Reaction To Asking Dawn Staley The 'Trans' Question Lays Bare What's Wrong With Sports Media | Zaksheske

Ever since I asked Dawn Staley "the question heard round the country," I've been inundated with social media posts and DMs. Some positive, some negative. Obviously, the trolls and bots have said some very hateful things to me. But, that comes with the territory.

The most concerning part of the whole story, to me, has been the reaction from fellow media members and so-called "reporters." 

To set the scene, both South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder had off-day media availability on Saturday morning after winning their Final Four matches on Friday night and prior to facing one another on Sunday afternoon. 

Dawn Staley takes questions from the media on Saturday morning, prior to Sunday's National Championship victory over Iowa.

(USA Today Sports)

The "off-day" pressers are generally the time for reporters to ask broader questions of coaches and players. Both coaches spoke after their win on Friday night about their teams and the upcoming National Championship. This event, the Women's Final Four, was easily the biggest event in American women's sports – possibly ever, based on the television ratings. 

I decided, going into the two press conferences that day, that I wanted to ask about an issue facing women's sports;  the debate about the inclusion of transgender women (biological males) in women's sports. So, I did. 

And that's when all hell broke loose. 

Media members attacked me for ASKING A QUESTION 

The response was immediate: I was wrong for asking Dawn Staley her opinion on the inclusion of biological males in women's sports. I'm not going to quote or name the people who did so, because I don't want to give them the attention they so desperately crave. 

I do, however, want to boil down the main points that those people tried to make against me and explain my side. 

"This wasn't the right time to ask that question to Dawn Staley" 

This might be the most ridiculous counter-argument that I have heard, and it was by-far the most common. As I stated, this was a MASSIVE weekend for women's sports. Dawn Staley is one of the most prominent figures in all women's sports. Asking her any question about the state of women's sports in that moment should be applauded. 

Plenty of "reporters" asked questions of Staley like "what does it mean for women's sports to be gaining so much popularity this year?" Or, "how important is it to women's sports to be in the spotlight?" 

Many people suggested that asking her about transgenders in women's sports before the National Championship was the wrong time. But was it the right time to ask her other opinions on other issues within women's sports? It's not like every question she fielded was about the National Championship. Far from it. 

"Dan Zaksheske just wanted to get attention for himself by asking that question" 

This one makes me laugh. I am not the story here. Dawn Staley is the story. I had no idea what she was going to say when I asked her that question – which is exactly why I asked her the question. 

See, the left-wing media mostly works as a PR arm for the institutions that it supports. One of those is the LGBTQ agenda. The people who are "reporters" in this field aren't actually reporters – they're activists. 

Which is why they think asking a question about this means I'm trying to get attention. In their minds, they're working for some higher purpose. That's not true, of course, but it's what they believe. It's also laughable that OutKick somehow only exists to get attention, but all other media outlets exist for … what? To get zero attention? C'mon. 

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley talks to ESPN's Holly Rowe after beating Iowa in the National Championship. 

(Kirby Lee/USA TODAY Sports)

Why did I include my question in the video if I didn't want attention? Simple, I knew that the media would quickly try to twist my question and make it something it wasn't. I asked Staley, very respectfully, and allowed her the opportunity to answer. People needed to hear the entire exchange. 

In fact, the NCAA official transcript left out a key part of my question. In the follow-up, the official NCAA transcript reads, "Do you think transgender women should be able to participate?"

What I actually said, and what Staley heard me say, was "Do you think transgender women should be able to participate in women's college basketball?" 

That might seem like a small detail, but it's a rather large one. See, people accuse OutKick of saying that transgender athletes shouldn't be allowed to compete in sports. That's simply not true. In fact, even when reporting on legislation on the topic, "reporters" often say things like "banning transgender athletes from participation." 

Riley Gaines (right) looks up at Lia (formerly William) Thomas (left), a biological male who won a Women's NCAA Championship. 

(Getty Images)

No, I don't think that transgender athletes shouldn't be allowed to play sports. I, personally, just don't believe that biological males should be competing in women's sports. They can certainly compete on the men's team, or if governing bodies want to add a separate category entirely, that would be fine as well. 

By removing the "women's college basketball" part of my question, it makes it sound like I'm asking her if they should be able to play sports. In that case, of course, she's going to say yes. But that wasn't the question I asked, and it wasn't the question she answered. 

"Zaksheske should have his press credential revoked for asking that question" 

This is the most damaging one, and thankfully, I didn't see a ton of reputable media members suggesting this. But there were some. 

This is what cancel culture is all about. They don't like me, they don't like OutKick, and they don't want us to have access to the sports we cover. That's dangerous and destructive. Any media member calling for this should really think about the message they're sending by suggesting someone they don't like shouldn't be allowed in the room. 

It says way more about them than it ever could about me. 

"Asking this question was about creating division and controversy" 

Again, this has nothing to do with me. The topic is divisive. It shouldn't be, since allowing biological men to play in women's sports is absurd, but it is. So that means we shouldn't even talk about divisive issues? 

Think about the message that the media members are sending when they say this – and this was a very common response, as well. Here's what they're saying: "Be quiet about this issue and just let it happen, because we know that when it gets attention, the majority of Americans are against it." 

See, that's why none of these "reporters" ever asked Staley about this in the past. They know they're on the wrong side of the issue, at least according to the vast majority of American citizens, so they try to keep it quiet when it happens, so as not to draw attention to the obvious problem. 

Transgender woman, and biological male, cyclist Austin Killips (right) has won several women's races, including one in North Carolina by over five minutes over the biological female competitors.

(Getty Images)

Additionally, there would be no division if Dawn Staley either declined to answer the question (which Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder did) or if she just stated the obvious: "Biological men do not belong in women's sports." 

I'm flattered that so many people think I have the power to create a national controversy, but I'm not nearly egotistical enough to believe that. Dawn Staley's response created the "controversy." Again, she's the story. I'm the reporter. I asked, she answered and I reported. 

What happened from there was up for everyone else to figure out. I report, you decide. That's how this is supposed to work. 

"Dan Zaksheske is why people hate journalists and the media" 

OK, admittedly, this one came more from citizens than it did from journalists, though I'm sure some said it or thought that. 

But this is the funniest thing I've read over the past few days. Foremost, asking questions and reporting answers is not why Americans are losing faith in the media. If anything, what I did at that press conference is what Americans wish more media members would do. 

Instead, the vast majority of corporate media either ignores issues or they openly lie and/or twist the truth. People are losing faith in the media's ability to report the truth. That's all I did. My job was to ask the questions and report the answers. 

I learned many things covering women's college basketball over the course of two weeks. Chief among them is that the vast majority of the media flat-out refuses to do the job that it is supposed to do. 

Iowa Hawkeyes guard Caitlin Clark speaks with reporters.

(The Register/USA Today Network)

Here's another quick example. One women's sports media member reported that the "Person who asked the question scurried away as soon as Dawn answered. Confirming he was only there to try and stir up faux outrage." 

Interesting, but false. I left the press conference shortly after the answer, yes. People do that all the time, which this person knows because she's at a lot of press conferences. I left because Staley gave an answer that was going to be the story. I left the press conference to do my job. I immediately called Riley Gaines to get her comment. Then, I went to work on the story. I did my job. 

This person, again a so-called "reporter," could have easily asked me why I left the press conference and I would have told her that. After all, we were in the same building for four days. Then, she could have done her job and reported the answer. But she didn't. She had her mind made up and she "reported" her opinion. 

In fact, many "reporters" in Cleveland posted on social media about me, most of them while I was sitting less than 50 feet away from them. Not one of them actually stopped to ask me a simple question: "Why?" If I'm the story, as many people have implied, wouldn't you want to ask me questions? 

But they weren't there to get answers. They were there to serve their activism. 

That's why people hate the media and journalists. It's not me, it's you.