“Restore records and send an apology”- Riley Gaines reacts as U.S. Department of Education rules California violated Title IX

Former NCAA swimmer and women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines applauded the U.S. Department of Education after it found California in violation of Title IX. Her response came right after the Department determined that the California Department of Education (CDE) and California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) were in clear violation of Title IX.

Riley Gaines has been a vocal advocate for fairness in women’s sports ever since she tied for fifth place with a transgender swimmer in the 200-yard freestyle at the 2022 NCAA Championships.

Recently, after the findings against California were announced, Gaines shared her reaction on X. She added that the CDE and CIF must restore records, titles, and awards to affected female athletes and issue a formal apology.

“The U.S. Dept. of Education has found California in violation of Title IX for letting males compete in girls’ sports. CDE & CIF must restore records, titles & awards to female athletes AND send apology letters to every girl robbed by this discrimination. This is fantastic, Riley Gaines said.”

This post was followed by another, in which she shared the statement made by Secretary of Education Linda McMahon.

“I can announce, you know, today, that the Department of Education has found that the state of California, that the Department of Education and their interscholastic sports federation is in violation of Title IX. We're giving them ten days to remedy that situation. We have a remedy for them, but if they do not comply within ten days, then we will refer this to the Department of Justice, Linda McMahon said” (via Fox News)

Riley Gaines reshared this, adding:

“Thank God someone is finally holding California accountable. Hopefully more blue states to follow.”

After President Trump signed the Protecting Women’s Sports Executive Order, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) stated it would follow state law allowing athletes to compete based on gender identity, not biological sex. This prompted the U.S. Department of Education to open a Title IX investigation, which was later expanded to include the California Department of Education for allegedly failing to protect girls’ and women’s sports.

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Riley Gaines challenges Simone Biles’ concept of competitive equity

A few days back, Riley Gaines got into a feud with gymnast Simone Biles over the inclusion of a transgender athlete on Champlin Park High School’s girls’ softball team. The exchange elicited mixed reactions on social media, and Biles later tweeted an apology.

Riley Gaines accepted the apology and, in a follow-up tweet responding to Biles, challenged the idea of competitive equity, saying:

“Sports ARE inclusive by nature. Anyone can and everyone SHOULD play sports. Competition, on the other hand, and by definition, is exclusive. So the idea of 'competitive equity' is nonsensical.”

She continued:

“Secondly, the boys are publicly humiliating the girls. To suggest that women and girls must be silent or ignore a boy who is PUBLICLY hurting or humiliating them is wrong. You can't have any empathy and compassion for the girls if you're ignoring when young men are harming or abusing them. I am not ashamed to be a voice for the voiceless.”

Following the backlash, Biles’ account was recently found missing from X.