ESPN, AP Once Again Take Side Of Transgender Athletes Over Females As Trump Readies Order
As OutKick previously reported, Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Wednesday that bans males from women's sports.
ESPN, being a purported sports-media company, has to cover this news. But instead of writing an entire original article on the subject, they decided to simply take the majority of the Associated Press' story.
Which, by extension, means that ESPN agrees with the AP's take on the matter. And it should surprise no one that both ESPN and the AP are against the idea of banning males from women's sports.

With President Donald Trump set to sign an executive order banning males in women's sports, ESPN and the AP chose to frame his decision in a way that clearly favors the males over the females.
(Getty Images)
They're not as overt about it as they have been in the past (at least ESPN isn't, we'll get to that in a moment), but ESPN and AP clearly think Trump banning males from women's sports is a bad thing. They're just being more subtle this time around.
Let's dive into the framing that ESPN and the AP chose to use for this story, shall we?
First, we'll start with a post on X from ESPN's official account. The post contains a link to a story on the ESPN website written by the AP and the text in the post is simply the first paragraph from the article.
As OutKick founder Clay Travis pointed out, this is a ridiculous way to frame Trump's executive order.
No one is "biologically assigned male at birth." If ESPN and the AP were concerned with being factually accurate, they would write "biologically assigned at conception." A fetus' sex is determined well before birth, hence the existence of "gender-reveal" parties.
The Ridiculous Idea That People Are ‘Assigned’ Sex At Birth
The idea that people are "assigned" sex at birth implies that a doctor arbitrarily makes the decision on whether a baby is male or female. This is patently false and a ridiculous notion.
Still, I would like to take a moment to give ESPN some credit. SOME. They have adjusted their framing slightly from previous stories, probably because they realize how unpopular their position is among Americans.
In the past, ESPN used phrases like "banning transgender athletes from sports." Again, that's false. No one is banned from sports.
The idea is to ban MALES from competing in WOMEN'S sports. The AP and ESPN were much clearer this time around, and more accurate, so kudos to them for that.
READ: ESPN Runs Incredibly Misleading Headline About Transgender Athletes, Joe Biden
There's a reason I specifically gave ESPN credit, but not the AP. Because on the AP website, they used a more typical misleading headline.
"Trump will sign an executive order barring transgender female athletes from competing," the AP headline reads.
All they had to do was add "in women's sports" and they would be slightly less biased. Alas, they couldn't even do that.
But the story takes a clear position, even if the AP and ESPN try to hide it
Let's look deeper into the article currently on the AP website and on ESPN.com.
The second paragraph:
The order, which Trump is expected to sign at an afternoon ceremony, marks another aggressive shift by the Republican president's second administration in the way the federal government deals with transgender people and their rights.

With President Donald Trump set to sign an executive order banning males in women's sports, ESPN and the AP chose to frame his decision in a way that clearly favors the males over the females.
(Imagn Images)
This is something that the AP and ESPN refuse to let go. No one is taking away any "rights." There is not a right in the United States Constitution, as far as I am aware, that a person can compete in sports, let alone women's sports.
If that were the case, I would be a professional athlete. Most people are denied the ability to compete in sports based on their athleticism and ability, or lack of (like me). It's not a guaranteed right.
President Trump's executive order says nothing about transgender people's right to freedom of speech, freedom of religion or freedom to assemble. Those are rights guaranteed in this country. Not sports participation. And certainly not participation in women's sports.
Trump found during the campaign that his pledge to "keep men out of women's sports" resonated beyond the usual party lines. More than half the voters surveyed by AP VoteCast said support for transgender rights in government and society has gone too far.
He leaned into the rhetoric before the election, pledging to get rid of the "transgender insanity," although his campaign offered little in the way of details.

A "Save Women's Sports" banner was held up by members of Turning Point USA-SDSU chapter.
(Alejandro Avila / OutKick)
These fourth and fifth paragraphs are where the AP and ESPN show their cards for all to see. Trump didn't find "during the campaign" that Americans didn't want males competing in women's sports or using women's private spaces and then lean "into the rhetoric."
Trump, like most average Americans, intuitively understands that women's spaces exist for one reason: to protect the safety of females. They are not for males who "identify" as girls and women.
The AP even admits that its own poll shows this to be true. Yet, they just can't help themselves.
AP, ESPN attempt to balance out their biased story on Trump's executive order on transgender athletes
Now, I will again allow some credit here. The AP story, which is featured on ESPN.com, includes quotes from Rep. Nancy Mace – an ardent pro-woman advocate – in Congress.
In addition, they include a quote from a Duke law professor that explains why Trump's order isn't even controversial. He's simply interpreting Title IX as it was intended originally.
"All Trump has to say is, 'We are going to read the regulation traditionally,'" said Doriane Lambelet Coleman, a professor at Duke Law School.
Even this quote, though, has some of that bias showing through. "Traditionally" could imply that Trump's interpretation is some outdated way of looking at the law. Of course, it isn't. Not all progress is progress, as they say.

Demonstrators gathered at the Texas State Capitol to protest the inclusion of males in women's sports.
(Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images)
The next quote, however, is my favorite. Brace yourself.
"This is a solution looking for a problem," Cheryl Cooky, a professor at Purdue University who studies the intersection of gender, sports, media and culture, told the AP after Trump was elected.
The fact that this professor, who "studies the intersection of gender, sports, media and culture" has the last name "Cooky" is funny to me.
But, more importantly, this is a person who has a made-up position at a university giving a take on a serious issue. By even allowing an "intersection of gender, sports, media and culture" professor to comment, the bias becomes painfully obvious.
Here's where ESPN decided to add some extra anti-female sentiment. They quoted Sadie Schreiner, a trans-identifying male who previously complained about the lack of Division I scholarships available in women's sports for males.
"This was never about trans athletics, science, or 'fairness.' It has always been about oppression," said Sadie Schreiner, a transgender woman competing in track and field at Rochester Institute of Technology. "They'll attack me all the same whether I'm on or off the track, so the only way I'll stop competing is in handcuffs."

Sadie Schreiner is a trans-identifying male athlete who is a two-time All-American in women's track and field at RIT.
(Getty Images)
There are no quotes in the ESPN story from any actual female athletes, even though there are plenty available.
At the end of the day, while ESPN and the AP have taken some steps toward sanity, they just can't let go of their inherent transgender agenda. If females have to suffer to protect the feelings of trans-identifying males, so be it.
That's just the price that has to be paid in the name of inclusion.
Except, it shouldn't be. And, thanks to President Donald Trump, hopefully females won't have to pay that price for much longer.