Nevada
VICTOR JOECKS: Nevada the newest state to protect female sports
To play on a girls’ sports team, you have to be a girl. That sensible principle is now the policy of Nevada high school sports.
On Tuesday, the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association overwhelmingly approved a new “student eligibility and participation” policy. Female athletes are allowed to “participate in a NIAA sanctioned sport on teams designated for girls.” Male athletes aren’t. And there’s no loophole for a boy who claims to be a girl, like there was before.
Bravo to the board members who supported this common-sense and much-needed policy.
After puberty, it’s unfair to make girls compete against boys. Deanna Riddle, a NIAA parent board member, shared a story that illustrated this. At a recent track meet, her son competed in the 300-meter hurdles. His first 200 meters went smoothly, but then he tweaked his hamstring. He had to limp to the finish line.
“He was so fast in his race — I think he ended at a 43.24 — that walking the last 100, he still beat (the time of) the fastest varsity girl,” she said.
Examples such as this are why it’s so important to protect female sports. It’s not merely about giving girls and women a chance to win either.
Sia Liilii testified in support of the policy. You may know her as the UNR volleyball player who bravely spoke out against San Jose State having a male player on its team. UNR even forfeited its match against that team in protest. But there’s more to her story.
“I am one of 11 siblings, so I knew from a young age that I would have to work hard, earn a scholarship in order to further my education,” she told the board. “By allowing biological males who are stronger and faster in women’s sports, the opportunity for a young girl in the future could be diminished.”
President Donald Trump deserves credit here, too. The board cited his executive order protecting women’s sports as an impetus for its own actions.
This is one of the biggest policy wins for Nevada conservatives in the past decade, and it didn’t happen by accident.
Liilii and her teammates took a courageous stand, drawing attention to the injustice of allowing men in women’s sports. Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony came out in strong support of the UNR volleyball team’s decision.
Anthony and Sarah Johnson, who works in his office, kept pushing the issue. In January, he created the Lieutenant Governor’s Task Force to Protect Women’s Sports. That group is chaired by Marshi Smith, an NCAA champion swimmer and co-founder of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports. Her work in Nevada and nationally has been invaluable. NIAA worked with ICONS in crafting this policy.
Unlike most government committees, this group took action and kept up the public pressure. At a recent Assembly Education Committee meeting, several young athletes spoke about the need to protect girls’ sports.
“Boys and girls are built differently, and that’s why we have separate teams,” Riley Roleson, a 12-year-old who plays volleyball and basketball, said.
Democrats have no answer to this preteen schooling them in biological realities that are obviously true. They can only hope that Republicans stop talking about the issue.
That would be a mistake. For one, when you’re on the popular side of an 80-20 issue, it’s political malpractice to stop talking about it. Plus, this victory is significant, but it isn’t etched in stone. If Attorney General Aaron Ford were to defeat Gov. Joe Lombardo in 2026, I believe he would sign a bill overruling this policy. The ACLU is also likely to sue.
Even so, this vote shows something important. The fight to protect women’s sports is winnable, but it must be fought.
Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.
Nevada
Oregon lands commitment from Nevada punter
Oregon has found its next Australian punter.
Bailey Ettridge, who averaged 44.66 yards on 47 punts at Nevada this season, committed to transfer to the Ducks on Sunday. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
From Lara, Australia, Ettridge had 15 punts over 50 yards and 18 inside opponents’ 20-yard lines this season. He also had two carries for 26 yards, both of which converted fourth downs.
Ettridge replaces James Ferguson-Reynolds, who is averaging 41.64 yards on 33 punts for UO this season. Ferguson-Reynolds and Ross James are both out of eligibility after the season.
Ettridge is the first scholarship transfer to Oregon this offseason and his addition gives the Ducks 81 projected scholarship players in 2026. He is the lone punter presently on the roster.
No. 1 Indiana (14-0) vs. No. 5 Oregon (13-1)
- When: Friday, January 9
- Time: 4:30 p.m. PT
- Where: Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta
- TV: ESPN and ABC
- Stream: You can watch this game on DIRECTV (free trial) or with Sling (a Sling day pass to watch this game and more is just $4.99). Streaming broadcasts for this game will be available on these streaming services locally in Oregon and Washington, but may not be available outside of the Pacific Northwest, depending on your location.
Nevada
‘Winnemucca Day’ helps fuel Backus, Wolf Pack to 58-40 win over Utah State
RENO, Nev. (Nevada Athletics) – Nevada Women’s Basketball returned to Lawlor for the first game of 2026, hosting Utah State.
The Pack picked up its first conference win of the season with the 58-40 victory over the Aggies.
Freshmen showed out for the Pack (5-9, 1-3 MW) with Skylar Durley nearly recording a double-double, dropping 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Britain Backus had five points to go along with two rebounds and a season high four steals.
Junior Izzy Sullivan also had an impactful game with 17 points, going 6-for-11 from the paint and grabbing five boards. She also knocked down Nevada’s only two makes from beyond the arc, putting her within one for 100 career threes.
The Pack opened up scoring the first four points, setting the tone for the game. It was a close battle through the first 10 as Utah State (6-7, 2-2 MW) closed the gap to one.
However, Nevada never let them in front for the entire 40 minutes.
Nevada turned up the pressure in the second quarter, holding Utah State to a shooting drought for over four minutes. Meanwhile, a 5-0 scoring run pushed the Pack to a 10-point lead.
For the entire first 20, Nevada held Utah State to just 26.7 percent from the floor and only nine percent from the arc, going only 1-for-11.
For the Pack offense, it shot 48 percent from the paint. Nevada fell into a slump coming out of the break, only scoring eight points.
It was the only quarter where the Pack was outscored.
The fourth quarter saw the Pack get back into rhythm with a 6-0 run and forcing the Aggies into another long scoring drought of just under four and a half minutes.
Durley had a layup and jumper to help with securing the win.
Nevada will remain at home to face Wyoming on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Copyright 2026 KOLO. All rights reserved.
Nevada
EDITORIAL: Nevada’s House Democrats oppose permitting reform
Politicians of both parties have promised to fix the nation’s broken permitting system. But those promises have not been kept, and the status quo prevails: longer timelines, higher costs and a regulatory maze that makes it nearly impossible to build major projects on schedule.
Last week, the House finally cut through the fog by passing the Standardizing Permitting and Expediting Economic Development Act. As Jeff Luse reported for Reason, the legislation is the clearest chance in years to overhaul a system that has spun out of control.
Notably, virtually every House Democrat — including Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford from Nevada — opted for the current regulatory morass.
The proposal addressed problems with the National Environmental Policy Act, which passed in the 1970s to promote transparency, but has grown into an anchor that drags down public and private investment. Mr. Luse notes that even after Congress streamlined the act in 2021, the average environmental impact statement takes 2.4 years to complete. That number speaks for itself and does not reflect the many reviews that stretch far beyond that already unreasonable timeline.
The SPEED Act tackles these failures head on. It would codify recent Supreme Court guidance, expand the projects that do not require exhaustive review and set real expectations for federal agencies that too often slow-walk approvals. Most important, it puts long-overdue limits on litigation. Mr. Luse highlights the absurdity of the current six-year window for filing a lawsuit under the Environmental Policy Act. Between 2013 and 2022, these lawsuits delayed projects an average of 4.2 years.
While opponents insist the bill would silence communities, Mr. Luse notes that NEPA already includes multiple public hearings and comment periods. Also, the vast majority of lawsuits are not filed by members of the people who live near the projects. According to the Breakthrough Institute, 72 percent of NEPA lawsuits over the past decade came from national nonprofits. Only 16 percent were filed by local communities. The SPEED Act does not shut out the public. It reins in well-funded groups that can afford to stall projects indefinitely.
Some Democrats claim the bill panders to fossil fuel companies, while some Republicans fear it will accelerate renewable projects. As Mr. Luse explains, NEPA bottlenecks have held back wind, solar and transmission lines as often as they have slowed oil and gas. That is why the original SPEED Act won support from green energy groups and traditional energy producers.
Permitting reform is overdue, and lawmakers claim to understand that endless red tape hurts economic growth and environmental progress alike. The SPEED Act is the strongest permitting reform proposal in years. The Senate should approve it.
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