Sports

Footballers’ shin pads – the piece of equipment some pros prefer not to wear

Published

12 months ago

January 16, 2025

Footballers’ shin pads – the piece of equipment some pros prefer not to wear

Michael Olise does not like shin pads.

So much so that when the France winger was being brought on for Leroy Sane during Bayern Munich’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in November, he was not wearing any.

This was spotted by the game’s fourth official Florin Andrei, who instructed the 23-year-old to put some on. Olise reluctantly tucked some into his socks before slinging them out again when officials looked away.

As Michael Olise prepared to come off the bench for Bayern in their Champions League game vs. PSG, he appeared to have a brief exchange with the fourth official.
Moments later, Olise was seen putting his shinpads into his socks, but then slyly removed his left guard and tossed… pic.twitter.com/ep0mqMLG79
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 28, 2024
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The International Football Association Board (IFAB) laws of the game state that shin pads must be worn by all players. There are no specific rules regarding size but Law 4 states that they “must be made of a suitable material and be of an appropriate size to provide reasonable protection, and be covered by the socks”.

For years, many footballers have been playing fast and loose with their interpretation of the rules. The low socks and micro shin pads trend made cool by the likes of Manchester City’s Jack Grealish and Chelsea’s Lauren James has become vastly popular in recent years.

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The art of the football sock

“I don’t wear shin pads,” Olise told a fan who tried to gift him a pair recently, although the PSG incident may have been a one-off, with the 23-year-old usually spotted wearing shin protection in matches.

The former Crystal Palace player is not the only professional footballer who would prefer to enter games shin pad free if it was up to him.

“I don’t really like wearing shin pads — we never wear shin pads in the training,” former Sheffield United striker Oli McBurnie told The Athletic in November. “I want to feel how I train every day, so I wear normal socks. I cut my socks and roll them down, and then have little bits of foam that I put in like padding just to feel as comfortable.”

Manchester City’s Jack Grealish is an infamous tiny shin pad wearer (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)

Sam Weller Widdowson is credited with inventing shin pads back in 1874. He was a cricketer as well as a footballer for Nottingham Forest, later becoming the club’s chairman and a player once capped by England. It is said that Weller Widdowson cut down a pair of cricket pads and started wearing them to protect him during football matches, and that his idea soon caught on.

Shin guards in sport have been heavily influenced by greaves, an ancient armour fashioned by soldiers dating back to the Bronze Age that protected the shinbone, which has little but skin to protect it.

It was in 1990 when FIFA (making use of IFAB’s laws) ruled that shin guards must be worn by all players in every game. Before that, players could pick and choose whether they protected their shins and ankles. Back then, shin guards were clunky and protected both a player’s ankle as well as their shin.

Custom-made Diadora shin pads made for Roma’s Francesco Totti in 2006, which now appear thoroughly retro by modern standards (Giuseppe Cacace/Getty Images)

They have slimmed down somewhat in the past three decades. Now players can source credit card — or, if you like, biscuit-sized shin guards. This trend has become a worry for grassroots football clubs, some of whom have now sought to enforce bans on young players wearing them.

Penistone Church, a team from Barnsley in South Yorkshire, made headlines last August when they put a ban in place after a 15-year-old player named Alfie suffered a double leg break when getting into a challenge while wearing miniature shin pads.

“It’s not worth the extra bit of speed to have you knocked out of football for months and months. It’s not worth the risk,” Alfie told the BBC after a 50-50 tackle left him nursing a broken tibia and fibular. The shin pads the teen was wearing at the time of the tackle measured just 3cm (1.1in) by 9cm (3.5in).

@officialbhafc The world’s smallest shin pad… 🤣 #BHAFC #AFC #PL ♬ original sound – Brighton & Hove Albion FC

Warrington Town defender Peter Clarke is 25 games away from reaching his 1,000th senior appearance since his Everton debut in the Premier League in January 2001. At 42 years of age, he says he can remember the cumbersome and bulky shin pads of the late 80s, 90s and early 2000s, with their built-in ankle protectors and velcro straps. And while he wears smaller guards than the ones he started his career with, plenty of on-pitch experiences have ensured that he has never downsized too much.

“The ones I wear now are carbon fibre and they have chips and scratches in which, when I look at them, I’m glad to be wearing them,” the centre-back, who also played for Huddersfield Town, Oldham Athletic and Tranmere Rovers, says.

“Twenty years ago, tackles would fly in a lot more. I remember going into a full-blown tackle and getting hit on the shin. As the game wore on, I realised there was blood on my sock — the studs had gone right through the shin pad and left a two-inch cut down my shin. It is a contact sport and it is wise to be well protected rather than wearing the smallest shin pads possible.”

Shin pads are designed to protect players’ legs during moments of impact (VI Images via Getty Images)

His longevity means Clarke is playing in the National League North alongside team-mates at Warrington who were born after he made his first professional appearance. What does he think is the reason that more players are opting for tiny shin pads these days?

“I don’t like the feel of them slipping around, so I wear sleeves to prevent that,” Clarke says. “Whether it is that or whether it is how an individual looks when they are playing; but I’m not sure a seven-inch piece of plastic or carbon fibre is going to slow an individual down that much. I’m not entirely sure but things have certainly changed and it is not for the best in terms of player safety.”

Clarke estimates he has used five or six pairs of shin pads throughout a career that has spanned more than 25 years and saw him defend against Thierry Henry (then of Arsenal) and Cristiano Ronaldo (then of Manchester United). He makes sure his daughter and son wear adequately-sized shin pads for their own protection when playing and encourages others to do the same.

While he has opted for plainer efforts, his children have customised guards with pictures of themselves and their family on. That is something a lot of players at all levels are opting for now, with some elite players even having pictures of just themselves on their own shin pads.

Cristiano Ronaldo wore shin pads at Euro 2024 featuring images of his nearest and dearest (Marcus Brandt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Manchester City and Brazil goalkeeper Ederson, and Crystal Palace and France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta are among those who do take to the pitch with images of their own faces tucked inside their socks.

For every Luka Modric, who wears one with photos of himself playing for Croatia and winning the Champions League with Real Madrid and the other of his wife and children, which he often kisses before stepping onto the pitch, there’s a Declan Rice who prefers to keep things simple with plain shock-absorbing material guards.

Luka Modric gives his shin pad a kiss for luck (David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)

England and Arsenal striker Alessia Russo has a selfie with her parents printed at the bottom of hers and above is an image of her iconic backheel nutmeg goal against Sweden at the European Championship in 2022, which was nominated for the Puskas award that same year.

Arsenal and England striker Alessia Russo’s shin pads (Molly Darlington – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

For players, shin pads can serve not just as protection but as positive homages to help psych themselves up before a game.

Former Real Madrid striker Joselu wore a picture of a dog on his shin guards for a Champions League quarter-final last season (Gonzalo Arroyo – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Some footballers opt to have their shin guards specially fitted. When former Wales international Gareth Bale was at Real Madrid, he wore a pair made by Podoactiva, a Biotechnology company that specialises in podiatry and biomechanics. It also designs custom-fitted insoles for players’ boots.

Ultimately, shin pads are there to protect players from serious injury but have also become a fashion statement — and, believe it or not, some shin pads are now supporting some players in sourcing moves in the transfer window.

Italy and Lazio striker Martina Piemonte moved from AC Milan to Everton in 2023 and put the transfer to the Women’s Super League in part down to the data her XSEED shin guards, created by Italian analytics company Soccerment, helped her collect during matches.

Aldo Comi is co-founder and CEO of the wearable technology company who have been fine-tuning their artificially intelligent shin guards since the product’s official launch in 2022. They now have approximately 3,000 players wearing XSEED and using the adjacent app, which allows players to interpret their own data. As brand ambassador, Inter Milan full-back Federico Dimarco is one of the more high-profile male footballers wearing the shin guards.

“We try to give the player ownership of their data so that they can use it to improve, to be faster and better, but then also to gain visibility,” Comi says. Soccerment’s shin pads measure a player’s speed, sprints, shots, crosses, passes and more. They also became the first wearable technology to provide expected goals (xG) metrics.

Soccerment’s ‘connected’ shin pads on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in 2020 (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Soccerment recently spent six days in California at the Major League Soccer youth tournament MLS NEXT Fest. “For six days, we datafied the 35 matches and more than 220 players,” Comi explains. “And basically, what we did there was create a scouting platform at the event.”

Comi says they were able to create a data breakdown in order to scout players (one of their goals is to create a worldwide scouting platform from this data) who outperformed their peers in various areas. The company has noticed the recent trend in shrinking shin guards, though, particularly among youth players — and are already reacting to it.

“The past two years, the trend has been having smaller and smaller shin guards. In some cases, players don’t even wear them,” he says. “You can see a lot of professional footballers are faking it by using these little sponges underneath their socks which, in my view, is dangerous. What we need to do (at Soccerment) is respond to this trend, which is why we are working on resizing our shin guards and making them smaller and lighter.”

Former Blackpool inside forward Allan Brown, pictured in 1953, shows shin pads as they once were (Allsport UK/Getty Images)

But Soccerment is first off focused on creating shin guards that — before capturing data and protecting the technology within each pad — protect the player.

“We wanted to have them certified as a protective equipment and that is why we had to select the premium materials. For example, we went for a copolymer, which is also used in the aerospace sector for its ability to absorb shocks. It’s been expensive for us but it makes the shin guards really protective.

“And that should be the main purpose of a shin guard: to protect your shins.”

(Top photo: Pau Barrena/Getty Images; design: Dan Goldfarb)

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Sports

State Department lists major sporting events in addition to World Cup, Olympics exempt from Trump’s visa ban

Published

7 hours ago

January 16, 2026

Press Room

State Department lists major sporting events in addition to World Cup, Olympics exempt from Trump’s visa ban

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The Trump administration has revealed various “major sporting events” in addition to the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in which athletes and coaches will be exempt from a broad visa ban on nearly 40 countries, allowing them to travel to the U.S. to compete.

In a cable sent Wednesday to all U.S. embassies and consulates, the State Department said athletes, coaches and support staff for the World Cup, the Olympics and events endorsed or run by a lengthy list of collegiate and professional sporting leagues and associations would be excluded from the full and partial travel bans subject to citizens of 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority.

But foreign spectators, media and corporate sponsors who wish to attend the events would still be impacted by the ban unless they qualify for another exemption.

TRUMP TOUTS 2026 WORLD CUP DRAW SUCCESS, CLAIMS MASSIVE VIEWERSHIP

The Trump administration has revealed the “major sporting events” in addition to the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic Games in which athletes and coaches will be exempt from a broad visa ban. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

“Only a small subset of travelers for the World Cup, Olympics and Paralympics, and other major sporting events will qualify for the exception,” the message said.

The federal government has issued several immigration and travel bans as well as other visa restrictions as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to curb immigration, although the administration still wants athletes, coaches and fans to be able to attend major sporting events in the U.S.

Trump’s proclamation last month banning the issuance of visas to the 39 countries and the Palestinian Authority had included an exception for athletes and staff competing in some sporting events such as the World Cup and the Olympics, and a decision on the other sporting events that would be covered would be made by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

WORLD CUP FANS BANNED FROM US TRAVEL MAY BE UNABLE TO ROOT FOR TEAMS IN PERSON

Foreign spectators, media and corporate sponsors who wish to attend the events would still be impacted by the ban unless they qualify for another exemption. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

The events covered, according to the cable, include all competitions and qualifying events for the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games and Parapan American Games; events hosted, sanctioned or recognized by a U.S. National Governing Body; all competitions and qualifying events for the Special Olympics; and official events and competitions hosted or endorsed by FIFA or its confederations.

Official events and competitions hosted by the International Military Sports Council, the International University Sports Federation and the National Collegiate Athletic Association as well as those hosted or endorsed by U.S. professional sports leagues such as the National Football League, the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and Little League, National Hockey League, Professional Women’s Hockey League, NASCAR, Formula 1, the Professional Golf Association, Ladies Professional Golf Association, LIV Golf, Major League Rugby, Major League Soccer, World Wrestling Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship and All Elite Wrestling are also covered under the exemption.

Other events and leagues could be added to the list in the future, the cable said.

Other events and leagues could be added to the list in the future. (Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images)

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Under the new visa restrictions, a full travel ban covers citizens of Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and individuals holding Palestinian Authority–issued passports.

A partial ban applies to citizens of Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burundi, Cuba, Dominica, Gabon, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Togo, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sports

High school basketball: Tuesday’s scores

Published

8 hours ago

January 16, 2026

Press Room

High school basketball: Tuesday’s scores

CITY SECTION

Animo Venice 62, Animo Pat Brown 57

CNDLC 54, Rise Kohyang 51

Collins Family 62, Alliance Bloomfield 35

New Designs Watts 43, Burton 31

Smidt Tech 61, Stern 48

Triumph Charter 79, Valley Oaks CES 20

WISH Academy 66, Animo Watts 42

SOUTHERN SECTION

Ambassador 60, Compton Early College 45

Animo Leadership 79, Summit View West 48

Arcadia 72, Crescenta Valley 54

Beaumont 55, Citrus Valley 37

Bishop Diego 56, Foothill Tech 45

Burbank 69, Burroughs Burbank 50

Calvary Baptist 90, Bethel Christian 12

Chino 66, Don Lugo 54

Colton 55, Arroyo Valley 36

Crespi 63, Chaminade 52

Crossroads Christian 67, NSLA 29

Damien 64, Chino Hills 41

Desert Christian Academy 56, San Jacinto Valley Academy 50

Diamond Ranch 51, Chaffey 50

Eisenhower 64, Kaiser 57

Elsinore 79, San Jacinto 52

Etiwanda 61, Rancho Cucamonga 56

Fairmont Prep 50, Capistrano Valley Christian 31

Fillmore 58, Carpinteria 41

Fullerton 59, Placentia Valencia 56

Garden Grove 68, Costa Mesa 31

Great Oak 74, Temecula Valley 66

Harvard-Westlake 47, Loyola 36

Hillcrest Christian 71, Beacon Hill 57

Katella 50, Ocean View 44

Laguna Hills 77, Godinez 67

La Habra 61, Sonora 54

Los Osos 63, Upland 60

Magnolia Science Academy 51, Downey Calvary Chapel 33

Montclair 66, Ontario 62

Palm Desert 72, La Quinta 37

Palm Springs 38, Shadow Hills 33

Palm Valley 31, Noli Indian 24

Rancho Mirage 65, Xavier Prep 38

Redlands East Valley 85, Yucaipa 55

Riverside Notre Dame 88, Carter 72

Samueli Academy 50, Avalon 39

San Jacinto Leadership 53, Nuview Bridge 20

San Fernando Valley Academy 70, Glendale Adventist 24

Segerstrom 80, Westminster 34

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 71, St. Francis 48

Sierra Canyon 83, Alemany 48

Silverado 72, Victor Valley 54

St. Monica Academy 68, Desert Christian 60

Summit 74, Grand Terrace 40

Summit Leadership 52, AAE 45

Temecula Prep 98, Santa Rosa Academy 69

Temescal Canyon 48, Tahquitz 33

Trinity Classical Academy 64, Lancaster Baptist 53

United Christian Academy 46, La Sierra Academy 40

Valley Torah 73, Santa Clarita Christian 67

Vistamar 81, Wildwood 43

Webb 60, Tarbut V’ Torah 56

Western Christian 69, Newport Christian 57

INTERSECTIONAL

Canyon Country Canyon 75, Canoga Park 50

CSDR 60, CSDF 22

Ft. Lauderdale (FL) Calvary Christian 71, St. John Bosco 60

GIRLS

CITY SECTION

Animo Venice 40, Animo Pat Brown 29

Animo Watts 69, WISH Academy 36

New Designs Watts 21, Burton 20

Northridge Academy 70, Fulton 10

SOCES 34, Vaughn 23

Stern 30, Smidt Tech 29

Triumph Charter 48, Valley Oaks CES 14

VAAS 37, East Valley 29

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alemany 67, Immaculate Heart 32

Alpaugh 31, SLOCA 26

Animo Leadership 38, Summit View West 36

Arroyo Valley 43, Riverside Notre Dame 28

Barstow 56, Granite Hills 21

Bishop Amat 66, St. Pius X-St. Matthias Academy 63

Bishop Diego 61, Santa Clara 10

Bishop Montgomery 78, St. Monica 47

Burbank Burroughs 76, Burbank 42

Calvary Baptist 63, Bethel Christian 19

Cantwell-Sacred Heart 59, St. Mary’s Academy 27

Chino 79, Don Lugo 21

Chino Hills 59, St. Lucy’s 11

Crescenta Valley 67, Arcadia 57

Crossroads 64, Windward 56

Desert Christian Academy 39, San Jacinto Valley Academy 32

Dos Pueblos 46, Oxnard 38

El Toro 46, Trabuco Hills 40

Etiwanda 67, Rancho Cucamonga 33

Flintridge Sacred Heart 42, Mayfield 25

Fontana 44, Carter 39

Knight 41, Antelope Valley 11

Lakewood St. Joseph 54, La Salle 45

Lancaster 58, Palmdale 33

Loma Linda Academy 56, Mesa Grande Academy 20

Los Alamitos 51, Newport Harbor 15

Mary Star of the Sea 49, Paraclete 44

Notre Dame Academy 57, Marymount 48

NOVA Academy 46, Anaheim Discovery 22

Ontario 42, Montclair 17

Palm Desert 60, La Quinta 45

Pasadena 59, Muir 49

Redlands 44, Cajon 38

Quartz Hill 65, Highland 57

Sacred Heart of Jesus 70, Pomona Catholic 13

San Bernardino 70, West Valley 28

San Jacinto 57, Elsinore 24

San Jacinto Leadership 68, Nuview Bridge 20

San Juan Hills 58, Dana Hills 22

Santa Margarita 47, JSerra 43

Shadow Hills 60, Palm Springs 36

Shalhevet 53, Compton Early College 2

Silverado 58, Victor Valley 30

St. Bernard 75, San Gabriel Mission 20

St. Bonaventure 85, Thacher 13

St. Monica Academy 43, Desert Christian 35

Temecula Prep 51, Santa Rosa Academy 26

Trinity Classical Academy 86, Lancaster Baptist 21

Vistamar 47, Wildwood 8

Xavier Prep 50, Rancho Mirage 10

Yucaipa 90, Redlands East Valley 25

INTERSECTIONAL

Castaic 60, Lake Balboa College 11

CSDR 59, New Mexico School for the Deaf 11

Sports

Education Dept launches 18 Title IX probes after SCOTUS hears arguments in efforts to protect women’s sports

Published

19 hours ago

January 15, 2026

Press Room

Education Dept launches 18 Title IX probes after SCOTUS hears arguments in efforts to protect women’s sports

Supreme Court hears landmark women’s sports cases

Independent Women’s Law Center Director May Mailman joins ‘America’s Newsroom,’ reacting to the ongoing hearings to determine if transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women’s sports.

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The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced Wednesday it had launched 18 Title IX investigations into several school districts across the country, a day after the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the fight to protect women’s and girls sports.

School districts with high-profile transgender athlete controversies were among those under investigation. The targeted districts are in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington.

“In the same week that the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the future of Title IX, OCR is aggressively pursuing allegations of discrimination against women and girls by entities which reportedly allow males to compete in women’s sports,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said in a news release.

“Time and again, the Trump administration has made its position clear: Violations of women’s rights, dignity, and fairness are unacceptable.

A protester holds a sign outside the Supreme Court during arguments over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

“We will leave no stone unturned in these investigations to uphold women’s right to equal access in education programs, a fight that started over half a century ago and is far from finished.”

The schools under investigation included the following:

Jurupa School District (California)
Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District (California)
Santa Monica College (California)
Santa Rosa Junior College (California)
Waterbury Public Schools (Connecticut)
Hawaii State Department of Education (Hawaii)
Regional School Unit 19 (Maine)
Regional School Unit 57 (Maine)
Foxborough Public Schools (Massachusetts)
University of Nevada-Reno (Nevada)
Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District (New York)
New York City Department of Education (New York)
Great Valley School District (Pennsylvania)
Champlain Valley School District (Vermont)
Cheney Public Schools (Washington)
Sultan School District No. 311 (Washington)
Tacoma Public Schools (Washington)
Vancouver Public Schools (Washington)

Fox News Digital reached out to each school and district.

The districts are accused of maintaining “policies or practices that discriminate on the basis of sex by permitting students to participate in sports based on their ‘gender identity,’ not biological sex,” the Education Department said. “These policies jeopardize both the safety and the equal opportunities of women in educational programs and activities.”

Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District responded to a request for comment.

“The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District has been notified of a review by the U.S. Department of Education,” a school official said. “Our priority has always been to provide safe, respectful and inclusive learning environments for all students while meeting our obligations under state and federal law. The district’s policies were adopted in good faith and are aligned with applicable law, and we will fully cooperate with all requests related to this matter.”

Maine’s Regional School Unit 57 told Fox News Digital, “RSU 57 received notification yesterday afternoon from the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR), that a complaint has been filed alleging discrimination. OCR has indicated it is opening an investigation. RSU 57 complies with all state and federal laws related to discrimination and harassment, and provides a safe and inclusive learning environment for all of its students. RSU 57 will provide OCR with the information that it has requested and looks forward to resolving this matter.”

Cheney Public Schools told Fox News Digital, “We are aware of the investigation that the Department of Education initiated today. At this time, we cannot comment on the substance of the investigation, but we intend to cooperate with the investigator throughout this process.”

Vancouver Public Schools told Fox News Digital, “We did receive notice earlier today alerting us that the Office for Civil Rights is initiating an investigation. We are reviewing the allegations, but are unable to provide further comment while the investigation is pending.”

INSIDE THE SCOTUS HEARING BOUND TO BE A TURNING POINT IN THE CULTURE WAR OVER TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

Education Secretary Linda McMahon speaks to the crowd as protesters gather outside the Supreme Court as it hears arguments over state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Washington (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

The OCR’s announcement came as the Supreme Court heard arguments in two landmark cases to protect women’s and girls sports.

The issue at hand is whether laws in Idaho and West Virginia that prohibit transgender athletes who identify as women from playing on teams that match their gender identity, discriminate based on sex.

In the case of Little v. Hecox, a biological man who sought to compete on the women’s track and cross-country teams at Boise State University contended that Idaho’s law, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, violated the equal protection clause by excluding transgender women.

West Virginia v. B.P.J. centers on a 15-year-old transgender athlete who identifies as a girl and who argued the state’s ban violated both the Constitution and Title IX’s ban on sex discrimination in federally funded education programs.

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Lawyers for the states defending the bans maintain that separating sports based on biological sex preserves fairness and safety for female athletes and is consistent with Title IX’s definition of sex.

Fox News’ Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.