February 3, 2026 -- DENVER – The XX-XY Athletics Fund (www.xx-xyathletics.org) today announced the first Courage Wins Champions of the year ahead of National Women and Girls in Sports Day.
“This is a national day to celebrate women’s sports, and it’s fitting to reward the girls who are doing the hard work to return them to girls and women,” said Jennifer Sey, USA champion gymnast (1986), producer of the Emmy-winning Athlete A, and founder/CEO of XX-XY Athletics. “For all the adults who are still too afraid to speak up, I get it, I really do. But if Frances, Ahnaleigh and Sadie can do it, so can you. Be like Frances.”
Meet Frances, Ahnaleigh, and Sadie
Frances Staudt
Frances Staudt is a 16-year-old basketball player from Tumwater High School in Washington state who is facing a civil rights complaint for refusing to play against a boy—and she is fighting back.
On February 7, after warming up for a game, Frances told her coach she would not play against what she described as an “obvious” male on the opposing team. According to her mother, Aimee, Frances then raised concerns with the school’s athletic director, who responded that the district would not discriminate based on sexual identity under Washington state law. The district subsequently launched an investigation into Frances for “misgendering” her opponent.
Frances and her family have since been hit with law suits for simply stating that a male was trying to play on a female basketball team; she has been publicly labeled a liar and a bigot by State Superintendent Chris Reykdal and subjected to bullying and harassment for asserting that girls deserve equal opportunities and protections as boys.
On October 4, 2025, Frances made headlines when she spoke at a “Let’s Go Washington” rally supporting ballot initiatives to restore sex-based protections in girls’ sports.
“We see right through you,” she said. “What we see is gutless men trying to stifle the voices of young women.” She called out Governor Bob Ferguson, Superintendent Chris Reykdal, and Attorney General Nick Brown, saying “I may be 16 years old, but I have way more guts than you’ll ever have.”
Ahnaleigh Wilson
Ahnaleigh Wilson is a student athlete at Eastmont High and has been advocating for girls to have a level playing field, as outlined by Title IX. Ahnaleigh suffered a season-ending injury and had been rehabbing to get back into track and cross country. After running one of her first races back and placing second, she learned that the first-place winner was a biological male. Ahnaleigh knew she couldn’t keep quiet about losing her safe space and her sport to someone who said they felt like a girl. Ahnaleigh has since spoken out about her ongoing experiences competing against males and says that she has competed against at least 4 that she knows of. She has traveled to Washington, D.C. to advocate for saving girls’ sports and has repeatedly asked Governor Ferguson and State Superintendent Reykdal to meet with her, but they continue to ignore her requests.
Sadie Sullivan
Sadie Sullivan is a leading swimmer and multi-sport athlete for Wenatchee High School, committed to swim at the collegiate level next year. When preparing for swim practice when she heard a boy’s voice in the girls’ locker room.
“I panicked and felt like I had to get away immediately,” Sadie said. “I don’t feel safe in girls’ bathrooms or locker rooms anymore, even though those spaces are meant to prioritize my safety.”
She turned the panic into action and is advocating to protect her sports.
"Girls should never be told their feelings don’t matter," Sullivan said in December at a Let’s Go Washington signer event. "Girls should never be pressured by adults to undress around boys. And girls should never have to sacrifice their safety for somebody else’s comfort."
The Award
Jennifer Sey surprised Frances, Ahnaleigh and Sadie with the award while visiting with Let’s Go Washington, which secured enough signatures on two ballot initiatives to ensure fairness in sports and improve parent communication.
The XX-XY Athletics Fund is awarding $2,000 each to Frances, Ahnaleigh and Sadie.
About Courage Wins
Courage Wins Champions are brave women who have stood up for fairness, equal opportunity or safety in women’s sports in a consequential act across the categories of high school, collegiate, professional and Olympic levels of sport.
The XX-XY Athletics Courage Wins Award – a financial award and entry into a leadership program -- is designed to take monetary cancellation out of the equation to make standing up for women and girls and women’s sports a little bit easier, to elevate the voices of brave female athletes who take a stand, and to force colleges, universities and governing bodies to listen to athlete voices.
The Courage Wins Advisory Council: Jennifer Sey, founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics; Riley Gaines – NCAA All-American swimmer and the face of the movement to protect women’s sports; Sage Steele, Host of “The Sage Steele Show;” Michele Tafoya, Host of “The Michele Tafoya Podcast;” and Carrie Lukas, President of the Independent Women’s Forum.
They have awarded the honor to fourteen athletes to date—Brooke Slusser, Lauren Miller, Payton McNabb, Emmy Salerno, Stephanie Turner, Sia Liilii, Reese Eckard, Maddie Eischen, Sophia Carpenter, Sophia Castañeda, Alexa Anderson, Alyssa McPherson, Madison McPherson, and Hadeel Hazameh—young women from across the nation who refused to compete against male athletes, stepped off podiums, spoke publicly about lost opportunities and bullying, faced physical, religious, and personal risks, filed lawsuits against state athletic associations, school districts, and their colleges and universities to defend fairness, free speech, and Title IX protections.
A portion of all sales of XX-XY Athletics product goes to the XX-XY Athletics Fund, a charitable vehicle that supports initiatives like the Courage Wins Award. Learn more: https://www.xx-xyathletics.org/
