Over his two-decade career, Favre became known not just for his rocket arm and ironman streak but also for his outspoken nature, never shying away from saying what was on his mind. When the NFL faced backlash over its handling of concussions, Favre was one of the first legends to speak out, warning young players about the long-term dangers of head injuries. Now, Favre has turned his attention to a debate that has been stirring controversy across the nation.

On February 5, the 47th POTUS Donald Trump signed the executive order titled ‘Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports. Surrounded by female athletes, Trump declared at the signing ceremony that “the war on women’s sports is over” and highlighted the efforts of former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines while reflecting on the 2022 NCAA Championship incident.

Favre continued to show support for the bill and posted a video on X on Wednesday, noting in the caption, “Here’s a few reasons why I think it was important to speak up for  @realDonaldTrump needing to sign an executive order to keep men and out of women’s sports.”

In the video, Favre cleared his stance further saying, “We have 2 daughters..3 grandsons. The oldest is 36, the youngest is 25. But they are in the real world. But often times, they would say that, ‘dad, I will not post that.’ And I think there’s some good in that, being quiet. But there’s also the element of standing up for what you believe in.

It’s crazy that most of this is common sense. To think that we are having a discussion that our president has to sign a bill to keep men out of women’s sports is absolutely insane,” Favre said in the video. In the caption, he also added, “kudos to @Riley_Gaines_ for standing her ground.”

The debate of trans-men competing in women’s sports gained traction in 2022. Kentucky senior Riley Gaines finished tied for fifth with Penn’s Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer in the 200 freestyle final at the NCAA Women’s Championships. Thomas was given the only fifth-place trophy for the event, while Gaines stood and watched and was promised that she would be given a trophy via mail. A few months later, Thomas became the first known transgender athlete to win a Division I national championship in any sport.

Gaines, however, started being vocal against the NCAA and its decision to allow a trans athlete to compete with women. In March 2024, Gaies and more than a dozen college athletes filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing Thomas to compete at the national championships in 2022.

Last year in June, Thomas lost a legal battle challenging an effective ban on trans women competing in the highest levels of women’s swimming, which ended her hopes of participating in the Paris Olympics.

Donald Trump then started advocating for banning trans athletes from competing in women’s sports and made it a part of his presidential campaign. Hence, once he took over the White House seat, he wasted no time in passing the bill. In his video message, Favre also called for “common sense” to prevail, when it came to fairness in sports.

“We bought ourselves some time for the next 4 years, let’s see how that plays out. But the common sense part of our country, the decisions that have been made are becoming more sane, back to the norm. So, I feel like the more we speak up and back common sense thinking, we will be better off,” Favre said.

Earlier as well, Favre expressed his approval when Trump passed the bill tweeting, “I appreciate President @realDonaldTrump signing an initiative to keep biological boys from competing against females. It’s sad that this had to happen in this day and age, but glad it was done. And shout out to @Riley_Gaines_.”

The former Packers QB has shared his thoughts on transgender athletes in women’s sports before as well when he called out New Zealand’s transgender weightlifter, Laurel Hubbard, who became the first transgender woman to qualify for the Olympics in 2021.

Brett Favre called transgender participation in women’s sports “unfair

Laurel Hubbard competed in men’s weightlifting competitions before transitioning and met requirements laid out by the International Olympic Committee for trans athletes and fair competition. But Favre was not having it.

“That’s unfair. It’s not fair for a man, even if this person wants to be a woman or feels compelled — if you want to become the opposite sex, that’s fine. I got no problem with it. But you can’t compete against — males cannot compete against females,” Favre said at the time.

“If I was a true female — I can’t believe I’m saying that — and I was competing in weightlifting and lost to this person, I would be beside myself,” he added.

In response to the executive order, the NCAA said they would take some time to align the policy, and a day later they updated the participation policy, stating only “student-athletes assigned female at birth” will be allowed to take part in collegiate competitions, thus effectively banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports.

For now, Favre, Gaines, and many others have their wish, but it remains to be seen what unfolds in this saga next over the coming months.