Volleyball star skewers Democrat state lawmaker from viral spat after 'Save Women's Sports' bill passes

The Arizona state Legislature passed a bill to keep biological males out of women's and girls' sports last week, as it will now head to the ballot to be decided by voters this fall.

The bill garnered national attention after a viral spat between Democratic state senator Catherine Miranda and former Utah State volleyball star Kaylie Ray in March. Ray, who was an opponent of San Jose State during the school's trans athlete scandal from 2022-24, advocated for the bill at a hearing in March, and Miranda responded by commenting about her body and questioning her competitiveness, in a now-infamous viral exchange.

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Now that the bill, HCR 2003, has passed the state Senate, Ray has a final word for Miranda.

"My message, again, to Senator Miranda would just to be that this is what the people want. This is what the American public wants, safe places for our daughters to achieve and excel," Ray told Fox News Digital. "It's not about exclusion. It's about including those girls who are losing opportunities to boys."

Ray sent an invitation to speak to Miranda privately, in a Fox News Digital interview in March. But Ray said that the senator has not said anything to her.

"Her silence to me is that she's doubled-down, of course I would hope that by looking at fact, and biological truth, that she would come to the conclusion that again this isn't about excluding anyone from sport," Ray said. "All of the Democrat legislators are holding onto that, that this is a ban, that this targets one specific group of people...

"This is not intended to target any one group, but instead to strengthen the protections that we already have in sport. Those individuals are absolutely allowed to compete in sport, they must do so in their category, sex at birth."

Ray also said she hasn't heard much pushback from Miranda's supporters since their spat either.

"None of her supports reached out to me. Which begs the question, does she have any supporters? I'm not sure," Ray said.

FORMER UTAH STATE VOLLEYBALL STAR SAYS SJSU TRANS SCANDAL CAUSED INJURED FINGERS, SHATTERED DREAMS

Fox News Digital reached out to Miranda for comment.

Miranda voted against the measure as it moved through the Legislature. HCR 2003 advanced out of the Senate Education Committee on March 11 in a 4-3 vote, with Miranda listed among the three "no" votes. On June 12, Miranda also voted for Democrat state Sen. Analise Ortiz’s failed floor amendment and later voted against the final passage of the resolution, which passed the Senate 16-12 with two members not voting.

Ortiz's official amendment explanation said it would have removed the requirement that schools and athletic associations designate teams based on the biological sex of participating athletes. It also would have replaced the bill’s sex-based standard with rules allowing athletic associations to consider characteristics "associated with athletic performance and relevant to the sport."

"It was just bizarre," Ray said of the amendment. "I honestly, it was unclear to me in her presentation of it. It just felt like we were grasping at straws for things, in my opinion, that had absolutely no bearing on what the bill is talking about.

The measure itself would require Arizona schools and athletic associations to designate interscholastic or intramural teams as male, female or coeducational based on biological sex. It would prohibit teams designated for females, women or girls from being opened to athletes of the male sex, while allowing athletes to compete on teams aligned with their sex or on male or coed teams.

The bill also adds rules for athletic facilities, barring schools and athletic associations from authorizing individuals to use restrooms, locker rooms, shower rooms or similar athletic private spaces that are not designated for that individual’s sex. The bill defines sex as male or female as recorded at birth on an original birth certificate.

For Ray, the measure is personal. She unknowingly competed against a biological male trans athlete from San Jose State University in 2022 and 2023, then her team forfeited and accepted a loss in protest of the trans athlete in 2024. She previously said the experience caused "trauma."

Ray is part of a lawsuit against SJSU alongside 10 other former Mountain West Conference volleyball players. She also spoke on the steps of the Supreme Court in January during oral arguments over two big women's sports cases that will be ruled on this month.

Ray is now in the process of beginning her pro volleyball career, as she plays for a local semi-pro team in Arizona, before beginning her first professional season in Greece later this year.

And through it all, she says she's been free to express her views as an advocate to protect women's sports.

"I have played on a semi-professional team called the Arizona Gila Monsters for volleyball just to stay in shape be- as I prepare to go play professionally," Ray said. "I play with these women who have all been so impressed with the stance I've taken and who are a huge support for us.

Still, she has to endure abuse online from those who disagree with her.

"There are trolls on social media who are so quick and keen to tear you down and tell you how hateful you are," Ray said.

"It was incredibly difficult for me at first, especially when I was at Utah State and we initially took that stand. That was incredibly difficult for me, especially because so many people were so afraid to say the truth that even people who agreed with me, it felt like I was stepping on toes, um, to speak the truth. Now it has become so second nature to me."