First reported by Lily Meskers of the University of Montana, a Jon Tester affiliated PAC, Montana Together, has been offering collegiate athletes at the University of Montana cash in exchange for endorsing Tester on social media. The group offered between $400 and $2,400 for videos that “inform your audience about Senator Tester’s track record in office and encourage him to maintain his support for these vital policies.”
The irony of this request to athletes has not been lost on many of the women involved in sports at the University of Montana. Senator Tester voted against the 2023 Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act that would have amended Title IX to limit participation in women’s sports to biological women only. Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who was forced to compete against a biological male athlete in the 2022 NCAA championship, held an event in Whitefish last month criticizing Tester for his vote. Katie Whitehurst, a senior track and field athlete at the University of Montana rejected Tester’s offer, saying, “I stand by read more
