Buck Brief - How Trump is Making Women's Sports Actually for Women

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show Episode: Buck Brief - How Trump is Making Women's Sports Actually for Women
Release Date: July 22, 2025

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show delves into the intersection of politics and women's sports in the latest episode titled "Buck Brief - How Trump is Making Women's Sports Actually for Women." Hosted by Clay Travis and Buck Sexton, the episode features Paula Scanlon from the American Principles Project, who provides a female perspective on recent developments in women's athletics influenced by former President Donald Trump's policies.

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1. Introduction to the Debate on Women's Sports

The episode begins with Buck Sexton introducing the pressing issue of WNBA players advocating for fair compensation. He sets the stage for a deeper exploration by bringing in Paula Scanlon, highlighting the complexities surrounding women's professional sports.

Notable Quote:

"WNBA players say that they should be paid what they're owed. What are they owed?"
— Buck Sexton (03:16)

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2. Sustainability of WNBA Pay Structure

Clay Travis expresses skepticism about the financial viability of increasing salaries for WNBA players, citing limited viewership and heavy subsidization by the NBA and other sports leagues.

Notable Quote:

"If there's not viewership in the WWA, there's not money going into the WNBA. Players can't be paid more and from my understanding is they're heavily subsidized by the NBA and other Sports leagues, how can they expect to be paid more?"
— Clay Travis (04:21)

Paula Scanlon counters by highlighting the challenges female athletes face compared to their male counterparts, emphasizing that many professional female athletes already juggle multiple jobs due to insufficient league support.

Notable Quote:

"They play seasonal professional lacrosse and they make almost no money doing this. Very little money."
— Paula Scanlon (05:00)

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3. Impact of the Trump Administration on Women's Sports

The conversation shifts to former President Trump's role in shaping policies affecting women's sports, particularly regarding transgender athletes' participation.

Notable Quote:

"The Trump administration pulled federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania for not complying with Title IX."
— Clay Travis (07:57)

Paula details how the administration enforced strict compliance with Title IX, leading universities like UPenn to amend their policies and remove transgender athletes from women's teams. This enforcement is portrayed as a victory for maintaining the integrity of women's sports.

Notable Quote:

"The University of Pennsylvania no longer has Leah Thomas as a record holder on the women's team... makes them admit that they were in the wrong."
— Clay Travis (08:36)

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4. Ongoing Challenges and Future Efforts

Despite these changes, Clay and Paula acknowledge that many universities still allow men to compete in women's sports, indicating that the battle is far from over. They discuss the uneven enforcement of policies across institutions and the need for continued vigilance.

Notable Quote:

"There are still universities that are allowing men onto their women's sports team, so we have to fight against them as well."
— Clay Travis (09:08)

Paula emphasizes the importance of federal legislation to provide a consistent framework, noting the limitations of relying solely on executive orders.

Notable Quote:

"Until it's completely done and never happening again, there are people that still have to stand up for it."
— Paula Scanlon (16:18)

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5. Broader Cultural and Social Implications

The discussion extends beyond sports mascots to address the broader cultural trends of re-evaluating symbols and traditions. Clay shares his indifference towards mascot changes, attributing them to political correctness gone awry.

Notable Quote:

"Mascots in general are completely a joke. I mean, who picks these?"
— Clay Travis (12:34)

He critiques the liberal push to change mascots for perceived insensitivity, suggesting that such actions reflect a broader societal shift towards oversensitivity.

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6. Commentary on the Entertainment Industry

The hosts briefly touch upon the cancellation of Colbert's show, attributing it to financial decisions rather than political motivations. Clay downplays its impact, relating it back to the earlier discussion on allocation of resources based on viewership and profitability.

Notable Quote:

"Bad ratings are bad ratings... It doesn't surprise me that his ratings are not there and the money coming in for the show isn't there either."
— Clay Travis (15:15)

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7. Advocacy and Ongoing Efforts

Paula Scanlon outlines the American Principles Project's commitment to defending family rights, combating transgender ideology in sports, and ensuring the protection of women in other areas such as bathrooms and locker rooms.

Notable Quote:

"Men don't belong in women's sports. It's really that simple."
— Paula Scanlon (16:51)

She underscores the necessity for continued activism and support to achieve lasting change.

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8. Conclusion and Call to Action

The episode concludes with acknowledgments of the progress made and the work that still lies ahead. Clay and Paula reaffirm their dedication to preserving women's sports and advocating for policies that support fair competition.

Notable Quote:

"We're staying vigilant on the fight... it's just the liberal mentality that everything needs to be handed to you for free."
— Clay Travis (07:21)

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Final Thoughts:

This episode of The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show provides a nuanced discussion on the intersection of politics and women's sports, highlighting the significant influence of the Trump administration in shaping policies that aim to preserve the integrity of women's athletics. Through the insights of party member Paula Scanlon, the hosts explore the financial, cultural, and legislative challenges that continue to impact women's professional sports. The conversation underscores the ongoing struggle for fair compensation and the protection of women's spaces in the athletic arena.

Transcript

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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. WNBA players say that they should be paid what they're owed. What are they owed? Well, I'm a guy, so maybe I'm not allowed to weigh in on this because it's women's athletics, although I guess I could identify as a woman. But that's a whole other conversation. Let's bring somebody in here who can bring a female perspective to this and somebody who also swam at the Division 1 level. Paula Scanlon is with us. She is of the American Principles Project and was on the same team where that guy became a, quote girl and then won the championship. And now Trump has turned that around. We'll get into that. But first, so what's with the I know you're not a basketball, but you're, you're all, you're tall, so maybe you. We're good at basketball. I don't know. But I don't think you played in the WNBA to my knowledge. What's with the pay us what you owe us T shirts? As one woman athlete. Looking at all these women athletes now in the wnba, what's going on?

[Host 1]

You know, I wish I could understand what was going on. Obviously, Caitlin Clark is a huge star and does deserve awards and honor and money with that. But we live in a capitalist society and if there's not viewership in the wwa, there's not money going into the wnba. Players can't be paid more and from my understanding is they're heavily subsidized by the NBA and other Sports leagues, how can they expect to be paid more? If they're paid their fair share, their salaries would actually get cut. So none of this makes any sense to me and I still don't understand what exactly they were protesting in this T shirt wearing situation that was happening the other week. And to be honest, I've never watched a single WNBA game in my entire life.

[Guest 2]

Really, really interesting. I haven't either. But I don't know, I felt like maybe, you know, girl power, like you would decide that you got to watch the, the female athletes. It is, it is funny because now I see, I don't know if you ever see this on, on Twitter X Most of the clips circulating of wnba, like highlight clips that you'll see are actually women in the wnba, like shooting the ball off the top of the backboard or you know, missing three layups or four layups in a row or stuff like that. So it's, it's getting talked about more than it has in the past, but somehow it has become something of a, a point of contention among people. Right? There seems to be some irritation at, I don't know, at the sense of entitlement that these players have, but they're supposed, like, I know professional, I know guys who play professional lacrosse and I think they make, you know, most of them have other jobs. So that tells you all you need to know. Like they play seasonal professional lacrosse and they make almost no money doing this. Very little money. And they don't say, pay us what you owe us.

[Host 1]

That's actually so funny. I think I know a couple of guys that play professional lacrosse as well. I mean, it shows that if you want to do your sport, you absolutely should. I think women should have an opportunity to have professional leagues. I think the WNBA existing is obviously a good thing. I'm always here to advocate for women only leagues. But that being said, we can't just make money. You can't get free handouts, you can't get free payouts from the government for this. That's exactly what this is. It's just the liberal mentality that everything needs to be handed to you for free because you want something, someone has to give it to you. And unfortunately for the wba, that's not going to happen. And that's just, it's just so upsetting to see that. And they're discouraging other female athletes and they make female athletes look whiny and complainy. Just go in, be good athletes, become a Caitlin Clark, become a key player. And many of these great WNBA players Like Caitlin Clark, like some of the other stars, they have a lot of money that they make in sponsorships and deals that far outweigh any amount that the league could pay them. And that's the same thing goes for male athletes as well. So I feel like if you're so concerned about your pay, either, yes, you have to get another job or you have to find sponsorships. And there are a lot of places that are willing to sponsor these athletes. It's not like they are starving and not able to survive on their current salaries.

[Guest 2]

So now you. You were on the swim team, right? The same swim team as Riley Gaines. And the swim team that was. That became the team with what's. What's the. What's his name? Leah Thomas, formerly something else. Thomas. Right. The guy who became the girl who's not really a girl, but he's swimming against you guys, and he ends up, like, winning the national championship, the whole thing. Trump has bring everyone up to speed on this one, because this has got to feel like life has come full circle and maybe finally justice at some level or it begins to be done here. What did Trump do? It looks like things have changed with UPenn.

[Host 1]

Yes, exactly that. I mean, the Trump administration pulled federal funding from the University of Pennsylvania for not complying with Title ix. I mean, yeah, they let a dude on my women's swim team in our locker room 18 times per week. Insanity. Rightfully. So they were pulled federal funding. But the Trump administration then said, okay, well, if you're willing to change your policies, we can have a conversation. The University of Pennsylvania then caved, had a discussion with the Trump administration, said, we will comply with Title ix. We are going to change our policies to properly reflect that. I mean, they should have been doing that to begin with, but here we are. Another thing is they agreed to change the record boards. The University of Pennsylvania no longer has Leah Thomas as a record holder on the women's team. And then on top of that, they were forced to send us an apology. It was not quite an apology that I would deem acceptable, but. But having to do that altogether makes them admit that they were in the wrong. And so this was a great, historic win. And honestly, we've never seen anything like this. We've never seen any of the universities that have put female athletes through this claw back and change their mind and do any of this. So it's a great first start, but obviously a lot more work needs to be done. And there are still universities that are allowing men onto their women's sports team, so we have to fight against them as well.

[Guest 2]

So this is still happening. There are places that, what are they essentially waiting to see if the Trump administration drops the hammer on their athletics program or their funding for the whole university? Is it. Is Trump having to play whack a mole with this issue?

[Host 1]

Honestly, a little bit. I mean, we've seen that, but we've also seen other issues. I mean, I know Harvard, not necessarily with the transgender issue, although they probably should go after Harvard for that as well, because Leah Thomas actually holds three records at the Harvard pool as well that are still up on the board. And you can go over to Cambridge, Massachusetts and see Leah Thomas on the women's side of the record board. But they've pushed back at the Trump administration. They're not willing to negotiate. So it's really dependent on school. We know San Jose State also infamously allowed a male athlete on their volleyball team. The Trump administration hasn't been able to get them to either apologize to their female athletes or correct some of the records. I'm not sure how you quite do that in volleyball, given that it's a team sport, but there is work to be done to apologize to the female athletes that were forced to endure in this. So again, I am grateful for their leadership. I think they've done a really, really great job on all of this. But there's still a lot of work to be done. And unfortunately we weren't able to pass federal legislation. So the executive orders and the Trump administration going after them, that's really what we're stuck with here.

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[Host 2]

The Quakers.

[Host 1]

The Quakers, yes.

[Guest 2]

How do the. How are the Quakers a peaceful people? Usually not what you'd think about as who you would name your, like, ferocious athletic program after. After is everyone. So I guess everyone just thinks that one's okay because who cares?

[Host 1]

I mean, I think it was because of the Pennsylvania was colonized.

[Guest 2]

Oh, no. I know why.

[Host 1]

I have no idea why they.

[Guest 2]

I know why. I know, like, why would they choose that as the. It just seems like such a. I don't know, it's like if your mascot was like the Mennonites or something, it's like, wait a second. Like, why that's a mascot? I don't know. It seems a little. I did not know that UPenn is the Quaker, so that's interesting. But, you know, the big one right now is changing back the Washington Commanders to the Redskins and how this is something that a lot of people feel very passionately about. What do you think about this debate?

[Host 1]

You know, honestly, I don't really care. I'm going to be honest. I think that the bigger thing is the reason that the Redskins originally had to change their name was because of this liberal ideology that's saying everything is racist. I mean, I saw this firsthand in college where they were tearing statues down. If it was a white man that had owned slaves somewhere at one point in history or things like that. Right. We've seen this mass thing where anyone who's racist is gone. And that was what was going on with a lot of these sports teams and mascots is anything that was deemed to be racist or insensitive or not politically correct needed to be changed. And I think that the Washington Redskins having their name changed was just part of that entire conversation. And so I think Trump is just fighting back to that, which I think he should. But. But to be fair, I don't really care. I. That's not my team. If it was my. If it was my team, I probably would care a little bit more. But it has no effect, really, on my life personally. And also, I thought it was really funny when they were the Washington football team for a season or two. If you remember that, that Whole debacle was. I don't understand why they took them so long to even change the name. I think that they're just creating drama and it's just kind of a joke at this point.

[Guest 2]

Hmm. Yeah. I don't think anyone expected that Trump was going to weigh in on this so heavily over the weekend with a tweet. It is funny to see some of the old. Some of the mascots that have changed just because also, I mean, you swam against Dartmouth. This is one to go from. I think it was the Indians, right, To the Big Green. I don't even know. Is that, like, their quadrangle? What is the big green?

[Host 1]

I have no idea. And. But apparently the Dartmouth mascot is also Keggy the Keg or something. That's their unofficial mascot. I was told that by some friends I had that, that swam at Dartmouth too. And I was like, are we being serious? Mascots in general are completely a joke. I mean, who picks these? The fact that I had to be a Quaker for four years and people would bring Quaker oats and say, this is our mascot. I mean, truly, the entire thing is a joke. But again, I think Trump is the master troller. He's always hilarious. I love his tweets. I mean, I love him as president. He's done wonderful things as president, but I think this man also has a wonderful career going for him in comedy if he ever chooses to go down that route. So I think this is just another example of him doing that. And I'm living for the entertainment.

[Guest 2]

What do you think, Speaking of entertainment, what do you think of Colbert? Are you a late night TV watcher? Did you watch any of these shows? I mean, I assume you watch Gutfeld sometimes, but did you ever watch, like, I don't know, you might be too young for, like, Leno or any of that stuff, but what do you think about Colbert getting canceled?

[Host 1]

I mean, I think it sounds like it was a financial decision. It had nothing to do with anything else, but yet we have people that are melting down calling this police politically motivated. I think bad ratings are bad ratings. We speak again, back to the original conversation about the wnba. We live in a capitalist society, and if your show is not producing, then it's not producing. And to be honest, I don't think I've met a single person that tells me they've watched his show. Truly. And I talked to a lot of my parents, friends that are in a generation that are maybe, you know, grew up watching that. And I have not heard from a single person that is truly a fan of his. So it doesn't surprise me that his ratings are not there and, and the money coming in for the show isn't there either.

[Guest 2]

So what do you focus on these days? At the American Principles Project, we are.

[Host 1]

Working to really defend family rights. And obviously the women's sports issue is a big one, but also transgender ideology. I think we have a lot of work to be done. The Trump administration has been a great partner on all of these things, but we've been working to just again, continue to defend women in sports. Obviously, because we don't have federal legislation, a lot of these states are still allowing men to compete in women's sports and putting girls in danger, but also not even just sports, but also in bathrooms and locker rooms. And so we're staying vigilant on the fight. We've made great progress again, and I think the culture's really shifted on that. But unfortunately, until it's completely done and never happening again, there are people that still have to stand up for it. So I've been grateful to be part of doing that and I'm grateful for the people that have joined us on this journey. And again, so much support culturally on this issue. Men don't belong in women's sports. It's really that simple.

[Guest 2]

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Thank you.

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