A Democrat state senator from Arizona is under fire for haranguing a former NCAA volleyball player during a hearing on Wednesday.
Former NCAA volleyball player and current “save women’s sports” activist Kaylie Ray showed up at the Arizona Senate Education hearing that day to testify in support of a bill designed to protect women’s sports.
She had experience in this department because, as a former Utah State University volleyball captain, she once had her team forfeit a match to avoid having to compete against Blaire Fleming, a so-called “transgender woman” from San Jose State University (SJSU).
Peep the shirts from the Utah State women’s volleyball team who also forfeited their match against SJSU.
BOYcott 🔥 https://t.co/9n9wsoaqHt pic.twitter.com/jHI7Dnm4og
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) October 14, 2024
When Arizona state Sen. Catherine Miranda’s turn to speak arrived, she immediately jumped to talking about Ray’s “strong” appearance.
“I have my sports hat on now. It’s all about a sports mentality, growing up in sports, being a tomboy,” she said. “I mean, you look pretty healthy. I’ve played against girls that look like you. You look very much in shape and strong.”
With this in mind, Miranda then, in a clear-cut effort to shame Ray for refusing to compete against boys, added that she herself had once competed against men in sports and would eagerly do so again.
“It’s a sports mentality when you’re growing up and how much competition that you’ll take on,” she said. “So it’s not just a silver bullet for one community of sports players, it’s the individual person on how competitive you wanna be. So you grew up one way. I grew up a different way. I would have taken on a man in a heartbeat.”
“I’ve played in, I was the only girl sometimes in sports. But to have a man on my team, I would have welcomed it. But this is just my opinion … and that’s why this bill is bad, because you’re just putting a whole community of women’s sports in one category. When women like me, we have a different opinion. So, how competitive do you think you really are?” she added.
🚨 This is an UGLY exchange. Arizona Democrat Sen. Catherine Miranda just attacked female athlete Kaylie Ray TO HER FACE for refusing to compete against a biological male on San Jose State’s volleyball team.
“I would have taken on a man in a heartbeat,” said Senator Miranda.… pic.twitter.com/saBixtTDHC
— Woke War Room (@WokeWarRoom) March 12, 2026
Ray held back no punches in defending herself and the bill that she’d hoped the committee would pass.
“Madam Chair, Senator, as elite-level athletes, I would say we’re very competitive, which is why this bill designates three categories: male, female, and coed,” she said. “The idea is that everyone can participate in sport. If you want to compete against your man, absolutely. Like, let’s do that in the coed section.”
“The clarity and distinction is really important, because when men are allowed access into women’s sports and spaces, it’s not women’s sports and spaces anymore. And as the passage of Title IX was so important, there is a need, a necessity, to protect women’s spaces,” she added.
She concluded her pushback by stressing that transgender people wouldn’t be banned from playing sports with this bill.
“It’s not to say that people are banned from sports,” she explained. “That’s not the situation at all. If that’s the level of competition you want to have for yourself, amazing. Go try it in the coed section. But, again, this is about protecting the women’s category in women’s sports.”
Since Miranda told the female athlete that she would love the chance to compete against a male athlete, why doesn’t Miranda hold a charity athletic event and have a competition against a man?
May I suggest boxing?— Mark Colvard (@ColvardMark) March 13, 2026
Ray wasn’t entirely done. She later issued a post-hearing statement to Fox News about her interaction with Miranda.
“I wonder if she could look Riley Gaines, Brooke Slusser, Lainey Armistead, Madison Kenyon, Mary Kate Marshall, and every single girl who has been forced to compete against a man in the eyes and tell them they simply are not competitive enough?” she said.
“Wanting fairness does not make someone a coward. Wanting safe and equal competition does not mean a girl does not have what it takes. It means she respects herself and the effort and dedication that women have put into building opportunities in sports. . . . No single woman has the right to give away the opportunities and protections that so many others worked so hard to secure,” she added.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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