(Editor's Note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement of any political party, or candidate, on the part of Newsmax.)
Female college athletes standing up for themselves in the face of unrelenting left-wing pressure is starting to snowball.
Last week we wrote about the women who are refusing the play against the "hemale" volleyball player on the San Jose State team, but they, it seems, are following in the footsteps of another women’s team that took a stand last year.
A team that didn’t get nearly the news coverage its brave stand deserved.
We take you now to Roanoke College located in Salem, Virginia.
Roanoke is a liberal arts college of about 2,000 students with the emphasis on liberal.
We did a search of campaign contributions in federal races since 2020 on OpenSecrets.org and Roanoke’s politically active employees were predictably leftist.
Out of a total of 41 campaign contributions, a measly two went to a Republican candidate and both of those were from the same individual.
We'll admit the results are somewhat skewed by one professor (!) who made a total of 14 contributions to Stacey Abrams in Georgia.
All were small.
All were for a losing cause, although Abrams did rebound after her gubernatorial loss and gain a position as president of United Earth in a "Star Trek" franchise.
The largest contributions were two $900 donations to Vice President Kamala Harris.
This tells us Roanoke is your standard higher education hotbed of left-wing groupthink and coercion. That’s why it was no surprise when last year the athletic department decided to let a "hemale" compete with the females on the swim team.
Outkick.com has the story of what happened after the females objected:
"Numerous times we asked the school for support. Each and every time we were told to deal with it ourselves or told nothing at all.
"The school refused to give out information to our parents and we were informed that even if our entire swim team decided to stand together and not swim, in the name of the unfairness that was happening, our coach would have a one-athlete swim team. A one–person swim team.
"That information alone was the most discouraging and disheartening of all. Our school was prioritizing one individual swimmer over 17 women whose only request was fairness."
Finally, "10 members of the Roanoke College women's swim team stood up as a group to speak out for fairness in sports after a biological male attempted to join their team.
"With their parents and supporters and advocates in this fight [the team] became the first group of college teammates to speak out as a unit.
"Teammate after teammate walked up to the [hotel] podium with a similar message: the women had been 'demoralized' and hurt by their Division III school after they returned to campus this fall knowing a biological male, who is not being named out of the wishes of the team, would be attempting to pull a Lia Thomas."
Demoralized, but not defeated.
They presented a united front to the ideological commissars at their school.
Athletes, parents, and supporters standing strong against a culture that’s lost its mind.
What’s more, the women won their fight.
In October of that year the Lia Thomas wannabe quit the team.
Their courageous and unprecedented swim stand started the ball rolling.
Female college athletes are resisting the incursions of "hemales" into their sports.
Over the weekend the team joined Donald Trump on stage in a rally he held in Salem. Trump said, "Last year, the radical left's gender insanity arrived right here in Salem when a man was allowed to transfer onto the Roanoke College's women's swim team.
"I just met them backstage. They're great swimmers. . . . The brave members of the swim team stood up to the transgender fanatics, something new in our country."
Let’s hope it is a trend that gains power and momentum.
We want to close with a sensible and generous statement Junior Captain Lily Mullens made regarding the interloper while the controversy at Roanoke was at its hottest, "[We] wish this person the best in life and to live their life how they want. [We] share a common love of swimming.
"There is a place for him to swim and that's the men's team."
(A related column may be found here.)
Michael Reagan, the eldest son of President Reagan, is a Newsmax TV analyst. A syndicated columnist and author, he chairs The Reagan Legacy Foundation. Mr. Reagan is an in-demand speaker with Premiere Speaker's Bureau. Read Michael Reagan's Reports — More Here.
Michael R. Shannon is a commentator, researcher for the League of American Voters, and an award-winning political and advertising consultant with nationwide and international experience. He is author of "Conservative Christian's Guidebook for Living in Secular Times (Now With Added Humor!)" Read Michael Shannon's Reports — More Here.