"I felt a sense of relief because I thought the NCAA would see this, exactly how I saw it, exactly how anyone would see it. Update 12/31/22 07:00 a.m. Riley Gaines, the Kentucky swimmer who tied transgendered swimmer Lia Thomas for fifth in the women's 200-meter NCAA championships, told FOX News host Tucker Carlson on Wednesday that NCAA. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Trans extremists refuse to face facts: Men are stronger than women, Riley Gaines says some violated swimmers undressed in the janitors closet to avoid Lia Thomas, Provocative boxing champ would never fight trans woman, Growing majority of US is against trans athletes competing outside birth gender: Gallup poll, fancies herself a modern-day Jackie Robinson. 07/03/23 8:29 PM EDT, Research/Study Alright, it's time to dive into the deep end! The first swimmer to speak up against this was Riley Gaines, who has become a spokesperson against transgender women athletes in competitive sports. The women didnt want Thomas there but were too scared to speak out. "But when this official reduced everything I'd worked my entire life for down to a photo-op to validate the feelings of a male at the Women's National Championship, that's when I was done waiting for someone else to speak up.". NCAA. It's, again, it's this feeling of, the best word to describe it is traumatic. "So, what that kind of looked like, in the vein of being extremely transparent, a 6-foot-4, he's actually taller than 6-foot-1, a 6-foot-4 male walks in, disrobes and is fully intact with male genitalia, while we're simultaneously undressing.". Gaines said her dedication gave her an advantage over many competitors and teammates who had all taken a few months off. Gaines has appeared on Fox News with increasing frequency since April 2022, expanding her exclusionary anti-trans statements beyond the scope of womens athletics, Research contributions from Vesper Henry & Rob Savillo. 2023 National Cable Satellite Corporation. President Joe Biden has come out publicly in support of allowing transgender people the right to choose to use the bathroom they identify with. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. In March 2022, swimmer Lia Thomas tied with Riley Gaines for fifth place in the 200-meter freestyle NCAA championships. Riley Gaines and Lia Thomas have been engaged in a brutal fight for nearly a year. While comparing Dylan Mulvaneys transition to blackface: This is a man, a man with a fetish, who is gleefully putting together all the stereotypes of women. [Tucker Carlson Tonight. Riley Gaines who tied transgender swimmer Lia Thomas for fifth place in the women's 200-yard freestyle finals at the NCAA championships over the weekend told the Daily Wire that officials cheated her on the podium after the event. 04/08/22 9:38 AM EDT, Article Theyre told they will never get intograd school if they speak out. 07/03/23 11:19 AM EDT, Article F ormer University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines described the "traumatic" experience she and other female athletes endured while sharing a locker room with transgender athlete Lia. Gaines said she delayed her plans to attend dental school after college so she could dedicate her time to fight to protect womens spaces. Shebelieves her life drastically changed when she decided to speak up against what she feels is an injustice against biological women. Former college swimmer says she was assaulted at an event - CNN Gaines recalled. Both Lia Thomas and Riley Gaines have been contacted for comment. It's embarrassing. Lia Thomas and Kentucky's Riley Gaines tied in the 200 freestyle national championship race. Still, the campus officers did not show like I was told they would.". The letter attempted to sway the team about competing alongside transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. I thought surely there would be someone, whether that be a coach, or another swimmer, or someone within the NCAA, I thought surely someone would stick up for us, said Gaines, who is now using her voice as a spokeswoman for the Regardless of where they fall in the political spectrum, what mother, what father wants their little daughter, their little son to be in a school where they're being confused at the age of 6 years old, in kindergarten, about their identity? Ex-swimmer demands transgender locker rooms after Lia Thomas allegedly She went home without her trophy, and the NCAA avoided a Lia Thomas controversy via the mainstream media that would have destroyed the organizational body if it had sent Thomas home . She commented: "Trans women competing in women's sports does not threaten women's sports as a whole. It's criminal what they're doing. [Fox News at Night. We did not give our consent,they did not ask for ourconsent, but in that locker roomwe turned around and theres a6-foot-4 biological man dropping hispants and watching us undress,and we were exposed to malegenitalia, Gaines told Fox News America Reports Wednesday about Thomas, who is listed at 6 feet 1. Riley Gaines, the Kentucky swimmer who tied transgender swimmer Lia Thomas for fifth in the women's 200-meter NCAA championships last month, still does not have her trophy. Unidad Editorial Informacin Deportiva, S.L.U. She continued: "If you're looking at this off sheer statistics, nothing opinionated about this, Lia Thomas, the year before when completing as Will Thomas, was ranked in the 500s at best. Thats not something we were forewarned about, which I dont think is right in any means, changing in a locker room with someone who has different parts, Gaines said in an interview with the conservative talk show host. Lia Thomas Riley Gaines obtained a letter that seems to be from Harvard University staff to members of its swim team with regard to Lia Thomas's involvement in women's swimming. 3 key moments from Riley Gaines' testimony at Senate hearing on trans rights. ", "There's a lot of head scratching going on," she added. "He looks at me, and, word for word, he says, 'Oh, we actually got around this by making the locker rooms unisex. When we weren't seeing that, it kind of hit me. Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines reacts to Lia Thomas' latest podcast appearance and responds to an alleged locker room incident between a transgender student and freshman girls. We did not give our consent to undress in front of a male. The Post has reached out to Thomas and the NCAA for comment. Blackburn asked Gaines what words of encouragement she would give high school athletes. We also searched transcripts in the SnapStream and Kinetiq video databases for all original programming on Fox News Channel for the term Gaines within close proximity of any of the terms phone, guest, interview, in studio, with us, with me, bring in, to discuss, to talk, or calling in or any variation of any of the terms speak, react, or join from April 6, 2022, through May 31, 2023. Gaines statements on Fox News also included anti-trans rhetoric consistent with recent right-wing talking points, including attacks on trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, Target, and inclusive language, and claims that trans identity is satanic, fetishistic, or pedophilic: In March 2023, Gaines participated in a Panel on Transgenderism at the annual Conservative Political Action Coalition the same conference at which Daily Wire host Michael Knowles urged that transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely. While sharing the stage with Terry Schilling and Chloe Cole, both vocal advocates against gender-affirming care, Gaines alleged that trans inclusion in womens athletics is just one part of a widespread attempt to eradicate women as a whole., Citation All rights reserved. They don't even know their ABCs, said Gaines. ", Christian Ziegler, the Republican Party of Florida's vice-chair, claimed the athlete who came second to Thomas had been "robbed on national TV.". "Unbeknownst to me at the time, this was a male. The competition was canceled, and her hopes of winning a national title were put on pause. Her media career from her race against Thomas to her recent public endorsement of Gov. Riley Gaines doesn't agree with the NCAA's decision. and tied in a race. Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on protecting civil rights for LGBTQ Americans about her own personal experience competing with trans swimmer Lia Thomas and having to share the same dressing room. "This was the first time that I became aware of a swimmer named Lia Thomas," Gaines said. Fox News Riley Gaines (right) said she felt uncomfortable changing in the same locker room as transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. Once I got out of the water, we kind of go behind the podium to the awards ceremony where they distribute the trophies. https://t.co/MRCieqbltd, Were dealing with something thats completely out of our control when were racing, biological males, she said in the April interview. Riley Gaines says she was attacked by trans activist students at SFSU Gaines appearances on Fox News in the subsequent year have consistently embellished this argument with trans-exclusionary talking points that extend beyond the realm of athletics. I dont really know what were being chronological about. We have to let people know as a group that a majority of us female athletes or females in general are not okay with this. "They rushed at me with fists raised, most shouting and angry faces coming around me. This is not just sports. All rights reserved. All of these terrible, awful things that arenot true, she continued. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this was a male. Just days after the competition, Gaines spoke out about her experience competing against Thomas and her concerns about how female athletes had been negatively affected. 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