Education Secretary Linda McMahon threatened to withhold federal funding from California over allowing transgender student athletes to compete. She said the only way the state could stop this from happening would be to send a letter of apology to all cisgender female athletes and strip trans athletes’ titles.

McMahon appeared on Fox News Wednesday morning to address the threatened cuts to California’s funding. In a clip surfaced by journalist Aaron Rupar, she laid out what the state needs to do to stop her from cutting funding.

Linda McMahon on how California can avoid losing federal education funding: "They really need to send a letter of apology to all of the female participants in sports. They need to return the titles that were taken away from these women who competed and lost to males in the… pic.twitter.com/xr06e7B31S

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 25, 2025

“They really need to send a letter of apology to all of the female participants in sports. They need to return the titles that were taken away from these women who competed and lost to males in the sports. They just have to make it right to those women competitors,” McMahon said.

READ MORE: Trans Kids Wanting To Play Team Sports Get Legal Wins

“You know, it’s very interesting to hear Governor Newsom say that it’s a matter of fairness. It’s easy. You know, talk is cheap. I think he needs to put his money where his mouth is,” she continued. “I sent him a letter and asked him to do just that, if he’s talking about fairness. But there was no action taken on his part. So he talks about it, but he doesn’t do anything about it. So we’ve stepped in. We’ve investigated. Our Office of Civil Rights investigated this thoroughly and found that there was an infraction.”

While it’s unknown how many transgender student athletes are in California, EdSource estimates the number to be under 10. And when it comes to California’s title-winning transgender athletes, the number is even lower: one. On May 31, AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley High won first place in the girls’ high jump and triple jump in the state’s track-and-field finals.

Despite the incredibly small number of trans athletes competing, the GOP has focused disproportionately on the issue. And even California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has—as McMahon referenced—said he believes it’s “deeply unfair” for transgender athletes to compete.

“I think it’s an issue of fairness, I completely agree with you on that. It is an issue of fairness — it’s deeply unfair. I am not wrestling with the fairness issue,” Newsom told conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in March on This Is Gavin Newsom, the governor’s podcast. “I revere sports. So, the issue of fairness is completely legit.”

While Newsom thinks it’s “unfair,” the data does not support his conclusion. Not only is there an incredibly small number of trans athletes—and even fewer who have won competitions—there is no evidence that they have an advantage over cisgender athletes. The truth is, rules against transgender athletes competing is rooted in bigotry and misinformation, nothing more.

Image via Reuters

The sponsor of Florida’s highly controversial and dangerous “Don’t Say Gay” bill is doubling down on the “outing” provision of his legislation, which is expected to get a vote by the full House Tuesday.

GOP State Rep Joe Harding has added a proposed amendment to his own bill, Florida Politics reports. Harding is a freshman lawmaker who has no background in education, child development, or LGBTQ issues.

Currently, HB 1557 says teachers, administrators, and other staff must contact parents about a student’s “mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being, or a change in related services or monitoring.” Meaning schools must tell parents if their child comes out as LGBTQ at school.

If they don’t, the bill says, parents can sue.

There is currently one provision to protect at-risk children, schools can opt to not inform parents, “if a reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect.”

Of those who seek help, 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBTQ, often as a direct result of coming out or being outed to their parents.

Rep. Harding would like to ensure that either parents are told their child has come out as LGBTQ, or – according to his new amendment – if the school has determined they should not be told because “a reasonably prudent person would believe that disclosure would result in abuse, abandonment, or neglect,” the parents within six weeks of not being told must be notified that the school has withheld information from them.

Not only will that put some children at great risk, but it will also put school officials at risk.

The amendment says school officials must devise a “plan” to tell parents while protecting the child’s well-being, but does not give them any indication of what that would look like, or how to avoid likely hostility to the official and likely harm to the child.

Imagine this phone call:

“Hello, Mr. Jones, this is Principal Smith. We have information related to your child’s mental, emotional, or physical health or well-being but have decided to not disclose that information to you. However, by law, we’re required to inform you we are withholding this information. Have a nice day.”

Image by Krissy Venosdale via Flickr and a CC license

Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s City Commissioners Tuesday evening will honor Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Westminster Academy. Included in those proclamations is the church’s founder, Dr. D. James Kennedy, whose D. James Kennedy Ministries appears on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of anti-LGBTQ hate groups.

Fort Lauderdale’s mayor, who is also its first gay mayor, Dean Trantalis, will sign the proclamations making March 21, 2021 Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church Day and Westminster Academy Day, as South Florida Gay News reports.

Florida LGBTQ activist Michael Rajner posted the proclamations:

The late Mayor Justin Flippen would be turning in his grave. A few years ago he spoke w/ @wsvn of his traumatic experience to undergo #conversiontherapy at Coral Ridge. I hope Dean Trantalis reflects on Justin tomorrow night while he signs the proclamation. @browardpolitics pic.twitter.com/x1Q5CuQ7xj

— Michael Rajner (@MichaelRajner) March 15, 2021

A search of the D. James Kennedy Ministries website shows hundreds of articles on homosexuality. Some of them include “Freedom from Homosexuality through the Gospel,” “Brazen Attacks on Marriage,” and “Sexual Anarchy Puts Religious Liberty at Risk.”

Truth Wins Out, an LGBT equality non-profit, calls the proclamations “no different than honoring the KKK.”

“It’s outrageous to honor Coral Ridge. It is no different than honoring the KKK. This church lied about LGBT people, produced hate propaganda and perpetuated the “ex-gay” hoax. They have NEVER apologized for ruining lives. Stop this madness!”

Tell Fort Lauderdale mayor @DeanTrantalis and FTL commissioners TODAY that “no apology, no proclamation” honoring Coral Ridge Ministries. This church is divisive and pioneered “ex-gay” programs. It led the Truth in Love “pray away the gay” ad campaign. https://t.co/0nr8nlrMwN

— Truth Wins Out (@truthwinsout) March 16, 2021

TWO offers some background into Kennedy and Coral Ridge in a press release:

In 1998, the Truth in Love Campaign was hatched at Coral Ridge, led by Janet Folger Porter. The $600,000 effort placed full-page ads in newspapers with “ex-gays” claiming that gay and trans people who prayed and went to conversion therapy could “change”. This resulted in an avalanche of media coverage, including a Newsweek cover story headlined, “Gay for Life?” During that campaign, Folger Porter said on Nightline that she supported sodomy laws that would lead to the arrest and imprisonment of LGBTQ people. As part of Truth in Love, Coral Ridge flew an airplane over Gay Days at Disney with large banner that had an “ex-gay” message.

Researcher Alvin McEwen points out that Kennedy also endorsed a horrifying anti-LGBTQ cartoon book, Homosexuality: Legitimate, Alternative Deathstyle. The book libels LGBTQ people with fake statistics, such as “41% more gays than heterosexuals admitted to shoplifting!”