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President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning trans athletes from girls' and women's sports on Wednesday and the NCAA is already bracing for a potential change to its current rules that allow trans athletes to compete with women. 

Vice president of the NCAA's Eligibility Center, Felicia Martin, spoke at a congressional briefing in Washington on Wednesday to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day and suggested that the NCAA Board of Governors is already discussing potential policy changes once Trump's executive order goes into effect. 

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"We know that this is an issue and a national conversation happening around participation," she said. "The Board of Governors is right now having conversations about what potential next steps night be, but this is absolutely one of those issues that is ongoing, but without a national standard that can be applied across the board, all of us are making decisions based on what we think is the best for student athletes and opportunities." 

Martin added that she expects more clarity on a national standard later in the day from Trump. She also said that the Board of Governors would make its decisions on any policy changes based on the specific details of the executive order. 

In addition to Trump's executive order, the NCAA may get even more clarity on an incoming federal standard if the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act passes through Congress. The bill, which would ban federal funding for any institution that allows trans athletes in girls' and women's sports, has already made it through the House of Representatives. 

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The NCAA has had a policy in place to allow trans athletes to compete against women dating back to 2010. The 2010 NCAA Policy on Transgender Student-Athlete Participation states that biologically male athletes are allowed to compete in the women's category after undergoing at least one year of testosterone suppression treatment. 

This policy has resulted in multiple lawsuits against the NCAA and its member schools. Former NCAA swimmer and current conservative activist Riley Gaines is currently leading a lawsuit over her experience of having to compete with and share a locker room with trans swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 national championships. She is joined by several other women athletes who have also been affected by trans inclusion. 

Another lawsuit was filed Tuesday evening, when three of Thomas' former UPenn teammates came forward with their own experiences of having to share a team and locker room with Thomas and were allegedly gaslit by their university administrators and fed pro-trans ideology. 

NCAA President Charlie Baker addressed concerns over the issue of female athletes having to share teams and locker rooms with trans athletes during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in December. There, Baker insisted that female athletes have the option to find other accommodations if they're uncomfortable sharing with transgenders. 

"Everybody else should have an opportunity to use other facilities if they wish to do so," Baker said.

Baker also says that the NCAA's policies that allow trans athletes to compete against women are based on federal standards. 

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

Baker has also attempted to downplay the scale of the issue. Baker addressed the issue again during an interview on ESPN's "The Pat McAfee Show" days after the hearing. When McAfee asked Baker how the parents of daughters should feel about trans athletes in women's sports and the NCAA's record on it, Baker said, "There are 510,000 college athletes playing in the NCAA, there are less than 10 transgender athletes, so it's a small community to begin with."

However, despite that statistic, the issue has become a national debate over the last year, with several other instances of it happening at the youth and high school level, prompting national outrage. 

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A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. 

Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.

The issue is even believed to have affected the outcome of the 2024 election. 

Shortly after November's election, a national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls' and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls' and women’s bathrooms" as important to them. 

And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."

"It’s sad the NCAA lacks the integrity and moral clarity to protect their female athletes on their own. But I’m grateful the American people elected a man who was clear on his promises: he’s getting men out of women’s sports," CWA legislative strategist Macy Petty told Fox News Digital. 

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A Georgia state Senate committee passed the Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act Thursday after testimony from multiple female athletes who have competed against and shared locker rooms with transgender athletes. 

The bill would require athletes to participate on teams that align with their biological sex at birth. If it is signed into law, Georgia would become the 26th state in the U.S. to have a law in place to prevent or restrict transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. 

Georgia has been a prime frontier for this issue after the state hosted the 2022 NCAA women's swimming championships, which included transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. 

Two of Thomas' former opponents testified at Thursday's state congressional hearing. 

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Former North Carolina State women's swimmer Kylee Alons, a 31-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion, spoke about the experience competing against and sharing a locker room with Thomas.

"We all were just guinea pigs for a giant social experiment formed by the NCAA regarding how much abuse and blatant disregard women would be forced to take in silence," Alons said. 

Alons recounted the emotions she felt sharing competitive areas with Thomas, and how much sadness she felt watching women lose out on chances to compete fairly at the event. Alons even said she wanted to cry and leave the event after seeing Thomas win the 500-meter freestyle. 

"It all just felt so off and wrong," she said.

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Things got much more difficult for Lyons after she experienced sharing a locker room with Thomas. 

"I go to the locker room that day only to see Thomas and realize there is no escape from this nightmare, no matter where I go. I had no idea he was going to be allowed in the women's locker room as we did not consent to have a man in our locker room," Lyons said 

"I am immediately on edge every time I enter that locker room afterward, knowing at any moment a man can walk in on me changing. 

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Lyons added she felt so uncomfortable she resorted to abandoning the locker room altogether and instead changed in a storage closet behind the bleachers. 

Former University of Kentucky swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler joined Lyons in recounting the experience of sharing a locker room with Thomas. 

"Young women, teenage girls were forced to undress next to a fully intact biological male who exposed himself to us, while we were simultaneously fully exposed," Wheeler said. "We were never asked. We were never given a choice or another option. We were just expected to be OK with it, to shove down our discomfort, our embarrassment, our fear, because standing up for ourselves would mean being labeled as intolerant or hateful or bigoted."

Wheeler and Lyons are plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit against the NCAA led by fellow former swimmer and 2022 NCAA championship competitor Riley Gaines over the NCAA's policies on gender ideology. 

Wheeler and Lyons shared their experiences with a message urging state senators at the hearing to pass the Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act.

The bill drew opposition from parents, physicians and others. Dr. Jodi Greenwald, a Roswell pediatrician, told the panel that transgender girls are not predators and warned that transgender youth are more at risk of suicide. 

The bill passed by a vote of 8-3 after a nearly two-hour hearing.

Lt. Gov. Bill Jones called the vote an important step toward one of his critical goals of the session.

"Biological men do not belong in women’s sports, period," Jones said.

"This is common sense to everyone but the most radical liberals in Georgia. The Senate has always led the way on protecting women’s sports, and with Senate Bill 1, we will continue to be on the right side of this commonsense issue. 

"I will never waver in the fight to protect our sisters and our daughters participating on equal footing in Georgia sports. I look forward to Senate Bill 1 becoming law and the protection of women’s sports becoming a reality for all female athletes in Georgia."

A federal ban on transgender inclusion in girls and women's sports is also moving through Congress. 

The House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act Jan. 14, which would cut federal funding for any public educational institution that allows transgender athletes to compete against girls and women in sports.

Every Republican U.S. representative voted in favor of the bill. Only two Democrats, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both of Texas, voted to pass it. The remaining 206 House House Democrats opposed it. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., voted "present."

A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. 

Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.

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A school district administrator in Texas was seen encouraging parents to make false changes to their child's birth certificate so they would qualify to play in girls' sports as a biological male, according to a recently released video. 

The footage shows a man, allegedly Reny Lizardo, who serves as the executive director of campus operations for the Irving Independent School District, telling an undercover journalist that "It’s not illegal if you don’t get caught" in regard to doctoring a child's birth certificate to undermine Texas state law that prevents trans athletes from competing in girls' sports. 

"Could you legally change the gender on a birth certificate? I don't know enough about that subject," he says, according to video obtained by Accuracy in Media. "If you can get that done, and you turn us a birth certificate that says ‘this gender,’ that's the gender we go with."

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When asked if a hypothetical trans athlete had the gender on a birth certificate changed to female and would be able to then play on the girls' soccer team, the man allegedly identified as Lizardo responds, "Yeah." He also says the school district could plead plausible deniability if the athlete's birth gender was uncovered and prompted a lawsuit. 

"If a parent found out or a student found out and said, ‘Wait a second. This person isn’t this gender,’ and they, like, sued the district, we’d be in trouble. But, we can also say, 'We didn’t know' ... So, there’s a plausible deniability, I guess," he is seen saying before suggesting their conversation not be spoken about again. 

"Me and you never had this conversation."

In June 2023, Texas passed the Save Women's Sports Act that bans trans athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports, and only allows students to compete in the gender category listed on their birth certificate. The law only allows schools to recognize changes made to birth certificates that were made to correct a clerical error.

Texas is one of 25 states in the U.S. to have a law in place to prevent or restrict trans athletes from competing against girls and women, and a national bill is currently making its way through Congress. 

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott addressed the footage involving Lizardo in a post on X, and called for him to be fired and criminally investigated. 

"This Irving ISD Administrator should be fired on the spot. Both criminal & civil investigations must be taken against both the Administrator & Irving ISD," Abbott wrote. "Has Irving ISD and its employees been involved in a fraudulent breach of state laws & a cover up? We must get the facts."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Irving Independent School District for comment. 

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act on Jan. 14, which would cut federal funding for any public educational institution that allows trans athletes to compete against girls and women in sports.

Every Republican representative voted in favor of the bill, but only two Democrats, Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas, voted to pass it. The remaining 206 House Democrats all voted against. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., voted "present."

A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrat or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

After alienating Democratic voters with unsubstantiated claims that the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act would empower child predators to give genital examinations to young girls, the two most prominent figures on the left in the House of Representatives are not addressing the issue. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. were among 206 Democrats who voted against a bill that would prevent transgender athletes from competing against girls and women last week. 

Jeffries and Ocasio-Cortez pushed the unsubstantiated claims it would subject girls to genital examinations by child predators. No language exists in the bill suggesting genital examinations would occur, and Republicans argued proof of birth sex could be determined by a birth certificate. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Jeffries and Ocasio-Cortez have not responded to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital regarding their arguments, subsequent backlash from Democratic voters who have said they are leaving the party in response to the arguments and data that suggests that a majority of Democrats oppose transgender inclusion in women's sports. 

However, Ocasio-Cortez addressed the idea of culture wars about transgender people being a distraction during an interview on "The Weekly Show with John Stewart" podcast" Thursday.

"When we allow ourselves to constantly be distracted by these culture wars around trans people, it's a new thing every day, and the answer isn't that we just let those people be attacked, it's that we say, ‘What are you doing, man?’ I think we need to make standing up for those folks just such an afterthought that it's not even a debate," Ocasio-Cortez said. 

"Like, we need to understand and see the bait for what it is, but we don’t take the bait by letting those rights just erode and go by the wayside."

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

Ocasio-Cortez's suggestion that the party should make protecting transgender people an afterthought comes after she delivered a tirade in defense of transgender people and in opposition to the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act on the floor of the House of Representatives last week.

Her rant prompted widespread mockery, and Democrats have since spoken up about their distaste for her and the party's handling of the issue. 

Prominent Rutgers law professor Gary Francione, a lifelong Democrat and advocate for LGBTQ rights, told Fox News Digital he left the Democratic Party in response to its opposition to the bill. 

"That just made me very upset because it screamed out lack of integrity, lack of honesty," Francione told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. "This is the way you fight battles? By trying to insult other people who oppose you and disagree with you and insinuate that they're child molesters or pedophiles? It seems to me you've lost the game. … I don't know how they're ever going to come back from this." 

Francione said many of the other Democrats in his network of law and education share his disdain for the party's response to the bill and will also be leaving the party. 

"I can say confidently of the people I know who are Democrats who I've spoken to, the vast majority of them are very unhappy about all of this stuff and feel that the party has lost its way," Francione said. "I know a couple who said they are going to [unregister]." 

Voter registration data suggests the party is losing members in Francione's home state of Pennsylvania. However, no specific information for why is available. Prominent political organizer Scott Pressler announced on X the voter registration data shows that the number of Democratic voters declined by 24,867 from Jan. 14 to Jan. 21, the week that followed the House of Representatives hearing. 

Just two Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting in favor of the bill, representatives Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both of Texas. Their decision to defect from the rest of the party and vote for the protection of women and girls in sports reflects a growing position of many voters in their party and independents, according to recent data. 

A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women. 

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act is headed to the Senate after passing in the House, and it will need more votes by Democrats to get past a filibuster and move to President Donald Trump's desk. 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview she expects and hopes the bill will get the Democratic votes it needs to pass the Senate. 

"I would expect there would be. I would hope there would be," she said. 

"Many of my friends who are Democrats will tell you that they think Title IX is a thing, and to have biological males competing against women is inappropriate. And they want opportunities for their daughters or nieces or granddaughters. And it's frustrating to them when they hear about or witness a transgender male playing in a women's or girls league."

Blackburn added she has "no idea" what the Democrats who suggested the law would subject girls to genital examinations were thinking when they made that argument. 

"I find it very difficult to believe that protecting girls in sports would have such an adverse effect," Blackburn said. "Looking at the content of the bill is the best way to argue against it and know that a vast majority of Americans support protecting girls in girls' sports." 

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Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., seems to have been financially rewarded for taking a stand against transgender athletes in women's sports, but his critics aren't backing down. 

Moulton raised $547,153 from Election Day in November to the end of 2024, according to The Boston Globe. That figure is 10 times higher than what he raised in the same period in 2022, and 80% of the donations were $100 or less. 

"I think most Democrats want to put this issue to bed, so that we don’t keep losing on it," Moulton told the outlet.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

The congressman was one of the most vocal Democrats to speak out against transgender inclusion in women's and girls sports after his party's sweeping election loss for the White House, House of Representatives and Senate. 

Moulton initially made his comments blaming his party's stance on transgender inclusion in a New York Times article Nov. 7, just two days after the election, then repeatedly doubled down on that stance amid backlash from those within his own party.

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

Moulton's comments prompted a pro-transgender rally outside his office Nov. 17, and now a second rally is planned for outside his office Tuesday, Jan. 28. 

Salem city Councilman Kyle Davis, who organized the rallies, previously told Fox News Digital there is a sizable Democratic contingent in Massachusetts that plans to primary Moulton in 2026. 

Even though Moulton has publicly disavowed supporting transgender inclusion in women's and girls sports, he still voted against a bill that would help combat it last week. 

Moulton joined 206 Democratic representatives who voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act Jan. 14. Moulton previously cosponsored the Equality Act and Transgender Bill of Rights, both of which would allow transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. 

On Tuesday, two Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting in favor of the bill — representatives Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas. But Moulton, despite now opposing transgender inclusion, voted against the bill Tuesday, saying he does not want children to be "subjected to the invasive violations of personal privacy this bill allows."

That argument was similar to one many other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., have made, insisting it would empower child predators to give genital examinations to young girls. 

The bill passed in the House with bipartisan support and is moving to the Senate, and some Democratic voters have chosen to leave the party in response to their representatives' child predator argument. 

A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. 

Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women. 

Shortly after November's election, a national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls' and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls' and women’s bathrooms" as important to them. 

And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."

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EXCLUSIVE: As the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act heads to the Senate after passing in the House of Representatives, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn, believes it will continue to get bipartisan support there, just as it did in the House. 

Blackburn told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that she has spoken to multiple Democrats across the aisle who are in support of restricting trans inclusion in women's sports. 

"Many of my friends who are Democrats will tell you that they think Title IX is a thing and to have biological males competing against women is inappropriate, and they want opportunities for their daughters or nieces or granddaughters, and it's frustrating to them when they hear or about or witness a transgender male playing in a women's or girls' league" Blackburn said. 

When the bill passed through the House last Tuesday, Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas, were the only two Democrats to vote in favor of it. Blackburn expects and hopes that there will be multiple Democratic senators who vote in favor of the bill when it hits the Senate floor. 

"I would expect there would be, I would hope there would be," she said. 

However, most Democrats have remained firmly opposed to the bill. Many have gone so far in their opposition to make unsubstantiated claims that the law would empower child predators to give genital examinations to young girls. 

Many of the 206 Democratic house representatives, including Minority Rep. Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., presented that argument despite no language in the bill that indicates genital examinations would be used. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Republicans insisted that proof of birth sex can be determined simply by a birth certificate. The Democrats' attempt to tie the bill to child predator empowerment has driven many loyal voters away from the party, Fox News Digital previously reported.

Blackburn says she has "no idea" what those Democrats who argued it would result in child predator empowerment are thinking.

"I find it very difficult to believe that protecting girls in sports would have such an adverse effect," Blackburn said. "Looking at the content of the bill is the best way to argue against it and know that a vast majority of Americans support protecting girls in girls' sports." 

A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, do not think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. 

Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.

Controversies over trans athletes competing against women became a key election issue in 2024, as President Donald Trump and Republicans down ballot all vowed to take action to prevent it. 

The GOP has indicated it will make good on its promise very early, as the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act was the very first bill introduced to the 119th Congress. Blackburn plans to advocate strongly for the bill once it reaches the Senate, where the Republican majority and some Democrats are expected to pass it on to the White House for Trump to sign it into law. 

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

However, Blackburn is not stopping there. She is also introducing three other proposals to tackle the issue on both a legislative and cultural level. 

The Tennessee Senator has introduced a resolution calling on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to revoke its transgender student-athlete eligibility policy, alongside Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla. 

NCAA President Charlie Baker faced questions and criticism from Republican lawmakers for these policies during a congressional hearing on Dec. 17. Baker repeatedly cited federal law and recent rulings of federal courts that have enabled it. Blackburn and Steube's resolution would force Baker and the NCAA to follow a new precedent instead. 

Blackburn is also introducing a bill to assess and prevent violence against women in athletics. The Fair Play for Girls Act, which, in addition to keeping women's sports for females, would "require the U.S. Attorney General to submit an analysis of violence against women in athletics to Congress." 

"We have talked with different women who have had adverse impacts," Blackburn said. "This would require the attorney general to do an analysis and look at what is happening in the world of sports with women and to women and then looking at where there are impediments to fair competition for the girls, where there are occurrences of girls losing opportunities because a girl has joined their team or is playing in their league, and then also to look at harassment against women and girls in athletics." 

Blackburn is even looking to have a conscious protection of women and girls in sports ingrained into American culture with a resolution declaring Oct. 10 as "American Girls in Sports Day," which Senate Democrats blocked last Congress.

The date, Oct. 10, which translates to XX in Roman numerals, is meant to reference the XX chromosomes that determine female gender at birth. 

"It would just be teams and schools celebrating their teams and treating it as a time for schools to give the opportunities to coaches to girls who have excelled in different sports, I think it would be a source of encouragement to more young girls to participate in sports," Blackburn said. 

Blackburn's legislative proposals have been endorsed by Riley Gaines, Jennifer Sey, Caitlyn Jenner, Sage Steele, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, Parents Defending Education Action and Independent Women’s Forum.

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Democrat lawmakers in Washington, D.C., pushed back against the GOP-led Protection of Women and Girls in Sports act last week with unsubstantiated arguments that the law would enable sexual predators to give genital examinations to young girls. 

This argument was not rooted in any language within the bill, as Republicans insisted that no genital inspection would ever be necessary and that proof of birth gender could simply be determined with a birth certificate. 

Still, many prominent Democrats, including House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., used the sexual predator argument in statements and during testimony on the House of Representatives floor. 

This tactic has alienated some of the party's loyal voters, who have unregistered as Democrats in response.

Prominent Rutgers law professor Gary Francione has been a lifelong Democrat dating back to the 1970s. In November's general elections, he voted for Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., who was one of 206 Democrats to vote against the bill last Tuesday.

But Francione, who is an advocate for LGBTQ rights, abortion rights and even a vegan and animal rights abolitionist, said he was so offended by the Democrat representatives who tried to tie the bill to empowering child predators that he unregistered as a Democrat after last Tuesday's hearing.

"That just made me very upset because it screamed out lack of integrity, lack of honesty," Francione told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. "This is the way you fight battles? By trying to insult other people who oppose you and disagree with you and insinuate that they're child molesters or pedophiles? It seems to me you've lost the game. … I don't know how they're ever going to come back from this." 

Francione has a lifelong network of other Democrats in the field of law and other industries, and he says many of them share his beliefs and will also be unregistering from the party. 

"I can say confidently of the people I know who are Democrats who I've spoken to, the vast majority of them are very unhappy about all of this stuff and feel that the party has lost its way," Francione said. "I know a couple who said they are going to [unregister]." 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Francione initially announced his departure from the party in a viral post on X over the weekend. Many of his thousands of followers replied insisting they would follow his lead in unregistering from the party in response to the congressional representatives' attempt to tie the bill to empowering sexual predators.

"This is what I have done. That is when I drew the line and swapped registration," one user replied. 

"I know the feeling. They drive you to it. Welcome to the club," another wrote. 

Francione said the premise of allowing trans athletes to compete against females is "discriminatory" against girls and women, and he went so far as to call the Democrat argument against the bill "insane" and "irresponsible." 

"I thought it was very unfair to the large number of very decent people who are concerned about fairness and safety in women's sports," he said. "These young girls, they train hard, they work hard, and then they get things taken away from them by men!"

Even former U.S. Olympic cyclist Inga Thompson admitted in a recent interview that even though she’s a lifelong Democrat, she was hopeful for President Donald Trump’s incoming presidency because of his stance on protecting women and girls in sports.

Multiple Democrat congressional representatives have chosen to refer to the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act as the "House GOP Child Predator Empowerment Act." These individuals include Jeffries, Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Whip Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and many of the other 206 Democrats who voted against the bill.

Ocasio-Cortez dismissed the fact that there is no language in the bill that suggests any child would be subject to genital inspections during her argument. 

"The majority right now says there's no place in this bill that says it opens up for genital examinations. Well, here's the thing, there's no enforcement mechanism in this bill. And when there is no enforcement mechanism, you open the door to every enforcement mechanism!" Ocasio-Cortez said.

Ocasio-Cortez later proclaimed, "Trans girls are girls!"

But many Democrats who opposed the bill strictly opposed it based on the unsubstantiated premise that it would empower sexual predators without even advocating for the right of trans athletes to compete in women's sports, as enabling trans inclusion became a widely unpopular stance in November's election.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., was one of those who took that stance. Moulton previously said that he believed Democrats advocating for trans inclusion was an issue that cost them in November, and he repeatedly defended his stance of opposing trans inclusion despite backlash from those in his own party and state in the weeks that followed President Donald Trump's victory and Republican majorities in the House and Senate. 

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

But Moulton still voted against the bill on Tuesday, saying he does not want children to be "subjected to the invasive violations of personal privacy this bill allows."

Just two Democrats joined the Republican majority in voting in favor of the bill: Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and Vicente Gonzales, D-Texas. Their decision to defect from the rest of the party and vote for the protection of women and girls in sports reflects a growing widespread position of many voters in their party and independents, according to recent data. 

A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women. 

Shortly after November's election, a national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls' and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls' and women’s bathrooms" as important to them. 

And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."

Francione is one of the many longtime Democrat voters who believe the lawmakers in his party have failed in carrying out the will of their constituents on this issue.

"Progressives have failed," he added. "Progressives have created a grievance Olympics … and it doesn't work." 

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A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don't think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women's sports. 

"Thinking about transgender female athletes — meaning athletes who were male at birth but who currently identify as female — do you think they should or should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports?" the survey asked. 

Of the 2,128 people who participated, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women's sports. 

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Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women. 

Among 1,022 Republicans, that number was 94%. 

The 81 independents who were interviewed represented the group with the most reluctance to say transgender athletes shouldn't be allowed to compete. Just 64% said they were against it, while 26% refused to answer. Just 3% of the Democrats and 1% of the Republicans refused to answer.

The country saw a notable shift in awareness and opposition to the issue of transgender athletes in women's sports in 2024, when a number of stories sparked national attention and controversy. The issue became a key campaign issue in November's election for President-elect Trump and other Republicans. 

A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America (CWA) legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls' and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls' and women’s bathrooms" as important to them. 

And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

Nearly 70% of Americans say biological men should not be permitted to compete in women's sports, according to a Gallup poll last year.

In June, a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago asked respondents whether transgender athletes of both sexes should be permitted to participate in sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender identity instead of their biological sex. In that survey, 65% answered that it should never or rarely be allowed. When those polled were asked specifically about adult transgender female athletes competing in women’s sports, 69% opposed it.

With Trump about to return to office Monday, Republicans are pushing a bill that will address the issue in Congress. 

The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act passed in the House of Representatives Tuesday and even had support from two Democrats. 

That bill will advance to the Republican-controlled Senate, and, if it passes there, Trump will get to sign it into law early in his term. 

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A tough stretch for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., got worse Tuesday when she watched members of her party vote for a bill she attacked at the expense of widespread mockery.

Ocasio-Cortez's viral rant against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act wasn't enough to convince Democratic allies Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both of Texas, to vote against the bill. Cuellar and Gonzalez joined 218 House Republicans who voted for the bill that seeks to prevent federally funded educational institutions from allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls and women's sports. 

For Ocasio-Cortez, the notion of Democratic congressmen voting for a Republican-backed bill before President-elect Trump even returns to office suggests her party is "not in good shape."

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"We can't be ninnies about this," Ocasio-Cortez told The Independent Tuesday. "These are just the early days. Trump hasn't even been sworn in yet, and if a little bitty sports bill was gonna make Dems defect, we're not in good shape."

Ocasio-Cortez advised Democrats not to be "ninnies" the same day she delivered a widely-mocked tirade that contained multiple unsubstantiated claims and unfinished sentences. Her rant prompted multiple viral social media responses that labeled her "the dumbest person in congress." 

For Ocasio-Cortez, it marks a poor start to 2025 after a rough 2024. Despite winning re-election to her House seat in New York, Ocasio-Cortez watched members of her coalition, "the Squad," lose their seats, including Jamaal Bowman in New York and Cori Bush in Missouri. 

Ocasio-Cortez also lost in her bid to become the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, getting passed over by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.

What's more, Ocasio-Cortez was frequently the subject of viral social media mockery, often for her unchanging stance on transgender inclusion in women's and girls sports.

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

In November, Ocasio-Cortez reshared a video of Green Party vice presidential candidate Butch Ware speaking out against transgender inclusion in women's sports with a caption that said, "This ticket is predatory and people deserve better." The post prompted heated backlash on social media. 

"AOC says it’s predatory behavior to not want men competing in women’s sports. To AOC, acknowledging biological reality is ‘predatory.’ You know what’s actually predatory? Sexualizing children and normalizing pedophilia," conservative influencer and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines wrote on X while posting a Fox News Digital article about Ocasio-Cortez’s comments.

The mockery of Ocasio-Cortez picked up weeks after the election when X users discovered she no longer includes her pronouns "she/her" in her bio. 

Ocasio-Cortez is one of many prominent Democrats who remain firmly supportive of transgender inclusion in women's sports, even as the issue proved to be a vulnerability for Democrats in November's election. 

Many Democrats who spoke out against the bill Tuesday did not argue on the premise that transgender athletes should be allowed in women's and girls sports. Instead, they argued the measures preventing transgender inclusion will subject girls to genital examinations and sexual predators despite no language in the bill that would suggest genital examinations for girls in sports. 

Ocasio-Cortez included that unsubstantiated claim in her rant Tuesday but gave a shout-out to transgender athletes when she yelled "Trans girls are girls!" on the House of Representatives floor. 

Ocasio-Cortez has previously co-sponsored the Equality Act, which was proposed in 2019 and has had revisions that "would force public schools to allow biologically male athletes who identify as transgender on girls sports teams." In March 2023, Democrats, including Ocasio-Cortez, proposed a resolution "recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights." 

Unlike Ocasio-Cortez, other Democratic House representatives have publicly pulled back on their support for transgender inclusion, including Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.; Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas; and Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y. Still, each of those Democrats voted against the bill Tuesday. 

A national exit poll conducted by the Concerned Women for America legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters viewed "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls' and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls' and women’s bathrooms" as important to them. And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."

In June, a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago asked respondents to weigh in on whether transgender athletes of both sexes should be permitted to participate in sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender identity instead of their biological sex. 

In that survey, 65% answered that it should either be never or rarely allowed. When those polled were asked specifically about adult transgender female athletes competing on women’s sports teams, 69% opposed it.

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sent a post on Bluesky criticizing the proposed Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act on Tuesday, making unsubstantiated claims that the law would "unleash horrific child predators on girls and young women."

"The House Republican Child Predator Empowerment Act does not promote fairness and safety in sports. It will unleash horrific child predators on girls and young women throughout America. Unacceptable," Jeffries wrote. 

Jeffries' office has not offered a substantial explanation as to how the law would do this when asked for comment by Fox News Digital. 

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"The post speaks for itself," a spokesperson from Jeffries' office told Fox News Digital when asked for an elaboration of the comments. 

The proposed Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act has been re-introduced in the Senate by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and by Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., in the House, where it will be voted on Tuesday. 

This bill generally aims to prohibit school athletic programs from allowing individuals whose biological sex at birth was male to participate in programs that are for women or girls.

Specifically, the bill provides that it is a violation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 for federally funded education programs or activities to operate, sponsor, or facilitate athletic programs or activities that allow individuals of the male sex to participate in programs or activities that are designated for women or girls. 

Under the bill, sex is based on an individual's reproductive biology and genetics at birth.

The bill is only one page long, and clarifies that it will not be a violation for "males to train or practice with an athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls so long as no female is deprived of a roster spot on a team or sport, opportunity to participate in a practice or competition, scholarship, admission to an educational institution, or any other benefit that accompanies participating in the athletic program or activity."

Currently, 25 states already have their own similar statewide laws to prevent trans athletes from competing against girls and women. 

Jeffries is not the only prominent Democrat to brand the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act as the Child Predator Empowerment Act.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., spoke out against the bill during a press conference on Tuesday. Aguilar suggested that the fact that the bill doesn't establish an age limit for girls' sports could "lead to inspections and individuals raising concerns."

HOW TRANSGENDERISM IN SPORTS SHIFTED THE 2024 ELECTION AND IGNITED A NATIONAL COUNTERCULTURE

"What is most offensive about the legislation is that it doesn't distinguish girls' sports at what age. It doesn't distinguish whether you want an Olympic athlete, an NCAA player, high school sports player regulated by your state, or whether you're just playing soccer as a 4-year-old or 5-year-old down the street," Aguilar said.

"It potentially could lead to inspections and individuals raising concerns. And how you proceed with that is something that is concerning to the House Democratic Caucus. And so that's why, you know, we felt that this is the GOP child predator empowerment act."

Jeffries and Aguilar have each previously co-sponsored a piece of legislation that would allow trans athletes to compete in women's and girls' sports – The Equality Act. 

That bill would "amend Federal education laws to ensure that they protect students from discrimination based on sex, including gender identity and sex characteristics, and guarantee students’ right to participate in sports on teams and in programs that best align with their gender identity." 

However, the Democrats' push to enable trans inclusion in women's sports became a party-wide vulnerability in the recent election cycle. 

A national exit poll conducted by the CWA legislative action committee found that 70% of moderate voters saw the issue of "Donald Trump’s opposition to transgender boys and men playing girls' and women’s sports and of transgender boys and men using girls' and women’s bathrooms" as important to them.

And 6% said it was the most important issue of all, while 44% said it was "very important."

In June, a survey conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago asked respondents to weigh in on whether transgender athletes of both sexes should be permitted to participate in sports leagues that correspond to their preferred gender identity instead of their biological sex. 

Sixty-five percent answered that it should either be never or rarely allowed. When those polled were asked specifically about adult transgender female athletes competing on women’s sports teams, 69% opposed it.

Multiple Democrats have publicly pulled back on their support for trans inclusion, including Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, and Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y.

Biden's Education Department was even forced to withdraw a proposed rule that would outlaw states from banning trans inclusion in December. 

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