Jackson Thompson - Should colleges pay for violating Title IX?

A federal investigation found San Jose State University violated Title IX, but the school won't face monetary penalties. Is that enough accountability, or should colleges risk losing funding when they fail to protect women's sports?

Jackson Thompson, Sports Reporter for Fox News Digital, joins the show to discuss the findings against San Jose State, the ongoing legal battle, and what the case could mean for the future of Title IX enforcement.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hey, welcome back to the Lars Larson show. This segment of the program is brought to you by Lean. Everybody talks about those weight loss injections. What if you want results without needles? Doctors created Lean. I've used it myself. Helps curb your appetite, balance blood sugar, burn up your fat. Get 20% off plus free rush shipping at takelean.com with promo code Lars. That's takelean.com with promo code Lars. Glad to be with you and always glad to take your calls at 866-HLARS. First, though, I want to talk to Jackson Thompson, who's a sports reporter for Fox News Digital. Jackson, welcome to the program.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

How's it going, Lars? Good to be here.

SPEAKER_00 0:42

It's going very well. Tell me this. In in I guess let's start with the headline part of this first. Should San Jose State University lose funding for violating Title IX?

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Uh you know, it's a question that is interpreted uh by a few different aspects here. Um but right now we're waiting on a judge uh to really come down with the final uh uh decision on that. I would say um based on the standard that has been set so far by the current administration under President Trump, uh they are they they taking funding away from them is is probably justified, at least at least by that standard, yes.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Just just to to send a message to say if you've decided to violate Title IX, and is the primary way they're violating it by trying to accommodate the pro-transgender crowd?

SPEAKER_01 1:29

It seems so. It seems so. Um, you know, just one year ago we had the University of Pennsylvania agree to take a no financial penalty deal to resolve the way they handle the situation uh with Leah Thomas a few years ago. San Jose State, it's it's a different beast, right? In in the the Bay Area, they have a different type of alumni network, they have a different type of student body, and and they have a different type of faculty. Um so it seems as though uh the culture of of their university has has put them in a position where they risk some some serious uh issues uh among the folks there if if they agree to what the president has asked them to do.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

But Jackson, this is the thing. I don't cover sports, I don't even follow sports that closely. It's just not my my primary interest, but I'm always interested when it intersects with the rest of life. But to me, this is a college saying, yeah, we're just gonna keep on doing things the way we have been, the woke way, you know, in cooperation with trans. And I I guess the the closest comparison I could come is in your business, there are lots of coaches who watch the game films from other teams, right? They watch and they say, let's see what they're doing, and then we'll make sure that we plan for that. Are any of these folks watching the game films to say we just watched a bunch of colleges get clobbered for not getting with the program and treating women athletes right and trying to accommodate trans? Maybe we should get ready for that. Are any of them preparing in any way, shape, or form?

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Yeah, I'll tell you, they they are probably waiting to see what happens in 2028 because uh depending on what happens in 2028 with whoever becomes the next president and whatever agenda they're following, yeah, people could be thrust right back into a situation where they need to prepare to get their female athletes ready to face uh, you know, male opponents. Um at the moment, it's not allowed. It's not allowed. At the college level, in some states, high schools still allow it. Uh at the college level, it's not allowed, and um it's not for certain that it isn't going under the radar at the moment. But for the most part, uh the the female athletes are safe. But if I'm a coach, uh uh you know we get closer to 2028 and what the uh the election is looking like, and then from the results from there, uh prepare, prepare for anything, because there's a very good chance uh these women could be thrust right back in the same issue a few years from now.

SPEAKER_00 3:48

And Jackson, how do you deal with that when you're dealing with sports and you've got, you know, I mean the record books are a big deal. So do you just have a bunch of asterisks next to names saying, oh, all the Leah Thomas numbers, those are those are just anomalous? Because you know and I I'm still waiting for some losing uh say a high college volleyball coach to say, I'm gonna get a whole bunch of ringers, a bunch of male ringers, you know, the guys who didn't make the basketball team, and why don't I have them play as as uh identifying as female and we'll go out and clean up? I'm I'm kind of waiting for somebody to do something like that just to show how stupid this whole discussion is.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

It's funny you mentioned that because uh there was a gentleman in California um a year ago who wasn't even this guy was just a normal guy. Yeah, he wanted to make a point. So he entered a woman surfing contest because technically the rules allowed for it. And he, you know, he he blew them all up. And he, you know, he was just trying to make a point, right? Like, hey, look, the rules let me do that. He's just a normal guy. Um and you know, it became a big local story down there. But you know, the way I look at it. Yeah, the way I look at it, the you know, it's a very serious issue for a lot of women, especially, but in a way, it's kind of a dark comedy, right? There's so many crazy things, you know, the the whole transgender thing. It was the the teacher from South Park, you know, just a couple decades ago. That's that's the most we thought of it, right? It was some some folks, you know, had a had an uncle like that, and now it's this serious uh scientific debate, it's this serious sociological debate, and and yeah, women are in danger. Um and we'll see, uh, you know, they they they appear prepared to uh folks like San Jose State, they appear prepared to try and outlast the term to see if they can get away with this, and and who knows, maybe go right back to their shenanigans.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Well, it sounds like they're gonna lose their money, though, and if if they lose the federal money, that's gonna really leave a mark, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 5:40

Yeah, and they've been offered an opportunity to resolve this without losing any money. It's very much just like what you said about the asterisks. It's just apologizing and saying, hey, um, because really uh these women, it the Aliyah Thomas thing was its own beast. Those women were at least told that this uh was a male who was gonna be out of their pool. The the women at San Jose State and and the opponents of San Jose State at that time were not told. There was a significant amount of deception. Um there was a significant amount of a supposed deception with the way things were handled after that as well. Um very unique circumstances uh involving an alleged plot to harm one of the players. Uh and it's one of those things where there's there's so much corruption. Uh there's there's there's a lot of impact on all sides. A lot of the women who have been impacted in ways they won't even speak about. And uh the school is is trying to outlast the term, and they they believe it's just part of the greater good for the trans community. That's essentially what they've cited. The the president, when they decided they were not going to agree to apologize, they said we we owe it to the trans community. So that's that's where they're standing here. And they appear ready, uh, prepared to outlast the term.

SPEAKER_00 6:46

I gotta tell you, Jackson, your pro your analysis is probably right. It just kills me, though, that I want somebody to stand up for these women. And I've had people say, well, why don't they just refuse to compete? I said, no, we shouldn't make the kids do something to correct what the adults have created as a problem. Jackson, I appreciate you coming on. That's Jackson Thompson. He's a sports reporter for Fox News Digital, and we appreciate him coming on with his perspective. By the way, do you want another one of those summers like last summer where you barely slept at all because you were too hot all night long? Now, people blame the summertime heat for their bad sleep, but it really might be their mattress trapping all that heat against their body. And if you already sleep too hot, summer only makes it worse. And that's why I switched to a ghost bed. Helps keep you cool all night long. No waking up sweaty, tossing or turning, and throwing off the covers at 2 a.m. Cooling technology is built into every ghost bed mattress. It's not an expensive upgrade that you have to pay extra for. Hot sleepers are some of Ghostbed's happiest customers. Just read all the reviews and check on my experience as well. Plus, the support is incredible. Less stiffness, deeper sleep, more rested mornings. Ghostbed also gives you 101 nights to try it at home, so you can sleep on it all summer long and check out the difference for yourself. How many more summers are you gonna waste on bad sleep? Right now, Ghost Fed is celebrating by offering my audience of loyal Lars listeners an extra ten percent off. With financing, some ghost beds pencil out to about a dollar a day. Go to ghostbed.com slash Lars and use promo code Lars. That's ghostbed.com slash Lars, promo code Lars.