“Yesterday I played 18 holes. I’m going to play 18 holes in my league today, and if I feel okay, I’ll play 18 holes tomorrow,” said Richards recently.
The former professional tennis player and ophthalmologist made headlines in the 1970s, when after transitioning to female she sued and won the right to play in the U.S. Open. During her half-decade pro career, Richards peaked at 20th in the world and in 1977 made the U.S. open finals in doubles, where she lost to a pair that included tennis legend Martina Navratilova.
Renée Richards hits a return during the Women’s 1977 U.S. Open Tennis Championships in New York City.
Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images
Half a century later, her views have evolved — she believes transgender women who transition after puberty should not compete in women’s sports — but she’s aghast at broader restrictions on transgender rights during the Trump administration’s first 100 days.
The State Department has halted the practice of issuing passports with “X” gender markers. The Office of Personnel Management directed agency heads to strip “gender ideology” from websites, contracts and emails. An executive order calls on the federal government “to rescind all funds from educational programs” that allow transgender girls and women to compete. Another order restricts access to gender-affirming care for youth. The Department of Defense has reinstated President Trump’s first term transgender military ban, and transgender federal inmates are now regarded by their sex at birth. The changes are the subject of ongoing lawsuits.
First and foremost on Richards’ mind: the Navy veteran believes transgender Americans should be able to serve openly in the military.
“That’s terrible. You know, I can only think of myself because I was in the Navy when nobody knew that I was a transgender. I hadn’t had surgery yet, but it was still me,” said Richards, who won the All-Navy tennis championship while serving. “That goes a long way back, but I’m still representative of the same ilk even though they didn’t know it at the time.”
Richards is the subject of a forthcoming book, tentatively titled “Finding Renée,” by former Sports Illustrated editor Julie Kliegman. Richards believes the fierce debate over transgender athletes has fueled a “jump…from the sports to the military, to the education, to the bathrooms, to the passports, to the existence, to the teaching of any kind of gender.”
It’s a trend that has played out in state legislatures, before and during the current Trump administration, according to Logan Casey, the director of policy research at the nonprofit Movement Advancement Project, which tracks state laws and executive orders regulating gender.
Casey said state-level bans on sports prior to the current Trump administration “laid the groundwork for all of the anti-transgender and anti-LGBTQ attacks more broadly.”
“It sort of put sports as a foot in the door, and a framework, for how many people who had not previously thought about transgender people very much — let alone in the context of policy and law — are now thinking about it and framing it,” said Casey, who noted the vast majority of state legislation targeting LGBTQ rights fails to become law.
Ash Lazarus Orr, a spokesperson for Advocates for Trans Equality, said the language of Mr. Trump’s executive orders bore similarities to orders and legislation coming out of state capitals.
“It signals back to states that, yes, this is a priority. You should continue to do this, and in fact do this and other attacks,” said Orr, who is also the title plaintiff in a lawsuit over the Trump administration’s policy requiring U.S. passports to reflect sex assigned at birth. “While we were seeing attacks on the trans community escalating at a state level under the Biden administration, what we are seeing now under the Trump administration is absolutely an escalation.”
Former Olympic swimmer Nancy Hogshead, a Democrat who founded the nonprofit advocacy group Champion Women, believes the party is suffering from self-inflicted wounds.
Hogshead, who supports efforts to align participation in sports with gender at birth, said Trump and Republicans have found a galvanizing issue.
“It is a winner for them. It is a winner for Republicans,” Hogshead said. “Fifty percent of all girls play sports. That is a meat and potatoes issue for them. It’s not a fringe issue.”
Richards believes Trump has a similar view. She said, as an ophthalmologist, she treated one of his sisters and has met Mr. Trump once.
“He knows I’m not an ogre,” she said. “He sees, and his advisors advise him, that his popularity rests with the small group of people that hate the idea of transgender, period.”
Richards, whose professional tennis career began in 1977 when she was more than 40 years old, largely agrees with Hogshead. In April 2024, she provided the Women’s Tennis Association with a position paper on participation of transgender women in sports, and this year allowed Sports Illustrated to publish it. In the paper, Richards concluded that people who have undergone male puberty should be ineligible to compete against biological females.
Richards’s paper included reflections on her time playing both as an amateur and professionally, analysis of “the current literature on the subject,” citing her decades as a doctor, and policy recommendations.
It also touched on golf.
“My lifetime in sports is still ongoing,” she wrote. “I have been a member of the ladies’ golf league at the public/private club near my home for the past 20 years.”
Richards spoke to CBS News on opening day last week. She said, despite politics, the women in her league still welcome her competition.
“Not only welcome and accepted, but if I didn’t show up, they would have a cemetery ceremony, believe me,” Richards said.
Are there a lot of 90-year-olds there, still hitting the links?
“Yeah, me. Amongst the men and the women, I’m the only one,” Richards said, adding that she guesses the average age at the club is 60. “I play the forward tee, but I don’t play any gold tees that are in front of that — and I hit the ball as well as they do, too.”
Graham Kates is an investigative reporter covering criminal justice, privacy issues and information security for CBS News Digital. Contact Graham at KatesG@cbsnews.com or grahamkates@protonmail.com
Major League Volleyball (MLV) kicks off its 2026 regular season on Thursday, Jan. 8 with six former Gators on a roster across the nine teams.
Carli Snyder and Rhamat Alhassan, both of whom appeared in Florida’s 2017 national championship match, reunite on the Grand Rapids Rise. Former Gator teammates Anna Dixon and Elli McKissock join the Atlanta Vibe, while Marlie Monserez, who led the Vibe’s offense for the past two seasons, signed with the San Diego Mojo for the 2026 season. After making her professional debut with Indy Ignite last season, Isabel Martin will join the Dallas Pulse in its inaugural campaign.
Dixon, McKissock and the Atlanta Vibe host both of their opening-weekend matches, welcoming the Columbus Fury on Thursday before facing Snyder and Alhassan on Sunday, Jan. 10. Snyder and Alhassan will first return to their college state for the Rise’s 2026 debut against the Orlando Valkyries on Friday, Jan. 9.
Monserez makes her Mojo debut on Thursday in Omaha against the Supernovas before returning to her home state on Sunday, Jan. 11 to face the Orlando Valkyries.
Martin faces her former team on Saturday, Jan. 10 in the Pulse’s first-ever match.
MLV’s 2026 schedule can be found here.
Major League Volleyball, entering its third season, is the longest-running formal professional volleyball league for women in the United States. Designed to elevate the sport through world class competition, commercial innovation, and cultural relevance, MLV brings together elite athletes, visionary leadership and global ambition. With alignment to USA Volleyball and a commitment to Olympic development, MLV serves as the premier pathway from professional play to the world stage. For more information, visit ProVolleyball.com.
MALIBU, Calif. – The Pepperdine men’s volleyball team plays the first match of the 2026 season Friday night against the Spartans of St. Thomas Aquinas College in Firestone Fieldhouse at 6 p.m.
LAST SEASON
• The Waves are coming off an incredible season with the farthest run in the NCAA tournament since 2019, losing to eventual National Champion Long Beach State in the semi-finals.
• Pepperdine finished 4th in the MPSF, making a run in the conference tournament hosted in Malibu, beating higher-seeded USC and UCLA to win the whole thing.
• In just three seasons under head coach Jonathan Winder, it is the team’s most successful season under his leadership.
GAME NOTES
• This season marks the 56th and final season with Firestone Fieldhouse as the home for Pepperdine Men’s Volleyball
• Pepperdine will move into the Mountain at Mullin Park for the 2026-27 season.
• The Mountain is a new 3,600-seat arena that will give Pepperdine a state-of-the-art competition venue, complete with a 360-degree high-definition scoreboard, VIP and hospitality spaces, and custom team locker rooms.
• Owning 5 NCAA titles and 18 MPSF titles, with the most recent being earned last year, the Waves are no stranger to what it takes to put together a championship-level team.
• With one of the toughest schedules in the NCAA, Pepperdine is setting the season up for success with a NCAA quarterfinal rematch against Loyola Chicago, a semifinal rematch with Long Beach State and a trip to the islands, taking on No. 2 Hawai’i in March.
• Opening No. 4 in the AVCA preseason poll, the Waves are only behind LBSU, Hawai’i, and conference-foe UCLA.
• Ryan Barnett, Cole Hartke, and Jacob Reilly all return as All-Americans for the Waves.
• All three played on some level of the national team this summer.
• Ryan Barnett earned a silver medal with the U23 team at the Pan American Cup while also playing on the senior USA team with Jacob Reilly in the Pan American Cup.
• Cole Hartke earned a bronze in the FIVB World Championship with the U21 team, the farthest the USA has ever gotten in the tournament.
• Redshirting last season, Grant Lamoureux is a player to keep an eye out for on this star-studded roster.
• Named the Junior Male Indoor Athlete of the Year this past year, the redshirt freshman brings plenty of experience regardless of never logging collegiate minutes.
• This summer, Lamoureux was a captain of the U19 World Championship squad with team USA where he led the team in kills nearly every time out.
• Redshirt Ford Harman transferred into Pepperdine from national-champion Long Beach State.
• This summer, Harman earned a Silver medal at the 2025 Men’s Beach Collegiate Challenge for team USA.
• Harman is originally from Santa Barbara, playing at Santa Barbara HS before college.
• Outside of the United States, the Waves represent three other countries in Cuba, Serbia, and Switzerland.
• Andrej Polomac, a transfer from Purdue Fort-Wayne, is the sole Serbian on the squad, brings elite experience as a setter with an average of just under 9 aces per set last season.
• The Waves add even more international experience next year with two of the three commits coming from overseas, bringing another Serbian to Malibu as well as a middle blocker from the Czech Republic.
• In his fourth year at the helm, Winder is coming off his most successful season last year with a run to the final four in the NCAA tournament.
• Last season, Winder led the Waves to an MPSF title, the program’s first since 2019.
• As the ninth coach at the helm, Winder is an alum of the program himself, earning a National Title with Pepperdine in 2005.
First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. The game can be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required) with live stats available on pepperdinewaves.com
ABOUT PEPPERDINE MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Pepperdine men’s volleyball boasts one of the richest histories in collegiate volleyball, with five NCAA National Championships. Four of those championships came under the direction of Hall of Fame coach Marv Dunphy who totaled 612 victories in 34 seasons at the helm. With 19 NCAA Appearances and 63 All-Americans, the program has consistently been a destination for top talent across the country. Under current head coach Jonathan Winder, the Waves reached the NCAA Final Four in his third season at the helm in 2025.
TICKETS
For more information and to purchase tickets to upcoming home events, visit here.
FOLLOW
To stay up-to-date on the latest Pepperdine women’s soccer news, follow the Waves on social media @PepperdineMVB_ .
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Fresh off a national championship season, No. 3 Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball opens the 2026 campaign at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid with a pair of home matches, beginning with a season opener against Lindenwood on Friday, January 9, followed by a ranked showdown with No. 15 McKendree on Saturday. The opening weekend marks the start of a demanding schedule for the Beach, who enter the season as a Big West preseason favorite and a consensus national contender.
In the Rankings
• After finishing the 2025 season as the National Champion, Long Beach State starts the 2026 season ranked No. 3 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll. The Beach garnered 460 total points and five first-place votes.
• McKendree is ranked No. 15 in the AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll. The Bearcats accumulated 167 points.
• The Big West is one of the most competitive Division I Men’s Volleyball conferences as all six Big West schools are nationally ranked, with No. 2 Hawai’i and No 3. Long Beach State sitting in the Top 5.
• This season, Long Beach State will face ten nationally ranked opponents in No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Hawai’i, No. 4 Pepperdine, No. 10 UC San Diego, No. 11 CSUN, No. 13 Penn State, No. 14 Ohio State, No. 15 McKendree, No. 17 UC Santa Barbara and No. 19 George Mason. Additionally, the Beach will play one team that is receiving votes in Fort Valley State (9).
About The Beach
• No. 3 Long Beach State open the 2026 campaign looking to build on a national championship 2025 season which saw the Beach post a 30-3 overall record. The Beach went 9-1 in Big West action winning their fourth-straight regular season title and fourth national championship title.
• Long time Long Beach State Head Coach Alan Knipe retired after his championship 22nd season. The winningest coach in LBSU Men’s Volleyball program history, Knipe owns a career record of 449-171 for a winning percentage of .724.
• Replacing Knipe at the helm is long-time former Associate Head Coach Nick MacRae. MacRae is joined by Assistant Coaches McKay Smith, Amir-Lugo Rodriguez, Matt Prosser and Technical Coordinator Jon Parry. MacRae, a seasoned coach under Knipe, has worked at Long Beach State for the last 13 seasons helping Long Beach State capture three NCAA National Titles, two Big West Championships, and has helped lead the Beach to eight NCAA Final Four appearances.
• The Beach return 12 players from one year ago and welcome five newcomers.
• Senior Skyler Varga and Sophomore Alex Kandev, both returners, were named to the 2026 Big West Preseason Team. Varga returns as one of the nation’s premier attackers. Both earned NCAA All-Tournament Team honors for their performance in the NCAA Championship match. Varga finished the 2025 campaign with 270 kills (2.73 per set) on a .368 attack percentage, while adding 33 service aces, 70 total blocks, and 341 points across 99 sets. In addition to his on-court excellence, Varga also received CSC Academic All-America recognition. Kandev concluded his freshman season with 210 kills (3.23 per set) while hitting .458, and added 21 aces, 36 blocks, and 250 points in 65 sets.
North American Challenge
Long Beach State hosted the North American Challenge, a preseason exhibition tournament, featuring a total of four teams from the United States and Canada.
The tournament took place on Friday, Jan. 2 and Saturday, Jan. 4 with four matches played on day one and four on day two. The tournament was held in both the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid and the Gold Mine.
The United States won the tournament after sweeping all eight matches over two days.
The Beach were led by senior outside hitter Skyler Varga who was named MVP of the Tournament.
Big West Preseason Favorite
The Big West released its 2026 Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll and Team, and defending Big West regular season and National Champion Long Beach State was selected as the preseason favorite. The Beach garnered 24 total points and four first-place votes from league head coaches, signaling strong expectations for another elite season.
Long Beach State’s status as a national powerhouse was further reinforced in the 2026 AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Preseason Poll (Dec. 23), where the Beach were ranked No. 3 nationally behind UCLA and Hawai’i.
The Beach also placed multiple student-athletes on the 2026 Big West Preseason Coaches’ Team, as Skyler Varga and Alex Kandev earned preseason recognition following standout performances during Long Beach State’s championship 2025 season.
Following Long Beach State atop the Big West preseason poll, Hawai’i was chosen second with 22 points and two first-place votes, and UC Irvine was tabbed third with 17 points. CSUN, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara rounded out the poll, each earning nine points.
Tucson has several opportunities to catch UA’s beach volleyball team in action at home when the season kicks off in February.
Arizona beach volleyball will host three regular season home tournaments this year.
Catherine Regan, Arizona Athletics
The Wildcats will host three regular-season home tournaments, in addition to their Red-Blue scrimmage and the Big 12 Championship in April.
First up is the scrimmage at 2 p.m. on Feb. 13, before Arizona heads to Phoenix for Grand Canyon’s Lopes Invitational on Feb. 20-21 to face TCU, GCU, UC Davis and Colorado Mesa.
The first home tournament, the Cactus Classic, will host UTEP, ASU, Oregon and Georgia State on Feb. 27-28.
The Cats will head up I-10 to Tempe for the Sun Devil Classic on March 6-7, which will also feature Southern Mississippi, Nebraska, ASU and Arizona Christian.
A week later, March 13-14, UA will face Cal Poly, CSUN, Santa Clara and UC Davis at Cal Poly’s Mustang Roundup in San Luis Obispo before returning home for the Arizona Invitational, March 20-21, which will include Tarleton State, UTEP, Missouri State and San Francisco.
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Arizona will close out March in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Big 12 Preview, along with TCU, ASU, Boise State, South Carolina and Florida State.
The team’s final home tournament, before it hosts the Big 12 Championship April 23-24, will be the Wildcat Spring Challenge on April 3-4 vs. South Carolina, FGCU, Colorado Mesa and Hawaii.
In between the Wildcat Classic and the Big 12 Championship, UA will be New Orleans-bound for the NOLA Classic, hosted by Tulane, April 17-18, to face Tulane, Louisiana Monroe, New Orleans and Florida International.
This year’s NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships will be in Gulf Shores, Alabama, May 1-3.
Tulane named Derek Schroeder its volleyball coach on Wednesday.
Schroeder, who is 279-234 in 17 years, spent the last three seasons at Jacksonville State after coaching Mercer for six years and Samford for eight, leading Samford to the NCAA tournament in 2011 and 2014. He guided Mercer to its first regular-season championships in 2020 and 2021, earning Southern Conference coach of the year honors in 2021.
He was not as successful at Jacksonville State, inheriting a program that had gone 65-15 the previous three seasons in the Ohio Valley and Atlantic Sun before moving to Conference USA. The Gamecocks went 5-22 in 2023, 10-21 in 2024 and 14-15 in 2025.
Schroeder replaces Jordana Price, who was fired in November after going 40-77 overall and 15-56 in the American during a four-year tenure. Tulane’s last NCAA tournament appearance was in 2008.
A Nebraska volleyball player has been named a finalist for another prestigious award. Setter Bergen Reilly, along with Olivia Babcock from Pittsburgh, Eva Hudson from Kentucky, and Mimi Colyer from Wisconsin, are the four finalists for the Class of 2026 Honda Sport Award for Volleyball.
Reilly had a tremendous 2025 season, helping the Huskers to a 33-1 record and a third straight Big Ten Championship. She averaged 10.47 assists per set and 2.70 digs per set with 73 kills, 67 blocks and 19 aces.
The Sioux Falls, S.D. native was a first-team AVCA All-American, AVCA Setter of the Year, Big Ten Player of the Year, Big Ten Setter of the Year, AVCA Region Player of the Year and All-Big Ten First Team.
The volleyball winner will become a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the Class of 2026 Honda Cup. The award will be presented live on Monday, July 27, at 6 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network.
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