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Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas has been at the center of the debate whenever there is a discussion about transgender athletes in sport. Lia swam for the men's team at the University of Pennsylvania. She then underwent hormone replacement therapy and competed in the women's team.
Lia started breaking records when she started swimming as a female swimmer. Riley Gaines and Lia Thomas have competed in the 200 freestyle final of the NCAA Championships.
Gaines has been opposing Lia competing in the women's division since some time.
The Washington Examiner's Amy DeLaura recently interviewed Riley. During the interview, she said:
"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. That's when I realized it's my duty as s female athlete who experienced this injustice to really use my voice and my platform to advocate for those female athletes who are emotionally blackmailed and gaslit into silence."
When asked why she was speaking out now, Gaines replied:
"Honestly, I'm speaking out now because I was that person who was looking for someone else to look up to for hope and encouragement when I was on the verge of speaking out. When we weren't seeing that, it kind of hit me. If we, as women, were not willing to stick up for ourselves, how can we expect someone else to?"
Amy questioned Riley Gaines about the opportunities she missed out on because of letting a transgender swimmer swim with her. The swimmer replied:
"First and foremost I think the obvious thing that kind of took us all by storm was the locker room situation that was a total distraction to our meet. That was a total distraction um and swimming is pretty mental so when you get there you're ready to swim fast. But you have someone with male genitalia pulling his pants down, watching you as you undress. It throws you off."
Riley Gaines is currently a spokeswoman for the Independent Women's Forum.
Riley Gaines opens up about NCAA incident after she tied with Lia Thomas
Riley Gaines then recalled an incident after she and Lia Thomas tied in the 200-meter freestyle. The swimmer said:
"We go behind the awards podium where they hand out the trophies and you're kind of paraded out. The NCAA official looks at me and says great job. You guys tied, we only have one trophy and we're gonna give to Lia. And so I press him, and I say okay can I ask you why you're giving this trophy to Lia and he said well for photo purposes, Lia has to have it."
The spokeswoman for the Independent Women's Forum continued:
"But in that moment I felt like we as a women were being mocked. We were being reduced to a photo op for to validate the feelings of and the identity of a man."
Riley said that she was thrilled when she was one of the nominees for Women of the Year by the NCAA. She was representing the University of Kentucky. Gaines stated that when the NCAA released the full list of nominees, she noticed Lia Thomas was also nominated for the Women of the Year.
She said that this devalued the award for her. Gaines claimed that Lia Thomas getting nominated over other female athletes at the University of Pennsylvania was a slap in the face.
