"It's the Ultimate Threat": Jennifer Sey Exposes WNBA Hypocrisy & Biological Reality

Summary

Podcast Summary:

Brian Kilmeade Show — “It's the Ultimate Threat”: Jennifer Sey Exposes WNBA Hypocrisy & Biological Reality
Host: FOX News (August 9, 2026)
Guest: Jennifer Sey (CEO, XXXY Athletics; retired national champion gymnast)

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Overview

In this episode, Jennifer Sey joins the Brian Kilmeade Show to discuss the increasingly heated debate over the participation of transgender women in women’s sports, specifically responding to criticism faced by athletes like Sophie Cunningham and herself. Sey addresses claims made by a New York Times-sponsored podcast, delves into the issue of fairness in women’s sports, and previews rallies being organized in support of Sophie Cunningham ahead of a Chicago Sky vs. Indiana Fever WNBA game. The conversation revolves around hypocrisy in sports media coverage, the biological reality underpinning sex-based sports categories, and the current culture war within women's athletics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Responding to Personal and Public Attacks

• The discussion opens with Sey responding to a podcast from The Athletic (New York Times’ sports brand), where her and Riley Gaines’ athletic records and motives are questioned.
• Sey pushes back on ad hominem attacks:

  “She could be the worst swimmer in the world. It doesn’t matter. She can still fight for fairness.” — Jennifer Sey, 02:28

• Sey criticizes how, when whistleblowers or dissenters speak out about issues in women’s sports, their records are diminished or dismissed rather than arguments addressed.
• She points out the pattern:

  "It’s the same as grifter, it’s the same as racist, it’s the same as transphobe." — Jennifer Sey, 03:36

2. Is Trans Participation a ‘Threat’ to Women’s Sports?

• Sey asserts that allowing biological males in women’s competitions is fundamentally undermining the category:

  “It’s the ultimate threat to women’s sports because when men play women’s sports, we don’t have a thing as women’s sports anymore.” — Jennifer Sey, 04:55

• She references specific examples — high school state titles and Olympic events — to illustrate that the trend is not trivial.
• Discusses the differentiation between women identifying as men (allowed to compete if they don’t use testosterone) versus men competing in women’s sports.

3. Hypocrisy and Selective Outrage

• The host and Sey point out that Coco Gauff, a prominent tennis player, received little criticism for essentially the same "fairness" stance as Sophie Cunningham.
• Sey calls out media bias:

  "Are they bad too? I want them to answer that question." — Jennifer Sey, 07:58

• She underscores that several top female athletes, including #1 ranked Aryna Sabalenka, have supported sex testing, yet criticism is directed only at certain individuals.

4. Advocacy, Rallies, and Support for Sophie Cunningham

• Sey discusses her plans to attend and help organize a supportive rally for Sophie Cunningham ahead of the Indiana Fever vs. Chicago Sky game in Chicago.
• The emphasis is on celebration and support, not confrontation:

  "We’re not protesters. We're having a party. We’re just there to have fun." — Jennifer Sey, 09:40

• Sey highlights the isolation many women have felt taking a public stance and the importance of showing visible, vocal support.

5. Fan Experience and WNBA Marketing Disconnect

• The host recounts that new interest in the WNBA, partly spurred by the controversy and figures like Caitlin Clark, could be squandered by perceived political posturing (e.g., the Minnesota Lynx coach wearing a pro-trans T-shirt during games).
• Sey shares her personal experience at the games, noting that media broadcasts don't reflect what’s really happening room—namely, significant support for Sophie and others like her.

  “ESPN and the WNBA can cling to whatever they want to cling to, but women are showing up and they're no longer afraid. We're unleashed.” — Jennifer Sey, 14:20

6. Media, Distraction, and the ‘Main Thing’

• Sey and the host play a clip of Sophie Cunningham expressing frustration at the media covering controversy rather than the sport:

  "All we ever do is cover everything except basketball.... We got to keep the main thing the main thing." — Sophie Cunningham, via Jennifer Sey, 15:08–15:25

• Sey agrees and ties this back to the missed opportunity for the WNBA to capitalize on interest and create role models for young female athletes.

  "Somehow they’re practicing sort of financial malfeasance, I would say malpractice. And not leading with the stars, not leading with Caitlin." — Jennifer Sey, 15:58

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Ad Hominem & Dismissal:

  “You know, women that have taken a stand for this in the last five to ten years have really been attacked and vilified. So we just want [Sophie] to feel the love and support that she has.” — Jennifer Sey, 09:34

• Describing the Climate:

  “We were harassed relentlessly by these protesters who had bullhorns and they were screaming in our ear… This is the kind intolerant left. … They’re the ones claiming they’re not bigots. They were calling us the most disgusting, misogynistic names.” — Jennifer Sey, 13:20

• WNBA’s Moment and Opportunity:

  “Women's basketball is having a moment. People want to watch, and that’s because of Caitlin, and that’s because of [Sophie] and people like you.” — Jennifer Sey, 15:54

• On Sophie Cunningham's Character:

  “There were little girls lined up to meet Sophie and she stopped and signed every jersey, took every picture. This is an incredibly nice person and she’s doing it for the kids.” — Jennifer Sey, 16:55

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Important Timestamps

• 01:14 – Jennifer Sey joins and addresses criticism from The Athletic podcast
• 02:28–04:22 – Sey rebuts ad hominem attacks and shares her history as a champion and whistleblower
• 04:55–06:16 – The “ultimate threat” of biological men in women’s sports
• 07:06–08:10 – Discussion of media hypocrisy in treatment of athletes like Coco Gauff vs. Sophie Cunningham
• 09:00–10:18 – Previewing Chicago rally and message of celebration/support for Sophie Cunningham
• 12:13–14:39 – Sey recounts in-arena experience; contrast between broadcast and reality
• 15:08–15:46 – Clip and discussion: Cunningham on keeping focus on basketball
• 16:55 – Sey on Sophie Cunningham’s positive impact on young fans

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Summary

This episode delivers an impassioned, insider take on fairness in women’s sports, the backlash faced by dissenting women athletes, and the role of media in amplifying controversy over substance. Jennifer Sey provides both personal perspective and a rallying call to support women speaking out, while exploring how the WNBA and broader sports institutions risk alienating new fans by politicizing the sport. The tone is candid, combative, and ultimately hopeful — suggesting that a tide of support for women’s sex-based sports categories is growing, and that athletes like Sophie Cunningham are role models worth defending and celebrating.

Transcript

[Podcast Sponsor]

This episode is brought to you by San Pellegrino Ciao. A gift from Italy to your home, San Pellegrino Ciao is a flavored sparkling water made with real fruit juice, finished with a pinch of Sicilian salt for a perfectly balanced taste. So which flavor will you choose? Peach, lime, blood orange, cherry? Or maybe the all new limoncello crafted in Italy with zero grams of added sugar. San Pellegrino Ciao. Buy it now.

This episode is brought to you by Claude by Anthropic. Claude is the AI for minds that don't stop at Goodenough. It's the collaborator that actually understands your entire workflow and thinks with you. Whether you're debugging code at midnight or strategizing your next business move. Claude extends your thinking to tackle the problems that matter and finds connections you might have missed for problems worth solving. Get started at Claude AI Spotify.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

We're fortunate to have joining us now Jennifer Tse, the CEO of XXXY Athletics and of course retired national champion gymnast. And Jennifer, you know you are finding yourself sort of in the middle of this as well. Thank you for joining us.

[Jennifer Sey]

Thanks for having me. Hey, we are in the middle of it.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

You are, you are. And I was shocked by the way we played some of this on Fox and Friends this morning when I was filling in for Killmeade on tv. I'm doing TV and his radio show. I call this Kill Me Maxing. By the way. I recommend it for everybody. Kill Me Maxing is absolutely fun. But I was shocked that the two hosts were their names Charlotte Wilder and Madeline Hill. I don't know who they are. They got this sports gossip show which by the way is a podcast put out by the Athletic, which is the New York Times's sports brand. And they're of course attacking Sophie Cunningham, but then they drop your name as well. Listen to this.

[Jennifer Sey]

Cut 38 I believe she most recently posed with Riley Gaines, who was a swimmer, not even a very good one, who is super anti trans women in sports. And she also posed for a picture with the Levi's executive. Jennifer say trans women in sports is not the biggest threat to women's sports in any by any means. I would say it anyway isn't a threat to women's sports.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

So first your reaction.

[Jennifer Sey]

Thanks for including me. It's such a silly line of reasoning, this whole notion. I have a lot to say on this one. But this whole idea that Riley wasn't any good. First of all, she was great. She was 12 time all American. Thank you. Fifth in the country sec champion multiple times over. I want to know what these ladies have ever achieved in sports. They seem like that everyone gets a medal type to me. So people like that don't understand the kind of work that Riley and I put in to becoming champions. It's also an irrelevant point. She could be the worst swimmer in the world. It doesn't matter. She can still fight for fairness. But this is always their line of quote, unquote reasoning is to just criticize the person. I spoke out very early about abuse in gymnastics. Physical, emotional and sexual abuse. I was the first whistleblower back in 2008. I was the national champion. Do you know what the criticism of me was when I spoke out on this from the community? Well, she was a really terrible gymnast and she was a bad national champion. Well, I would say this to you. Even if I was the worst national champion that ever was, I was still ranked number one in 1986, and that's pretty darn good. It's also irrelevant. If I was terrible, do I deserve to be abused by my coaches? So this is just more of the kind of throw insults at them when you don't have a good rational argument. It's the same as grifter, it's the same as racist, it's the same as transphobe. It's all of that. So I just. Whatever. They're silly. It doesn't matter what they say. You know, the women are unleashed in force right now in support of Sophie because no one's scared anymore. It's not 2020 anymore. We're not afraid to say the common sense thing, which is that women deserve their own sports and spaces, and it is a threat to women's sports. And the last thing I'll say on this, we can fight for more things than one thing at a time. I'm still fighting for athletes to train free from abuse. I've been doing that for 20 years. We don't have to pick. We can do all of it.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

I love that. And such an informed take. Obviously having lived experience to back it up. You know, it's interesting because I don't know which one of it was. It was making that comment, but the one was saying that trans women in sports is not the biggest threat to women's sports. In fact, I say it's not even a threat to sports in general. How is that even possible? How like the whole thing is about. With Sophie is about fairness and how is biological men and women sports not a threat?

[Jennifer Sey]

It's. It's so dumb. I'm So I can't believe we still have to talk about this. I mean, the fact is, it's the ultimate threat to women's sports because when men play women's sports, we don't have a thing as women's sports anymore. It is the wnba. The W stands for women. As my friend Michelle Tafoya has said frequently, it is actually a threat. There's been 50, more than 50 high school state titles in girls events stolen by boys. That's a lot to me. That's a lot. At the Olympics in 2024, we saw a man punch a woman in the face and win the gold medal. This isn't about trans. This is about men in women's sports. Women who identify as men, as long as they don't take testosterone, are welcome to compete in women's sports, and they do. Nikki Hiltz is a runner. She competed in the Olympics in 2024. She identifies as trans and non, non binary. No one cares about compete women's. You're a woman. No one cares at all. So this whole thing that it's anti trans is so dumb. It's just we don't want men in women's sports. And you know what, The Women's Tennis association agrees. They just declared and announced that they are going to test for sex. And almost every player, every prominent player has, you know, given a presser at this point and said, we support this and we will willingly take the sex test. So tennis is on board. Basketball is like stuck in the, you know, five years ago.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

It's. I'm so glad you mentioned that. That's a great point. So the WTA is in on their testing. But by the way, Coco Golf was speaking as she was asked about it. So what do you say? And they expected to see what she would get. What did she say? She said that she of course, respects and supports the trans community, but understands the fairness component. And that's essentially the same, very exact same thing that Sophie Cunning Cunningham has said, no, hate to the trans people. This is about fairness. But yet there's some rich hypocrisy, perhaps in this New York Times podcast host, because they didn't bother to pick on Coco Golf, who's saying the same thing as Sophie. But they do go after Jennifer, say, in Sophie Cunningham, I don't know.

[Jennifer Sey]

Yeah, I mean, Coco is sort of woke, for lack of a better word. And I think she tried to ride the fence a little bit more than Sophie. I think Sophie was a little more direct, waffled less. But you're right, Coco Gauff acknowledged biological reality. But then she hemmed and hawed about I support the train. You gotta pick aside, Coco. You either believe in biological reality and you think testing is the way to protect the women's category or not. So I wish she'd been a little more direct. That said, tons of other female tennis players have been super direct. When asked the question, I would like to know what those New York Times podcasters had to say about Sabalenka because she is the number one tennis player in the world. And she full throatedly said, I support the test. Men are strong. We need this test. So what do you have to say to her? You'd say Riley stinks. I'm sure they'd say I stunk as a. As a gymnast. They didn't mention that part, but they would. Like I care. It's 40 years ago. Sabalenka is number one in the world. And the number one US player also said she supported it. So are they bad, too? I want to know. I want them to answer that question.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

It's great. And they don't want to talk about it. All they want to do is go out there and say, Sophie Cunningham is a right winger. Maga, all this stuff and make it political.

[Jennifer Sey]

Maga Barbie.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

Yeah, MAGA Barbie. That's their whole thing. And they can't stand that people support it. Let me walk this forward a little bit with you, because the Indiana Fever tomorrow play the Chicago sky at United center in Chicago. And I was just looking before the show, I was like, I wonder if there's going to be rallies. And sure enough, there's postings. There are Sophie rallies in support of her. And I suppose there will be counter protesters, too. It's Chicago. We see things like that here. What do you see transpiring tomorrow? You know, what's this going to look like? And ultimately kind of the bigger picture, Jennifer, which is like, what is this ultimately going to mean for the wnba?

[Jennifer Sey]

Yeah, well, I'm going. So I get on a plane very soon to Chicago and we've helped to organize it and pull a lot of young athletes in. We're just there to celebrate Sophie and to let her know that she is beloved and she is appreciated and we know she's taken a tough stance and she's getting no support from the league or her teammates. She said recently she just wants to play ball. Do it, Sophie. Go play ball. We just are there to have fun. We're going to bring balloons and we're going to celebrate the fact that she's been unapologetic in her stance while not being angry about it all. She's so nice in the way she says it, you know, so we just wanted to know she has support because we've all felt very alone. You know, women that have taken a stand for this in the last five to 10 years have really been attacked and vilified. So we just want her to feel the love and support that she has. So I will be there in Chicago agree with you. We expect counter protesters. We're not protesters. We're having a party. Right? We're just there to have fun. I'm going to be at the game. I'm bringing an athlete with me, Ainsley Erzin 2 Sport D1 athlete in college, both soccer and track and field. And we are so excited just to cheer for both teams. Honestly, I mean, I'm really hoping the Fever can pull out a win. I think at this point it's pretty necessary to make the postseason. So we're just there to enjoy the game.

[Podcast Sponsor]

This episode is brought to you by San Pellegrino Ciao. A gift from Italy to your home, San Pellegrino Ciao is a flavored sparkling water made with real fruit juice, finished with a pinch of Sicilian salt for a perfectly balanced taste. So which flavor will you choose? Peach, lime, blood orange, cherry, or maybe the all new limoncello crafted in Italy with zero grams of added sugar. San Pellegrino Ciao. Buy it now.

This episode is brought to you by Claude by Anthropic. Claude is the AI for minds that don't stop at good enough. It's the collaborator that actually understands your entire workflow and thinks with you. Whether you're debugging code at midnight or strategizing your next business move. Claude extends your thinking to tackle the problems that matter and finds connections you might have missed for problems worth solving. Get started at Claude AI Spotify.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

Wow. Well, I can't. Excuse me. I can't wait to. To. To find out how it goes. And I know you'll have stuff out there. You know, it's interesting, I wonder again kind of what this bodes for for the wnba. And I think, correct me if I'm wrong, I think we had you on Fox and Friends weekend last weekend with us was it was Charlie Hurt and I you with. With Lara Trump. And you know, it was because it was reaching a fever pitch and everything going on. Charlie Hurd and I were saying on the air on Sunday morning, we were saying, hey, the Fever are playing the Minnesota Links where I'm going to watch I'm actually, I've never watched a WNBA game in my life. I'm actually going to watch it. And Charlie and I are like after the show. We're like, hey, we got to actually watch it. I'm like, all right, we're going to watch it. It's coming on like one o'. Clock. It was in the. Cause in the middle of the day there are not really night games.

[Jennifer Sey]

So yeah, I was there.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

We sit down to watch it and then you see the Minnesota Links coach wearing this pro Trans T shirt and I'm like, what the hell is this now? Yeah, take us, take Charlie and I. Just as a test case, you just brought two middle aged men that probably were never going to sit down to watch a WNBA game in our life. And I see that with the coach over there. I'm like, oh my God, really? Now I'm no longer interested in why I tuned in because I love watching the wnba. I was all getting on the Knicks bandwagon, even though I'm from D.C. i bought a hat. But. But it's in watching the game. It's really pretty fascinating to watch because it's a different pace game. It's. The style is different than watching men's. Very much, very interesting. But then as just a casual newcomer to the. To watching it, I was put off by like, really? The coach is going to go into like polit shoved down my throat.

[Jennifer Sey]

Yeah, well, I was there. I was at the rally outside, which you may have seen footage of at this point. It was a collection of basically middle aged women and teenage girls there to thank Sophie. And we were harassed relentlessly by these protesters who had bullhorns and they were screaming in our ear and they were calling us the worst names you can imagine. I can't say them here. This is the kind intolerant left. They're the ones claiming they're not bigots. They were calling us the most disgusting, misogynistic names. We went and enjoyed the game. I sa with Riley Gaines on the floor. People were thanking us, people wanted photos, people bought us drinks. So you know what the broadcast tried to show with that coach with her Trans Kids belong shirts. And every person they cut to in the audience was wearing a similar shirt. That was not what was happening on the floor. I just want to tell you that what was happening on the floor is there were a lot of people with our logos and there were a lot of people that were very grateful for the work that Riley and myself have done. So they're sort of clinging to a view that is no longer popular. You know, the 80% of Americans that support the protection of women's worth, they're not afraid anymore. We're so happy and proud of Sophie. We're there to celebrate her, and no one's silent anymore. We're not afraid of being called bigots. We know it's a lie. We are pro woman. We're not anti anyone. And so ESPN and that WNBA can cling to whatever they want to cling to, but women are showing up and they're no longer afraid. We're unleashed.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

They are in just one last thing I want to. And that is I also applaud Sophie Cunningham, not only for the courage to speak out and say, I said what I said. And, you know, really getting people like yourself and others to rally behind this. This issue. But. But then she came out afterwards and said, enough. Let's play basketball. Why aren't people talking about basketball? Here's a little clip I want to play for you and get your reaction. She said a while back, this is cut 41.

[Jennifer Sey]

There's just so much distraction. I think the WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball.

[Podcast Sponsor]

And it's like, what? Like, what are we doing?

[Jennifer Sey]

There's so much like, you can talk about other things. I think those are great stories. I think it shows fans, you know, who people are outside of the court. But I also think we got to keep the main thing. The main thing?

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

Yeah. She's, like, saying, let's play basketball. What's your reaction?

[Jennifer Sey]

Yeah, Yeah. I mean, and she called out the media specifically, not necessarily the people that are there to support her. I'm there to watch the game tomorrow. I, you know, I want to watch the game. I want her to know she has support. She gets booed like crazy when she, you know, comes out on the court. She should have two people sitting front row cheering for her. Right.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

Wow.

[Jennifer Sey]

So she's sort of blaming the media here for getting caught up in this and making about the other thing. The thing is the thing. It's the basketball. It's an important game, and we're there to cheer for her and celebrate the fact that the WNBA women's basketball is having a moment. People want to watch, and that's because of Caitlin, and that's because of her and people like you. I have been to a gazillion NBA games. Last weekend was my first WNBA game, and I had a great time. So I think the WNBA should be thrilled that they're having this moment. And yet somehow they're practicing Sort of financial malfeasance, I would say malpractice. And not leading with the stars, not leading with Caitlin. People show up, people tune in, and yet somehow she's not the hero they want. And so they're kind of pushing her off into the corner. But. But I'm showing up. So I can't wait for the game. I had. I had a blast.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

Well, Jennifer, say we can't wait to find out how this game goes. Have a great trip and keep us informed and up to date on how it goes. And I just, you know, I. The wnba, they're really at risk of making a dumb mistake by driving off would be fans of not only Sophie Cunningham or Caitlin Clark, but the sport itself. It's a missed opportunity, I think.

[Jennifer Sey]

So I couldn't agree with you more. At the end of the game, I waited to see if I could meet some of the players. There were little girls lined up to meet Sophie and she stopped and signed every jersey, took every picture like, this is an incredibly nice person and she's doing it for the kids. So none of the broadcasts are reflecting that the NBA, the wnba, is losing out on an opportunity, but we're going to show up.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

Get me video of that and I'll put it on Fox News on Fox and Friends.

[Jennifer Sey]

I will get it for you.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

All right. Thank you.

[Jennifer Sey]

Jennifer.

[Host (possibly a Fox News host or commentator)]

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