Cable news roundup: Concern over men ‘infiltrating’ women’s sports and what Floridians thought of Rep. Gaetz’s decision

On Thursday night, Fox News discussed the ongoing battle over transgender women competing in women’s sports, and CNN spoke to Florida locals about whether or not they supported Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz’s decision to remove former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy.

Fox News — ‘Mediocre men’ are transitioning to play in women’s sports

On “Hannity” Thursday night, Sean Hannity discussed a DailyMail exclusive story titled, “Roanoke College women’s swim team captains reveal ‘demoralizing’ struggle to try and convince trans student not to compete on their squad.”

Hannity shared a video of a press conference that took place earlier Thursday, during which one member of the Roanoke women’s swim team said, “For the first time, I considered quitting something I had loved doing my whole life.”

Another teammate added, “The government is not protecting women. The NCAA is not protecting women.”

Hannity was joined by Riley Gaines, director of the Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute and former teammate to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, and asked Gaines, “Especially when it comes to sports, why is there this obsession?”

Gaines said it’s because men who don’t excel in their sport do better in female sports because of their biological advantage.

“This is not happening the other way,” Gaines said. “Why don’t we see women infiltrating into men’s sports and dominating? I mean that right there is all you need to know.”

Gaines said that what is happening at Roanoke is a cycle of “mediocre men” taking advantage of biological differences and then crushing female sports records.

“It’s abysmal, and I think it’s nothing short of criminal, to be honest with you,” she added.

CNN — Do Floridians support Rep. Gaetz's decision?

CNN’s Randi Kaye spoke to locals in Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz’s Florida congressional district and asked what they thought of him ousting former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy on “Anderson Cooper 360.”

Kaye asked Florida resident Billy Mitchell, “What do you think about Matt Gaetz leading that move to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy?”

Mitchell said, “I think it’s a great move on his part. He’s a hero to me.”

Mitchell, who is a registered Republican, added that he was also in support of the government being shut down entirely for a while because then “maybe our money won’t be going to Ukraine.”

Fellow resident and chairman of the Escambia Country Republican Party John Roberts didn’t agree with Gaetz’s decision.

“We didn’t think that was a good idea,” Roberts said. “Gaetz has been a great congressman here. Strong conservative, (but) we thought this was a mistake.”

Roberts added, “I don’t think the majority of the constituents really wanted that. It would have been better if they would just simply supported him, worked together and gotten the job done without all this waste of time.”