Today’s Ahnaleigh Wilson, a 15-year-old track and field athlete in Washington state who is taking a strong stand (and all the risks that come with doing so!). She is not alone, though. Several girls have been joining her recently. Ahnaleigh recently spoke at a school event and...This is what she said: "We were called 'hateful, transphobic, and bigots.' Adults have called me stupid, and adults have told my parents that they should be ashamed of me for being so hateful. I’m often told that I’m just a sore loser, and that if I wanted to win, I should train harder and just not suck. My family has been threatened with losses. We’ve lost friendships, and someone even said that we better hope that I have a body guard because I’m so hateful." Can you imagine saying this to a 15-year-old girl?? This is utterly shameful. Ahnaleigh, I am so sorry you have been put through this. It is terrible that the adults in your state have been allowing male athletes to compete in track and field, or any sport, meant for girls. It is horrific that they have allowed males (some of them adult men) into your locker rooms. They are all lying to you by making you think that if a boy says he is a girl, then he is one. This is one of the biggest scandals I have ever known. It should not take young women such as yourself to have to stand up for yourself and your teammates. They should have protected you. However, I am very glad you are taking a stand and speaking out. Today’s FFS Friday is for you.

FFS Friday: Ahnaleigh Wilson and all the girls in Washington state who are speaking out

December 5, 2025

>For years, young girls have been forced to advocate for female-only sports and spaces—both of which should be a basic right—because of radical gender ideology. Where too many adults have failed them, middle and high schoolers have had to make their voices heard. But in Maine, fathers are stepping up to defend their daughters. >“Paternal not political” is the motto of Maine Girl Dads, and the group’s mission is to protect young women in the state by ensuring they have the right to fair play, equal protection under the law, and safe single-sex places. >“We’re making the kids themselves that are victims of this issue stand up and be the ones to speak, and that’s really terrible,” Leyland Streiff, who leads the Maine Girl Dads petition, told IW Features. “As parents, we shouldn’t be doing that.” >Maine Girl Dads hopes to put the issue directly before voters. Their ballot initiative would recognize sex-based definitions for athletic categories and private spaces such as locker rooms or bathrooms. To put the measure on the November 2026 ballot, Maine Girl Dads needs to collect 70,000 signatures. >“A boy walked in on my [15-year-old] daughter’s restroom [in Michigan],” Tabor told IW Features. His daughter was so uncomfortable that she had to leave the bathroom, Tabor said. Now, Tabor said his daughter avoids using the bathroom at school because she does not want to share a private space with a male...Streiff and Tabor also heard stories from women and girls personally impacted by Maine’s current laws. One girl said her lacrosse team lost two games last year to schools with males on their teams, according to Streiff, and one college student told Streiff that she is forced to share a locker room with six-foot-tall, fully intact males. >“This is an 80/20 issue across the country, and it continues to be an 80/20 issue in Maine,” Streiff said. “Over 60% of Democrats that have been polled in Maine agree that males and females should be separated in sports and sports facilities, and it’s about 90% of Republicans, from what I understand.” >“All we want is the ability to be fathers for our kids and to be able to have common sense reign when it comes to how we protect them,” Streiff said.

IWFeatures

These Dads Are Standing Up for Girls’ Sports

Maine Girl Dads is a coalition of fathers coming together for one mission: to ensure their daughters have a future with female sports.