GOP Lawmakers Blast Nike For Alleged Transgender Athlete Study Funding, Dems Stay Silent

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Nike appears to have, at some point, helped fund a study on the effect of "gender-affirming" care among young male athletes to see if it's possible to impair them enough so they can "fairly" and "safely" compete in girls' and women's sports. 

While the company has since told OutKick that the study "was never initialized" and "is not moving forward," it's unclear when those decisions might have been made. The company has refused to provide additional context, despite the study's head researcher – Dr. Kathryn Ackerman – and a secondary researcher – Joanna Harper, a male who "identifies" as a woman – both publicly stating that Nike was funding the study. 

OutKick reached out to politicians across the political spectrum to get their thoughts on Nike's alleged role in funding a study on "transgender" athletes as young as 12 years old. 

"Under no circumstances should any company or organization subsidize a study that green lights experimenting on children and giving them life-altering medications, hormones, and surgeries," said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). "Nike needs to immediately come clean about whether it’s doing the radical left’s bidding by funding this unconscionable study and putting kids in harm’s way."

Several GOP lawmakers, including Marsha Blackburn, Tommy Tuberville and Ted Cruz ripped Nike for allegedly funding a transgender athlete study, while prominent Democrats stay silent.

Several GOP lawmakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz (left) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn ripped Nike for allegedly funding a transgender athlete study, while prominent Democrats stayed silent.

(Imagn Images & Getty Images)

"Didn’t Nike get the memo? 77 million Americans sent a simple message on November 5th: boys are boys and girls are girls," said Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). "Americans are sick and tired of Democrats’ attempts to erase women and to deny truths that have been universally acknowledged for thousands of years. Liberal companies like Nike would be well served to realize that the woke mind virus does nothing but alienate half of their customers." 

While Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) didn't provide a direct comment to OutKick, his team pointed us to a recent podcast appearance where he blasted left-wing radicals, and Nike, for continuing to support and push the idea that males should be allowed to compete in girls' and women's sports if they choose to identify that way. 

"I don't know that there is an issue that is more out of the mainstream and yet more required by elected Democrats than demanding that men compete against and in women's sports and boys compete in girls’ sports," Cruz said. "What is amazing is, even though the left is so far out of step, Nike's continuing to double down and fund this extreme research."

Unfortunately, none of the Democrats that OutKick asked for a comment responded. That included Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA). 

Even though both Newsom and Moulton have called males competing in girls' and women's sports "unfair," neither has shown a willingness to do anything about it. Despite Americans overwhelmingly declaring that they don't want males competing in women's sports, Democrats seem content to either support it or ignore it. Their cowardice knows no bounds.