career, is now a legislative strategist for Concerned Women of America.
“Yesterday’s events proved that the movement to protect and promote opportunities for women in sport is not just a knee-jerk reaction to madness, we have cemented ourselves as a legacy. One of my greatest lessons has been seeing the history we have built and continue to build.
“Some of the athletes involved have been involved in this project for nearly a decade, and many thought leaders even well before that. Yet the coalition continues to grow and new athletes are rising up daily.”
Sophie Lorey
Lorey, a former women’s soccer player at Vaguard University, currently serves as director of outreach for the California Family Council and has been on the front lines raising awareness of the issue of trans athletes in women’s sports in California – the largest hotbed of incidents in the country.
“I was disappointed that the hearing was so often focused on the desires of men rather than the rights and safety of women and girls, the very people this debate is supposed to protect. Justice Alito stood out by grounding the debate in reality, asking the most fundamental question: what is a man and what is a woman?
“When the ACLU lawyer admitted that she couldn’t even define what a man or woman is, it revealed how detached from reality this whole argument was. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s reference to sex ‘assigned at birth’ was particularly concerning.
“While some justices seemed willing to concede women’s rights through language and abstraction, such as when Justice Amy Coney Barrett adopted terms like ‘trans girls,’ I believe that science, Title IX, and the Constitution are on the side of women and girls, and that the truth will ultimately prevail.”
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Kaylie Ray
Ray is a former Utah State women’s volleyball player and was part of the team that forfeited San Jose State in 2024 to avoid facing Slusser’s transgender teammate.
“I think it’s unfortunate that some liberal-leaning judges have been very ideological in their questions, almost as if they’re looking for rationalizations and justifications to allow this injustice to continue. I don’t think this should be a left or right issue, it’s a women’s issue.
“And the truth is simple: men have no place in women’s sports or spaces. It is also disheartening to know that we have a sitting judge who does not or cannot define what a woman is. However, I hope the court rules in favor of upholding the bans.”
