VP Vance Takes On Nike's Alleged Funding Of Youth Trans Study: 'Craziness Hasn't Gone Away'

Count United States Vice President JD Vance among the Republican lawmakers who have a problem with Nike's alleged role in funding a study on young transgender athletes, because allowing males in girls' and women's sports – regardless of pharmaceutical intervention – defies common sense.

Nike appears to have, at some point, helped fund a study on the effect of "gender-affirming" care among young male athletes to see if it's possible to impair them enough so they can "fairly" and "safely" compete in girls' and women's sports. 

While the company has since told OutKick that the study "was never initialized" and "is not moving forward," it's unclear when those decisions might have been made. The company has refused to provide additional context, despite the study's head researcher – Dr. Kathryn Ackerman – and a secondary researcher – Joanna Harper, a male who "identifies" as a woman – both publicly stating that Nike was funding the study. 

Vance joined Clay Travis and Buck Sexton on "Clay & Buck" on Tuesday and Travis asked about the study and Nike's alleged funding. 

United States Vice President JD Vance joined "Clay & Buck" on Tuesday and discussed Nike allegedly funding a study on young transgender athletes.

(Jack Gruber/USA TODAY via Imagn Images)

"I think that so many of these companies, Nike or otherwise, got caught up in this cultural zeitgeist of 2020, 2021," Vance said. "Maybe they just thought the progressives were going to win, so they decided to fund this stuff to the hilt, not realizing that the American people would have a rebellion against the craziness. I think that rebellion on the trans issue, in particular … giving hormonal therapies to 12-year-old kids, causing irreversible damage to their bodies, forcing young girls to compete against boys in sports, sometimes causing serious injury in the process [makes] this issue such a bad loser among the American people that even some of the true believers have dropped it as a political issue." 

To Vance's point, even California Gov. Gavin Newsom – among the most radical left-wing progressives in American politics – recently backed away from the trans in sports issue and declared it "unfair." 

Perhaps that's why Nike has not publicly discussed its role in the study and why there's no information about it on their website, even though they proudly display their support for left-wing causes. That might also be why the company continues to refuse to answer OutKick's questions about their role in the study. 

"I definitely think it's a winning political issue for the Republican Party because it's just basic common sense," Vance said. "People don't want women competing against grown men in sports, especially in some of these contact sports where women could get injured." 

The Vice President also explained why the issue is personal to him. 

"I'm the father of a three-year-old daughter. I'd like her to play sports. I think it teaches valuable life lessons, but I don't want her competing against grown men when she does it… I think it's the basic masculine instinct to protect young women," Vance told Clay & Buck.

United States Vice President JD Vance joined "Clay & Buck" on Tuesday and discussed Nike allegedly funding a study on young transgender athletes.

(Li Hongbo/VCG via Getty Images)

While Nike has continued to play coy about their potential role in the transgender athlete study, Vance noted that it's important that the American people know where companies and politicians stand on the issue, even when they try to backtrack after the fact. 

"It's our job to remind the American people [that] this is what they've tried to do. This is what they’re promising to do. The trans issue hasn't gone away; you’ve just had some Democrats who are smart enough to recognize it's a political loser," Vance said. 

"They're going to try to force 12-year-olds to take cross-sex hormones, and they're going to force young girls to compete against young boys if we give these guys power. The craziness, in other words, hasn't gone away. They've just gotten a little bit better at hiding it," he added. 

On the Nike front, it is easy for the company to clear this up. Just tell us exactly what your role was, if any, in this study. The American people deserve to know, and we're waiting.