The XX-XY Athletics Fund Announces 2025 Courage Wins Champions

October 10, 2025 -- DENVER – The XX-XY Athletics Fund (www.xx-xyathletics.org) today announced winners from two of the most ideologically driven states in the nation as 2025 Courage Wins Champions on XX Day – Real Women’s Day. 

“We’re doubling down and awarding more winners than ever,” said Jennifer Sey, USA champion gymnast (1986), producer of the Emmy-winning Athlete A, and founder/CEO of XX-XY Athletics.

“These athletes are fighting giants. And at a time when threats and bullying have escalated to violence, we are more determined than ever to use our voices and to reward those brave enough to use theirs to stand up for truth and biological reality. By acknowledging and celebrating these brave young women, we hope to encourage more to stand up in defense of women’s sports as well.” 

In Oregon — a state where track & field is king and headquarters of one of the most influential sports industries in America (ahem, Nike!) — young women have been forced to carry the fight for fairness on their own shoulders.  

High school athletes Reese Eckard, Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter inspired Team Oregon when they refused to compete against a male athlete in the Chehalem track and field Classic in April. Carpenter spoke publicly about the costs of losing opportunities and their determination to protect fairness for the next generation. Sophia Castañeda, All-American in the 400m and fastest female sophomore in that distance in Oregon history, lost to the male and was bullied over it. She joined Maddie and Sophia Carpenter in filing a suit against Oregon.  

Alexa Anderson and Eckard together made national headlines when they stepped off the podium after a male competitor took their place in the state high jump finals. They didn’t stop there: they filed a lawsuit against the Oregon Schools Athletic Association for violating their free speech rights.

California is the biggest stage of all — home to the most powerful progressive governor in America, Gavin Newsom, who is suing the federal government to defend policies that force girls to compete against males.   

And yet it’s young women — teenagers — who are carrying the weight of standing up to this machine.  

At Jurupa Valley High School, sisters Alyssa and Madison McPherson and teammate Hadeel Hazameh faced down direct risks — from physical harm on the court, to loss of religious liberty, to years of lost opportunities — and refused to stay silent. Together, they’ve now joined an Advocates for Faith & Freedom lawsuit against their district and the California Department of Education, demanding Title IX protections for women’s sports. 

In the largest state in the nation, under the most influential progressive governor, these young women have chosen to fight back — and their courage makes them national leaders in a battle far bigger than their own games.  

The XX-XY Athletics Fund and the movement of women athletes and truth tellers it represents has their backs. 

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 – up to $5,000 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 seven athletes to date — Brooke Slusser, Lauren Miller, Payton McNabb, Emmy Salerno and the Lincoln Middle School Five, Stephanie Turner and Sia Liilii.  

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 about our fund: https://www.xx-xyathletics.org/