Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer criticized the NCAA for allowing biological males to compete with women and access female locker rooms during her Wednesday testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The alumna accused the organization of violating the rights of female athletes.
“The NCAA forced me and my female swimmers to share a locker room…with a 6‘4“, 22–year–old, male equipped with and exposing male genitalia,” Gaines said. “No one asked for our consent, and we did not give our consent.”
Gaines cited the case of Lia Thomas, who was permitted to compete with the women‘s team at the NCAA‘s women‘s championship in 2022, despite having already competed on the men‘s team for the three previous years.
At the committee, Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) asked Gaines about the backlash she had experienced in speaking out against the policy, to which Gaines replied: “They will call you everything under the sun, whether it‘s transphobic, homophobic, racist, white supremacist, domestic terrorist. They will throw them all at you in hopes to deter you!”
Chairman Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) accused Gaines of endangering transgender people with her rhetoric.
But, Gaines objected, asking “what message does this send to women, to young girls…their rights to privacy and safety thrown out of the window?”
Gaines‘s testimony highlights the need for better policies protecting women and girls from discrimination. But, even so, the NCAA has yet to implement a formal policy to address this. Instead, the organization has opted to defer to individual sports‘ governing bodies like USA Swimming, regarding issues of gender inclusion.
In a recent interview with National Review, Gaines expressed her dissatisfaction with the NCAA‘s lack of action. “Women in sport deserve better. Women deserve to know that the sport that they are going to participate in is fair, that hard work is going to be rewarded, and that every other athlete that is competing is going to be playing by the same rules,” she told the publication.
Gaines‘s testimony has further highlighted the controversial issue of how to allow transgender athletes to participate in female–only sports, while not sacrificing fairness or the safety and privacy of cisgender women. As the issue continues to be debated, the NCAA must work towards creating clear and equitable policies that benefit everyone involved.
“Both Serena and Venus lost to the 203rd ranked male tennis player.” – Riley Gaines
After a Democrat witness tried to defend the absurdity that men have no substantive physical advantage over women, @Riley_Gaines_ put the witness’s folly on full display.😂 pic.twitter.com/E70kpAGVJr
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) June 21, 2023
