Riley Gaines: "Lia Thomas only wants to compete if he can take titles, prize money, sponsorships & scholarships away from women"

The former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines recently took a dig at transgender swimmer Lia Thomas for pursuing legal action against World Aquatics to commence competing again.

Lia Thomas rose to fame in 2021 after securing the top position in the women's 200 and 500-yard freestyle and the 1650 freestyle at the Zippy Invitational. Further, she went on to become the first openly trans woman to win a NCAA Division I title in 2022. The 25-year-old swimmer intends to represent the United States at the Olympics.

Noting the physical advantages, the World Aquatics banned trans athletes who had undergone male puberty from competing in the women's category. Since then, Thomas was forced to hang up her swimming goggles.

The transgender swimmer has been unable to compete since then and hence hired the Canadian law firm Tyr to handle her case at the Court of Arbitration in Sports. According to the Telegraph UK, Thomas will be represented by attorney Carlos Sayao, who previously represented Caster Semenya's case in 2019.

Gaines, who has been a staunch activist for women's safety in sports, praised the World Aquatics Federation and FINA for the policies and slammed Thomas, stating the case was meritless.

"There is no merit to this case. World Aquatics and FINA, which is the international governing body of swimming, were really the first ones to prioritize fairness in sports," Gaines said.

"World Aquatics went as far as to create a third category, which Thomas hasn't competed in this 3rd category. He only wants to compete if he can take titles, prize money, sponsorships, & scholarships away from women."

"Biological man dropping his pants," Riley Gaines accused Lia Thomas of exposing ‘male genitalia’ in women's locker room

Riley Gaines accused Lia Thomas of exposing ‘male genitalia’ in the women's locker room.

Riley Gaines blamed Lia Thomas for exposing "male genitalia" in the women's locker room in 2022 at the NCAA swimming championships, where the transgender swimmer from UPEN competed against the former University of Kentucky swimmer in the 200-yard freestyle event.

During a conversation with the "American Report," Gaines accused Thomas, who was assigned the girl's locker room, stating:

“We were not forewarned beforehand that we would be sharing a locker room with Lia. We did not give our consent, they did not ask for our consent, but in that locker room we turned around and there’s a 6’4" biological man dropping his pants and watching us undress, and we were exposed to male genitalia.”