Buck Brief - California Lets Dude Become Women's Track Champion

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show – "Buck Brief: California Lets Dude Become Women's Track Champion"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
• Host/Author: iHeartPodcasts
• Description: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics, and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.
• Episode: Buck Brief – California Lets Dude Become Women's Track Champion
• Release Date: June 4, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show, hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton delve into the controversial topic of transgender athletes in women's sports, focusing specifically on the recent case of AB Hernandez, a high school track champion in California. The episode features Paula Scanlon, a senior fellow at the American Principles Project and a former Division I swimmer, who shares her firsthand experiences and insights into the ongoing debate.

Guest Introduction and Background [00:06 – 00:51]

Buck Sexton opens the discussion by addressing the contentious issue of Governor Gavin Newsom allowing transgender individuals to compete in women's track and field, which Paula Scanlon argues violates Title IX and common sense. Paula Scanlon is introduced as an expert who has personally navigated the complexities of transgender participation in sports, having been a teammate of the notable athlete Leah Thomas.

Notable Quote:

"Why is Gavin Newsom letting men beat women in track and field? This is a violation of Title IX. It's a violation of common sense." ([00:06])

Personal Experiences and Institutional Response [00:51 – 02:14]

Paula recounts her experiences at the University of Pennsylvania, where she and her teammates faced pressure not to speak out against Leah Thomas, a transgender athlete. The university administration warned that opposing transgender inclusion could tarnish their reputations and jeopardize future employment opportunities. Paula highlights the irony of being advised to seek psychological help if one opposed these policies, while transgender athletes did not face similar scrutiny.

Notable Quotes:

"The University of Pennsylvania told us if we ever spoke out against him being on the team that we would never be able to find a job, that we would be painted as a hateful, disgusting bigot for the rest of our lives." ([01:29])

"He was told that he was completely in the right and he was totally valid in his identity and go on and go forth." ([02:14])

The AB Hernandez Case and Broader Implications [02:14 – 05:09]

The conversation shifts to the AB Hernandez case, a high school athlete in California who won first place in both the high jump and triple jump. Paula criticizes the media's portrayal of Hernandez, arguing that it unfairly celebrates his achievements in women's sports. She contends that allowing transgender men to compete in women's categories undermines the integrity of women's athletics and suggests that such policies extend beyond fair competition into issues of societal norms and fairness.

Notable Quotes:

"This person is clearly not well, and they should not be on a women's sports team. End of story." ([03:45])

"California should be just not just defunded Sports. And Title 9 wise, I think we should just defund the entire state of California." ([04:35])

Title IX, Federal Funding, and State Responses [05:09 – 06:52]

Buck Sexton and Paula discuss the implications of Title IX and how various states are responding to federal guidelines on transgender athlete participation. Paula criticizes blue states like California for enforcing policies she views as discriminatory, while conservative states resist these measures. She points out the potential consequences for federal funding related to Title IX compliance, suggesting that states pushing back against transgender inclusion are maintaining fairness in women's sports.

Notable Quotes:

"The entire situation is just completely ridiculous... These are narcissistic, mentally unwell people that just want to rob opportunities away from others and enjoy doing that." ([05:52])

"Men and women are different for thousands of years. And I don't know why, in the year 2025, somehow that's just forgotten and doesn't exist anymore." ([09:04])

Media Coverage and Scientific Debate [08:12 – 10:14]

Paula challenges the prevailing media narratives and calls for evidence-based discussions regarding the biological differences between male and female athletes. She references Olympic performances and NCAA records to support her argument that biological differences provide inherent advantages to male athletes in women's competitions. Paula expresses frustration with media outlets like CNN and the New York Times for perpetuating what she considers "fake news" on this topic.

Notable Quotes:

"It's not about that. It's, they've perpetuated fake news in every single thing that they've ever talked about." ([08:12])

"Watch the Olympics, watch NCAA basketball, watch... it does not take a very intelligent person to see that men and women are different." ([09:04])

Team Dynamics and Support for Transgender Athletes [10:14 – 11:13]

The discussion touches on the varied reactions within athletic teams to transgender athletes. While Paula encountered backlash and opposition from some female teammates who felt marginalized, she acknowledges that there were also athletes who supported transgender inclusion, including formal letters to the NCAA expressing solidarity with Leah Thomas.

Notable Quote:

"There were a few girls that absolutely stood by it... there was actually something that they had released to the NCAA, a letter saying US Athletes on the team support Thomas." ([10:40])

Conclusion [11:06 – 11:13]

Buck Sexton wraps up the segment by thanking Paula Scanlon for her insights, highlighting the depth of the discussion, and indicating that the topic will continue to be a point of contention in future episodes.

Notable Quote:

"Thank you, Paula Scanlon, for being with us and we'll talk to you again soon." ([11:06])

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Final Thoughts

This episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show presents a critical view of transgender participation in women's sports, highlighting personal experiences, institutional challenges, and broader societal implications. Paula Scanlon's testimony underscores ongoing debates surrounding Title IX, fairness in athletics, and the role of media in shaping public opinion on sensitive issues.

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Note: Advertisements and non-content segments between [06:52] and [13:24] were omitted to focus on the core discussion.

Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[B]

You're listening to the Buck Sexton show podcast. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Why is Gavin Newsom letting men beat women in track and field? This is a violation of Title 9. It's a violation of common sense. And our next guest knows exactly how absurd this stuff can get. Paula Scanlon is with us now. She is a senior fellow at the American Principles Project and a former Division 1 swimmer who, like Riley Gaines, had her own experience with a trans man or trans woman. I just know the trans part. I forget what we're supposed to say. A guy saying he's a girl. Tell everybody a little bit about your background, how you came into this sports debate situation. Men and women should be separate all that well.

[A]

I'm sure everyone knows who the wonderful six foot four and a half giant Leah Thomas is. He was my teammate. He went on and obviously tied Riley at the NCAA championship, which everyone saw the ridiculous photo of them together on the podium stand. But he was my teammate and my university, the University of Pennsylvania, told us if we ever spoke out against him being on the team that we would never be able to find a job, that we would be painted as a hateful, disgusting bigot for the rest of our lives. They even compared not wanting to undress in the locker room with with him 18 times per week as not not wanting to undress with someone based on their race. In the 1960s.

[B]

That was said to you by employees of University of Pennsylvania.

[A]

Yes, they said, this is the next civil rights movement. You don't want to be known as those bigots in the 1960s that wanted to segregate locker rooms based on people's race. And I'm sitting there, I'm like, there's no way you genuinely believe this. And then it gets better. The end of this meeting, they said, okay, if everything we've said and screamed at you for the last 20 minutes is not enough for you, here's the representative from Student Psychological Services. Please go make an appointment because you are the problem and you need help. And the man on our team who's trying to pretend to be a woman, he didn't have to come to this meeting. He didn't have to go to the counselor. And he was told that he was completely in the right and he was totally valid in his identity and go on and go forth.

[B]

That's nuts. I've heard some of this from Riley Gaines side of it, but I hadn't Heard from you as a teammate. That's pretty astonishing stuff. Question. We're going to get into this A.B. hernandez case in a second. It's a high school state track championship. And, and I, I don't know if you managed to see some of what CNN's Brianna Keiller was saying over the weekend about this, but it's the usual. A lot of the arguments that you'll hear around this, and I'll have you address them as somebody who had, who had to swim with and, and against a man. Was. Was he. So, so you did have to change with him. Right. I mean, not to get too deep into this, but. Right.

[A]

Like, 18 times per week for a year. Because we have nine practices every single week, and you change in and change out of your swimsuit every practice. So it's 18 times completely naked per week in front of this grown man.

[B]

And, and, and this guy Thomas, was he attracted to women? I mean, not again. Like, this is the thing that I think is. No, like, really, like, is, is he, is he trans? But, but, you know, biologically heterosexual? Because, like, that would seem to be even. I don't know. It's crazy stuff across the board. Yes. What do you think? I mean, does he date women or men?

[A]

Well, he was actually dating a member of the women's team prior to transitioning to Will, but then his current partner is actually another man that says he's a woman. So maybe both men and women and also people who are also confused.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I don't know. But look, to be honest, to me, it doesn't matter. The entire thing is this person is clearly not well, and they should not be on a women's sports team. End of story.

[B]

I think that's a, that's a perfectly straightforward and, and sane approach to this. So with that, you must have seen Big Story, New York Times, all these different papers covering it. Trans athlete AB Hernandez got first place in the high jump, first place in the triple jump in the California high school championship. And then we're supposed to cheer because he. And of course, they all call this person. She. He shared the podium with, you know, with the girls. Like, like this is supposed to be some kind of a concession to AB Hernandez's magnanimity or something. It strikes me as this whole thing is insane.

[A]

I think this entire thing is just ridiculous that he's even there. I mean, we're seeing CNN and all these other news outlets trying to hype this up to be a good thing. I think, honestly, Trump is in a really good position right now, stepping into this, continuing to put pressure on these states. California should be just not just defunded Sports. And Title 9 wise, I think we should just defund the entire state of California. And unfortunately, in this situation, what we're seeing is these left wing states, blue states, are pushing this, and the southern states and the conservative states have figured this out and they're like, no, men don't belong on women's sports teams yet. California, this is happening every weekend.

[B]

Yeah. There's a number of states that are defying the Trump administration on this issue. And they're, in doing so, jeopardizing federal funds, which, it's interesting to me, Paula, that has always been the mechanism used to get compliance with Title ix. And we never heard a peep about it before then. And now it's, oh, my gosh, what will happen to all the people affected by their withdrawal of funds? Like, well, if you were a university and you didn't have parity in spending between men's and women's sports, you risk your Title 9 funding. So that's what they got rid of, all these, like, men's wrestling programs and crew programs and all this at different schools. So it used to be fine, but now this is a tool that we're told we can't use anymore. It feels pretty arbitrary and obviously political.

[A]

It's. The entire situation is just completely ridiculous. I mean, even on the women's swim team at Penn, before Leah Thomas was competing on it, our coach had told us we had to have more women on the women's roster or men would have to get cut. And every single season it would be up to the number of girls he'd recruited. Or even if a girl chose to quit, it would cut another boy spot off our team. I mean, this is something we dealt with in all of college. And now it's like, well, actually, the men, if they get cut from the men's program, they can just hop onto the women's team. And for some reason now it adds them another female athlete to the university. And also they're allowed to compete and beat all of these women in any sport that they want to. I mean, it's just completely ridiculous. And again, this guy, oh, great. He shared the, the podium with a, with a woman. He should not be there. Go compete in the men's category. No one's kicking you out of sports yet. It's a narcissism thing. This isn't even about athletics anymore. These are narcissistic, mentally unwell people that just want to rob opportunities away from others and enjoy doing that.

[B]

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[A]

I think the situation is just completely insane and CNN is losing their minds. But we do not need science degrees to even see this. Have you watched any of the years of the Olympics? And actually, when I was researching this very early on, when I was dealing with this four years ago, I actually found a New York Times article talking about the differences between male and female athletes and comparing how all of the male champions in every single Olympic event were better than the female champions. I don't, I'm trying to give them research or studies, but it's not about that. It's, they've perpetuated fake news in every single thing that they've ever talked about. So it's not surprising that they're magically losing touch with reality and saying men and women just, oh, we need to see more science. I don't think you need to see anything. Watch the Olympics, watch NCAA basketball, watch. I don't even, I don't even know anything. A high school basketball team, you can see the difference.

[B]

Yeah, it strikes me as very clear, although CNN also took the position with this anchor, but I know the Democrats more broadly will take this position that gender is the sex you're assigned at birth, or rather that sex assigned at birth is what people refer to, not gender. It's. They keep changing these definitions, but as if doctors look at it and make some determination that isn't based on the most obvious things imaginable.

[A]

I again, it's like I want to give them scientific research and I tried to do that. I would look at facts, I would look at information. I would say, oh, here the, you know, testosterone doesn't actually suppressing your testosterone doesn't get rid of all these other factors that make you physically different. And we would try to reason with these leftist activists on these issues and they didn't want to hear us. And so at this point, I don't really know what else I can say. All I know is I'm watching these track meets, I'm watching all of these events that male athletes are competing in. And it does not take a very intelligent person to see that men and women are different. And I think human society has known men and women are different for thousands of years. And I don't know why, in the year 2025, somehow that's just forgotten and doesn't exist anymore.

[B]

Yeah, it is getting increasingly and obviously insane. And the Democrats aren't backing off of this. I'm just wondering when you were dealing with this at University of Pennsylvania or swimming, there were any of the girls, to your knowledge, like, on board for all of this? The ones who were competing themselves, were some of them actually brainwashed enough to think that this was normal? Or was everyone just like, this is cr?

[A]

There were a few girls that absolutely stood by it. They would talk about it. They would write letters. There was actually something that they had released to the ncaa, a letter saying US Athletes on the team support Thomas. You can go find that. That was something that happened. Yes, there were absolutely girls who bought into this, were brainwashed and truly believed that Leah Thomas was a woman simply because he said so.

[B]

That's craziness. All right. Well, thank you, Paula Scanlon, for being with us and we'll talk to you again soon.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

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[C]

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[A]

This is an iHeart podcast.