Riley Gaines and women's sports activists share honest reactions, emotions to SCOTUS Title IX ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 decision to uphold state laws that protect women's sports was a swell moment for Riley Gaines. But she admits the fight has taken a toll.

"Everything that, that I have found myself fighting for over the past few years. I don't want to speak for anyone else. Um, but there is a level of me that's exhausted as well." Gaines told Fox News Digital.

"It's exhausting that in the year 2026, we are still having this conversation, that the highest court in the land is having to rule on, on such insanity, when, I mean, I think even just 10 years ago, we wouldn't have necessarily celebrated this ruling. We would've kind of been like, 'yeah, duh. This is, like, the default.' It's the standard position for anyone to take. Of course we don't want boys in girls' sports. But now we find ourselves celebrating, which is a, a telltale sign of the times, of where we're at culturally and socially. Um, and so there's still more work to do."

RILEY GAINES: SUPREME COURT HANDS WOMEN AN IMPORTANT WIN, BUT THE FIGHT ISN’T OVER

She is already thinking about next steps. And it will take more than six votes to get that task done.

"Number one, Congress to act," Gaines said.

"We need, we, we need Congress to codify President Trump's executive orders... I think we need real enforcement mechanisms as well for those who continue to suffer from the very real diagnosable crippling disease that is TDS...

"What we're going to see make the biggest change, is when people, your everyday person, so think of parents, coaches, etc., when they're bold enough to defend their daughters or defend their athletes or defend themselves, um, that's when you see real change."

Gaines led a rally on the steps of the Supreme Court during oral arguments for the two cases the justices ruled on this week. Right next to her crowd of women's sports advocates was a mosh of pro-transgender activists wearing costumes and shouting obscenities.

"They're so angry," Gaines said of the opposing crowd.

"You look across the bike racks that were there separating us, and you saw anger, and you saw negativity, and you saw screaming, and you saw vitriol, and you saw colored hair, and you saw piercings, and you saw what I would describe, honestly, just visually looking at it, was island of the misfit toys. Not to be like, mean, but just speaking pretty objectively here."

Gaines was a new mother at the time and famously wrapped her infant daughter Margot in a bulletproof blanket when she spoke that day.

Now, as she looks toward the next steps after an "exhausting" first few years in the fight, she will have a growing army of women athletes alongside her.

Many of the other current and former female activists involved in the fight shared their reactions to the ruling after it was announced.

Jen Sey, founder of XX-XY Athletics, told Fox News Digital that the fact that 23 other states don't have laws protecting women's sports is "unacceptable." "We won, but we are not done," Sey said.

"What changes today is athletes who are competing under the auspices of Title IX in middle school, in high school, and in college — in the 27 states that have laws on the books protecting women’s sports — they can continue to protect women’s sports. Girls in every ZIP code deserve fair sports. The court did not say that the other 23 states must enact laws. One could argue we have a law — it’s called Title IX," Sey told Fox News Digital.

Sey's vision of a successful endgame for the "Save Women's Sports" movement is a widespread culture change.

"There’s still a lot of work to do. It’s why I keep saying we have to focus on changing the culture, because I think once we do that, all of the governing bodies will fall in line and protect the women’s category," Sey added.

Sey and her company have been central to growing the movement and bringing on new women as activists, as she has aggressively recruited star Olympians and prominent women impacted by the issue as brand ambassadors.

Former UPenn women's swimmer Paula Scanlan, who had to share a pool and locker room with trans swimmer Lia Thomas in 2021-22, praised the court's decision in an interview with Fox News' "America's Newsroom" on Tuesday.

"More work needs to be done. We need to see protections in all 50 states in this country. Why should a girl in Texas have different rights than a girl in Connecticut, or New York?" Scanlan said.

"It's disappointing also to learn that it's not 9-0. That's something I'm upset about. But I take this win."

Former San Jose State volleyball player Brooke Slusser called Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling in favor of states protecting women’s sports the "biggest win" female athletes have had yet.

Slusser appeared on Fox News’ "The Faulkner Focus" after the high court ruled 6-3 in favor of West Virginia and Idaho in two landmark transgender athlete cases. The ruling upheld state laws requiring student-athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond with their biological sex at birth rather than their gender identity.

For Slusser, who became one of the most prominent voices in the fight to protect women’s sports after speaking out about a transgender player on her volleyball team in 2024, the decision was deeply personal.

"I mean, it’s amazing," Slusser told Harris Faulkner. "It’s the biggest win we’ve had yet, so I couldn’t be happier. We couldn’t ask for more right now."

Former high school volleyball player Payton McNabb, whose career ended when she was struck in the face by a spike from a trans player, shared her thoughts in an op-ed on Fox News Digital.

PAYTON MCNABB: GIRLS DESERVE FAIR COMPETITION, AND THE SUPREME COURT JUST AGREED

"Today, I feel something that I haven’t felt in a long time when it comes to the protection of women’s sports and spaces: relief," McNabb wrote.

"Today’s decision is a reminder that truth does not disappear simply because someone believes a delusion. Reality does not change because people are uncomfortable discussing hard topics."

Other prominent activists shared their reactions on social media.