On Wednesday, National Girls & Women in Sports Day, President Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order to “protect opportunities for women and girls to compete in safe and fair sports.” This order restores Title IX’s original intent — ensuring true equality in women’s athletics by keeping competition exclusive to women, not men claiming to be women.
Naturally, there is quite a bit of outrage from the left, but trust me, the people who are triggered by this are very much on the fringe. CNN just figured this out — much to the network’s shock.
In a Thursday morning segment on CNN, the network’s chief data analyst, Harry Enten, was bizarrely surprised at the overwhelming opposition to male athletes (whom he erroneously called “transgender female” athletes) participating in women's sports. It's almost comical to witness his shock over what is a common-sense reaction among the American public.
Enten began with a staggering statistic: "Only 18% of the country says that they should be, in fact, allowed to participate in women's sports," while a decisive 79% oppose men in women’s sports. Enten seemed flabbergasted that such a significant majority exists in a nation often divided on issues. “You rarely get 79% of the country to agree on anything,” he pointed out as if this isn't a reflection of basic logic and fairness.
He further delves into trends, pointing out that the opposition has grown significantly. "Back in 2021, it was 62%," he notes, implying that this was only a "clear majority," albeit not a "ginormous majority." Fast forward to 2025, and we see this figure balloon to 79%.
Is it really so shocking that the more people consider the implications of allowing biological males to compete against women, the more they oppose it? As Enten himself observes, "It's not just that the majority of Americans are opposed to transgender female [sic] athletes in women's sports. It's that the opposition has become considerably larger.”
Diving deeper into the political dimensions, Enten highlights that "when you get 79% of Americans to agree on anything, you got to believe that it's the majority across all parties." Indeed, this consensus cuts through partisan lines.
“So transgender female [sic] athletes, again, opposing them in women's sports, you get 67% of Democrats, so two-thirds there,” Enten said. “You get 64% of independents; you get about two-thirds there. And then — look at this — near uniformity among Republicans, 94% of Republicans in opposition. You rarely get 67% of Democrats and 94% of Republicans to agree on anything, but they do on this particular issue.”
Related: NCAA Responds to Trump’s Executive Order to Protect Female Athletes
Enten was even surprised at the strength of the opposition to letting males play women’s sports.
“Republicans who strongly want to ban transgender female athletes from women's sports — get this — it's 84% who strongly want to ban them, and that is actually larger than the amount of Republicans who strongly want to deport all immigrants in America who are here illegally. So that just gives you an understanding of how strong the opposition is among Republicans.”
Why would he be surprised? The mere fact that the majority of people recognize the physical advantages males have in sports is indicative of a deep-seated understanding of biology that hasn't been sketchy or politically motivated; it's just science.
Enten’s incredulity that there exists such a robust response to protecting women’s sports could be viewed through a lens of detachment from the average American perspective. Many people have recognized the adverse impacts on female athletes. As he summarizes, “It is really strong when it comes to banning transgender female [sic] athletes from women's sports.”
I find it extremely encouraging that such a decisive majority of Americans still value fairness, sportsmanship, and a level playing field — principles that are certainly not too much to ask in the realm of women’s athletics. So while Enten may be shocked by the consensus, the reality is that this opposition reflects a resounding call for common sense to prevail.
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