BUCK: We are now joined by the U.S. senator for Alabama — there’s two — Senator Tommy Tuberville is with us now. Senator Tuberville, appreciate you making the time for us, sir.

SEN. TUBERVILLE: Yes, sir. Coach, please. Please call me Coach.

BUCK: Coach Tuberville. Yes, sir. Whatever you prefer. So, tell me this. You just went into a — and you and Clay are gonna be the sports things in a minute or two here. You know, I leave that to you folks.

But on Title IX, I know you’re all over this issue, and the Biden administration as of a few months ago was pushing some very radical interpretations to Title IX that would have really affected sports and education more generally.

You’re on this issue, and I know you’ve just got some updates on it for us. What is going on with the fight over women’s sports, men’s sports, Title IX, and the transgender interpretation of it or transgender issues affecting Title IX right now?

SEN. TUBERVILLE: Well, thank you, Buck, for having me on. And you’re exactly right. This is a complete mess. You know, this radical administration is trying to get in everybody’s business. You know, Title IX was probably the biggest success in federal government in the last 50 years.

And course June was the 50th anniversary of Title IX. It did so much for women and women’s sports. And three to 6 percent of the young girls played high school sports back 50 years ago. Now over 50 to 60% do. So, the leadership and all those things.

But Joe Biden when he got in office, he led off his radicals start and try to attack Title IX because they want biological boys to be able to play in women’s sports. Now, in the last 15 years we got 28 winners of biological boys competing against girls that have won championships, 28.

One is way too many. And so, Joe Biden is basically tried to change the definition of sex. You know, they want to change the gender identity in Title IX, and by doing that, it’s gonna cause damage, and it’s gonna create not a level playing field that was originally created for women.

So, it’s a shame that we’re having to go through this, but this is the days that we live in. This is the administration. This is the progressive left that is attacking women. And where are the women’s rights groups? I don’t understand this ’cause I can remember when Title IX was put in, this was a huge, huge movement.

And now we have just the opposite happening. And nobody’s really standing up. We’re gonna stand up for ’em in Washington, D.C., and we’re gonna fight back against this progressive group and the people that to want tear down women’s athletics.

We’re not gonna allow it to happen, and hopefully we can keep bouncing this off the wall until hopefully the cavalry shows up here in the next few months.

CLAY: Okay. For people out there who are not understanding — and thanks for coming on, Coach Tuberville — basically what they’re trying to do is expand definition of Title IX to encompass gender identity. And what that means to everybody out there listening is, if you got a guy like happened with Lia Thomas up in the Penn women’s swimming.

If you got a guy who decides, “Hey, I’m gonna identify now as a woman,” they’re trying inside the Biden administration — and this is super radical; so I want everybody to understand this — they’re trying to define Title IX to encompass gender identity so biological men, grown men can decide to compete against women and identify as women and become NCAA champions, become world champions.

We live in a world where people are attacked for defending faith and family and having pride in their own nation.

Italy’s new PM Giorgia Meloni appears to be the next target of the Socialists for these very reasons.

The Italian people have had enough. Have we? #Midterms pic.twitter.com/TiKWVieW9I

— Tommy Tuberville (@TTuberville) September 26, 2022

I mean, this is really crazy stuff. And, Coach, you mentioned the silence. I know you talk to a ton of women’s coaches out there, I bet, all over Alabama and beyond. They come up to me all the time when I’m on campus and they say, this is a huge deal.

For the girls on my teams, for the high school girls that I’m recruiting, for the little girls, my own daughters, you know, some of them are saying that are growing up and having to deal with this, I don’t think most people out there understand how how crazy this is.

How much of your conversations privately are people sharing with you saying, this is a big deal, but they’re terrified to say something publicly about it?

SEN. TUBERVILLE: Well, they are because this administration is basically got something to use against you, basically call you a racist if you try to go against anything that this administration puts out there. And they’re keeping people from talking.

They will actually come after you, and you’re seeing it right now as we speak. People are being attacked from the left to the right because they’re speaking out, and at the end of the day people are starting to be gun-shy about this, but, Clay, this is something we gotta step up and fight, I mean, because it’s a fight worth making.

We’re gonna start losing women’s athletics. We’re gonna start losing what has been built in the last 50 years. Young girls and women need the opportunity to be able to compete and learn as men and boys do, whether it’s a team sport or individual sport.

Learn time, learn work ethic, learn to work with other people, learn to compete, learn how to win, learn how to lose, all this you get from sports. But this is absolutely asinine, to be honest with you.

We’re even thinking and talking about this, and we’re gonna fight it all the way to the end tooth and nail and hopefully, as I said, we get some tense back in this country in the next few months.

BUCK: Speaking to Senator Tuberville of Alabama. Senator, just next door, do you think you’re gonna have Herschel Walker as a Senate colleague? And how do you think it’s looking for Kemp to keep his seat in the governor’s mansion?

SEN. TUBERVILLE: Well, I think both of them will win. I think people are sick and tired of what’s going on, and, you know, it’s obviously this far left progressive group that is pushing all these radical agendas. Herschel Walker will be excellent.

I’ve worked with him. I’ve talked with him. I’ve campaigned with him. I’ve raised money for him. He’s a common sense guy that believes in this country. And that’s what scares me. The far left talks about things, but they talk about things that don’t make this country better.

It makes this country worse. Like this Title IX we’re just talking about. Kemp will win, and I’m — you know, I hope — we got a lot of grass to cover in the next month. But if we had election today, Herschel Walker would win.

CLAY: Last question for you, Coach. It’s the biggest question everybody’s debating in the South right now. You probably know you gotta talk about opinions for a living, but this one may make you a little bit nervous. Who’s the best team in college football this year, Georgia or Alabama?

SEN. TUBERVILLE: Oh, Georgia. You know, right now they’re playing better than everybody else. They’ve got a complete football team from top to bottom. I know Herbie well, play golf with him a lot, and he said this could be one of his better teams.

And of course, Nix. Nix gonna get a lot better. Didn’t play that well against Texas. That was probably something that probably gonna help them. But he’s gotta find out some receivers. He’s gotta be able to stretch the field from sideline to sideline and deep down the field because people are gonna gang up on the running game if they don’t do that. Their defense is good, but they’ve gotta get more — a little — a few more options in their offense.

BUCK: Senator Tuberville —

CLAY: I was just gonna say, it made me think. Who is the best athlete in the Senate?

SEN. TUBERVILLE: Hmm. Best athlete in the Senate. That’d be hard to say, to be honest with you. I tell you Rand Paul’s a good athlete. I play golf with him a lot.

BUCK: Ted Cruz has a wicked hook shot, you know, Ted Cruz has got some basketball game. Just throwing it out there. We’ve seen it.

SEN. TUBERVILLE: Yeah, he’s got some game. He really does. I think Josh Hawley also. But, you know, when we’re in D.C., we’re working all the time. You don’t get to do a lot with these other guys —

CLAY: Hey, you been recruiting your whole life. You gotta be able to eye talent, Coach, no matter where you are. Suit jacket or gym shorts, be able to find the talent.

SEN. TUBERVILLE: Well, you’re probably right. I’m losing my touch. But it is — it’s hard to — unless you get ’em out there and see ’em doing things. And you said Ted Cruz, he plays basketball almost every day. And he works hard at it. But there’s some good athletes, I’m sure.

BUCK: Roll Tide, right, Clay?

CLAY: No, no, no, you got the Auburn War Eagle with you right now.

BUCK: Aw. Aw.

SEN. TUBERVILLE: That’s exactly right.

CLAY: I’m trying to teach him — I’m trying to teach him college football, Coach. He’s working on it.

BUCK: My bad. Senator Tuberville, I apologize, War Eagle, sir, and thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

SEN. TUBERVILLE: Well, thank you. We need to get back on do the NIL one day ’cause this is a disaster just waiting to happen so —

CLAY: You know what? We need to have a long conversation on it. That’s a good idea.

BUCK: I can contribute this, Clay, to the analysis of the Crimson Tide, which is Alabama, right?

CLAY: That’s correct. You got that one.

BUCK: The word “crimson” comes from a red dye made from a bug called the kermes, which for centuries was a primary way of making the color red to dye garments. That’s where we get the term crimson from. So, when people running around yelling about the Crimson Tide, they’re talking about red bug dye.

CLAY: I don’t think that’s accurate.

BUCK: That is totally accurate.

CLAY: No. Well, I mean, maybe, but the Crimson Tide is like it rolls in, it’s like a red tide.

BUCK: No, I’m just saying the derivation of the word crimson. That’s all.

CLAY: Oh, oh, I thought that you were saying the etymology of the Crimson Tide.

BUCK: No, I’m saying the word crimson comes from bug dye.

CLAY: He’s too smart. This is the problem, Coach. He’s got me all crossed up. I can’t tell what’s going on.

BUCK: Senator Tuberville, before I make a fool of myself here, I’m gonna let you go. Thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

SEN. TUBERVILLE: Quit reading those comic books, Buck, please.

BUCK: Wow. You know what, Clay, let’s come back. Let’s come back in a second, we’ll close up shop there after our fun chat there with Senator Tuberville.