Democrat state lawmaker debates former NCAA volleyball player who forfeited to SJSU team with trans athlete

Arizona authorities legislator Catherine Miranda, a Democrat, has travel nether scrutiny connected societal media aft an speech with erstwhile NCAA volleyball subordinate and "save women’s sports" activistic Kaylie Ray. 

Ray showed up to the Arizona Senate Education committee proceeding connected Wednesday to lobby for a measure that would support women's sports from biologic males. She spoke from the position of a erstwhile Utah State skipper who led a squad forfeit against San Jose State successful 2024, successful protestation of a trans jock connected San Jose State University (SJSU). 

After Ray shared her testimony, Miranda opened her effect by commenting connected Ray's appearance. 

The Mountain West Conference logo is seen earlier the title crippled of the Mountain West Conference hoops tourney betwixt the Utah State Aggies and the San Diego State Aztecs astatine the Thomas & Mack Center connected March 16, 2019 successful Las Vegas, Nevada.   (David Becker/Getty Images)

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"I person my sports chapeau connected now. It's each astir a sports mentality, increasing up successful sports, being a tomboy. I mean, you look beauteous healthy. I've played against girls that look similar you. You look precise overmuch successful signifier and strong," Miranda said.

The authorities legislator past argued against Ray's presumption and the measure by claiming she had competed against men herself successful sports, and would vie against men successful sports and ended her lecture with the question, "How competitory bash you deliberation you truly are?"

At nary constituent successful Miranda's effect did she ever usage the connection "transgender" oregon adjacent "male" oregon "female." She simply referred to antheral opponents arsenic "men."

"It's a sports mentality erstwhile you're increasing up and however overmuch contention that you'll instrumentality on. So it's not conscionable a metallic slug for 1 assemblage of sports players, it's the idiosyncratic individual connected however competitory you wanna be. So you grew up 1 way. I grew up a antithetic way. I would person taken connected a antheral successful a heartbeat. I've played in, I was the lone miss sometimes successful sports. But to person a antheral connected my team, I would person welcomed it," Miranda said.

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(left) erstwhile NCAA volleyball subordinate Kaylie Ray, (right) Arizona authorities legislator Catherine Miranda (Courtesy of ICONS, Arizona authorities legislature)

"But this is conscionable my opinion… and that's wherefore this measure is atrocious due to the fact that you're conscionable putting a full assemblage of women's sports successful 1 category. When women similar me, we person a antithetic opinion. So however competitory bash you deliberation you truly are?" 

According to a 2017 station successful Hispanic Engineer & Technology, Miranda antecedently spoke astir her acquisition playing sports with her brother. 

"Sports was my life. There were 4 girls and 1 lad successful my family. My member turned maine into his ‘little brother’ truthful helium could person idiosyncratic to play sports with. I was a 100% tomboy," and claimed she was the lone miss to play successful a section small league, the website reported.

Ray argued backmost to Miranda astatine the proceeding that the projected measure would see 3 sex categories, male, pistillate and co-ed. 

"If you privation to vie against your man, absolutely, let's bash that successful the co-ed section," Ray said. 

"The clarity and favoritism is truly important. Because erstwhile men are allowed entree into women's sports and spaces, it isn't women's sports and spaces anymore."

'HORRIBLE' MOMENTS EXPOSED FOR UNR VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS WHEN THEY WERE ROPED INTO THE SJSU TITLE IX SCANDAL

Ray has provided an expanded effect to Miranda successful a connection to Fox News Digital. 

"I wonderment if she could look Riley Gaines, Brooke Slusser, Lainey Armistead, Madison Kenyon, Mary Kate Marshall, and each azygous miss who has been forced to vie against a antheral successful the eyes and archer them they simply are not competitory enough?" Ray said. 

"Wanting fairness does not marque idiosyncratic a coward. Wanting harmless and adjacent contention does not mean a miss does not person what it takes. It means she respects herself and the effort and dedication that women person enactment into gathering opportunities successful sports … No azygous pistillate has the close to springiness distant the opportunities and protections that truthful galore others worked truthful hard to secure." 

Kaylie Ray stands beside Brooke Slusser arsenic she speaks extracurricular of the U.S. Supreme Court. (Courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom)

Fox News Digital has reached retired to Miranda's bureau for comment. 

Ray, a three-time Mountain West league championship, was 1 of 5 league teams to forfeit astatine slightest 1 lucifer to San Jose State successful the 2024 play amid contention implicit trans jock Blaire Fleming. After finishing her postgraduate grade astatine Weber State successful 2025, she spoke astatine a ‘save women's sports' rally outisde the U.S. Supreme Court successful January.

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She spoke alongside Slusser, who was the SJSU co-captain who filed a suit aft sharing a squad and flat with Fleming successful 2023 without knowing Fleming was a transgender biologic male. 

The SJSU contention has travel backmost into the nationalist spotlight successful 2026, aft the schoolhouse arsenic the assemblage has sued the national authorities to situation a Deparment of Education probe that determined the schoolhouse violated Title IX successful its handling of Fleming. 

U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon responded to the suit connected Wednesday, giving the assemblage a deadline of 10 days to travel to a solution agreement, oregon look backing cuts and a referral to the Department of Justice. 

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