NCAA volleyball player refuses to stay silent as trans athletes puts women's opportunities 'at risk'
One college volleyball player is following in Riley Gaines' footsteps and refusing to let the sports industry fail female athletes as biological males infringe upon their spaces.
"There's a lot of money in sports and these coaches, their jobs are dependent on them winning," Macy Petty told "Varney & Co." guest host David Asman on Monday.
"So, if there's no rules from the NCAA saying that it has to be a female that occupies this female scholarship spot, then they're going to go out and recruit whoever's going to win. Unfortunately, because of biological advantages, they're going to go out and recruit men now."
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The NCAA athlete's concerns come as a Division 1 school – The University of Washington – reportedly awarded a women's volleyball scholarship to 17-year-old transgender athlete Tate Drageset.
Riley Gaines, who has been outspoken on the issue of allowing biological males to participate in women's sports, accused Drageset of "stealing the already few opportunities for women at the collegiate level" in a fiery X post last Wednesday.
The university reportedly rescinded the scholarship after backlash, according to LGBTQ+ news outlet LGBTQ+ Nation.
Petty, like Gaines, is concerned about allegedly stolen opportunities, but shares a slew of other worries, including the risk of physical harm as young women face off against competitors with biological advantages.
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During the Monday segment, Asman pointed to an incident involving a female athlete in California who reportedly suffered long-term injuries after being hit with a ball spiked by a trans athlete.
"It's heartbreaking. We're seeing it from coast to coast," Petty replied. "Just last year, we saw something very similar in North Carolina. This is very uncommon for volleyball, but this is what happens when you put men on the court with other female athletes."
Petty said she had never personally witnessed an incident in which a female athlete was harmed by a biological man, but she has had to play against one.
"Thankfully, no injuries occurred, but it was in front of college scouts and so our scholarships were at risk," she explained.
Petty said she would like to see the NCAA "clarify the rules that girls' sports are for girls only."
Concerns similar to hers have landed in the spotlight across a number of sports and divisions.
Selina Soule, a track athlete from Connecticut, for instance, sued the state over its "unfair" transgender sports policy and argued that women are being "robbed."
According to Alliance Defending Freedom, the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reinstated the case brought forward by Soule and three other female athletes.
Riley Gaines herself faced her own challenges after tying with transgender athlete Lia Thomas in the 2022 NCAA Championships. Thomas joined the University of Pennsylvania women's swim team after competing on the men's team for three years.