Riley Gaines had to pose with the sixth-place trophy at the NCAA Championships after tying for fifth in the 200-yard freestyle with transgender athlete Lia Thomas.
Kentucky senior swimmer Riley Gaines should have left the NCAA Championship knowing her fifth-place finish in the 200-yard freestyle was her best NCAA finish and once again earned her All-America honors.
Instead, she wound up in the middle of a controversy with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who tied her for fifth place. Ties in swimming are rare and Gaines understood there was only one fifth-place trophy on site. However, she didn’t understand — or like — that NCAA officials decided Thomas would get the fifth-place trophy and one would be sent to Gaines later.
The University of Pennsylvania swimmer became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I title in the 500-yard freestyle a night earlier.
“After I realized we tied, we went behind the podium and an NCAA official said my trophy would be coming by mail and they had decided to give the trophy to Lia,” Gaines said. “I asked if there was a process and why they decided that. He said something about chronological order. I said, ‘My last name is before hers (in the alphabet). So what are you trying to tell me.'”
Gaines didn’t back down when NCAA officials told her she could pose on the podium with the sixth-place trophy, which she did.
“I told them I understood they were trying to save face but I did not appreciate you trying to make up some story about why I get the sixth-place trophy,” Gaines said. “I have got tons of trophies and medals. That was not the issue. What did matter was how the NCAA handles it and the rules set in place that created this issue for me and so many other swimmers.
“I don’t want to say I was mistreated but I was not as protected and backed as someone in the national news who won a national title the night before.”
Gaines said a lot of “biological female athletes” were not okay with the rules and felt the NCAA “protected” Thomas out of fear of backlash if she did not get the trophy.
“That did not set well with me,” Gaines admitted.
She also did not like Thomas using the same women’s locker room as other competitors.
“We knew she would be swimming but we didn’t know what locker room she would be using. It is an all-female meet, so there’s not usually a male locker room. But when she came in, everyone got silent. We were all kind of stunned,” Gaines said.
“It’s not okay to see those kinds of things. There are tons of girls who prefer not to be walking around a locker room with people of the opposite sex but it’s not like we had any say in it. But there’s a difference between gender ID and what is on your birth certificate. My parents and so many other parents were not okay with it. I cannot tell you the amount of messages I got saying how unfair that was.”
Since Gaines is a senior, she could share her feelings freely without worrying about any NCAA feedback. However, she believes she would have reacted the same way even if she was not a senior.
“I am the kind of person if I have something to say I will typically say it which could get me in trouble,” Gaines said. “Being a senior there is not a ton to really lose and I want to stick up for the girls.
“The issue opens new doors that could threaten women’s sports. I have got a ton of support from coaches, teammates, UK athletics. It has been nice to know I can lean on any of them.
“I honestly think God put me in this position for a reason. He put me here to use my voice and to speak out, hoping it can be of some benefit in the future.”
18 Responses
Very glad she stood up for herself.
Me too Old Fan
Wonder what would have happened to girls basketball had Kareem has chosen to become a woman ???
This is God ordained truth from Holy Scripture trashed and stepped on by a group of left leaning lunatics in full color. These misguided souls that are pushing this transgender agenda down our throats are wrong for many reasons. Look no farther than Genesis 2:21-24, the Biblical account of God’s creation of a man and a woman. Right now in America one party is attempting to put a Justice on the Supreme Court that can’t, or simply put, can’t define what a woman really is. It is unfortunate that this type of policy is making it’s way into female sports. As for sports, this ungodly policy will be the ruin of women sports as we know it. A idiotic policy that allows guys who want to be girls to participate against truly female athletes. It is wrong, idiotic, unfair, and plain nonsense. I am glad Miss Gaines stood her ground. More female athletes need to do likewise. We are slowing losing our country to such blasphemy. We are ignoring God’s ordained order of the sexes to such policies. It must be stopped. It certainly has no business in women’s sports. November 3, 2022 is very important in our nations history, mark it down as a date to remember. Solution? Vote for conservative values, and for conservative candidates.
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Well said Pup!!! I agree with you
Congrats to Riley and I’m glad she wasn’t afraid to speak up. The locker room situation is ridiculous, no reason they couldn’t have asked Thomas to dress in another room.
With you totally Stephanie. Riley deserved better
First of all congratulations to Riley on her achievements. I totally support her. I am a lesbian and I used to think that I was rather a radical leftist growing up and support the LGBTQ community. But as a biological woman I cannot support what is happening with the support that Lia Thomas is receiving from the NCAA, Penstate, and all other politicians trying to alter women’s sport. This is an attack on all future little girls who dream of a future and life fulfillment. And Lia Thomas you are a fraud your self if you cannot see this biological advantage you have over every one else. I wished all female swim competitors would band together and boycott swim meets until this biological male fraud is totally out of the picture. No one will attend these meets if you only have Lia Thomas. No attendance means no money and that will really hurt these universities and NCAA as that is all they really care about in the end. They don’t care about little girls dreams.
Not to be mean, but if Lia had a biological advantage wouldn’t she have won first place instead of tying for fifth?
This is just plain wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What is happening to this country?
We all know the answer.
Just not fair at all
Larry, it is more than being unfair, which is bad enough in a competitive sport environment. It is wrong, and as someone else posted, this is a political agenda being shoved down everyone’s throat by Big Media and Big Business.
Just because a man has his penis cut off it doesn’t make him a woman.
Agree that this is awful. How insulting to a female that they are having to change clothes with a MAN (even he thinks he is a female)
The women athletes have to be heard on this issue as it directly impacts them. Riley Gaines spoke her opinion and is one that should be respected.
The road for women athletics to be taken seriously and receive proper investment to be competitive in elementary and secondary school as well as at the collegiate level has been a long struggle. That struggles continues as evidence by the disparity in resources and facilities during 2021 NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournament.
Title IX was created to ensure that equal opportunity. I don’t begin to understand the challenges of a trans person. Dysmorphia seems to be a really tough thing. I get that.
For competitive athletics I would urge everyone to support keeping women’s athletics for women as defined biology at birth.
To ensure opportunities continue to be afforded to all human beings (and remember while college students are adults they are not on their own yet) I would recommend that trans athletes participate in a newly named men’s and open field.
The studies that bolstered title ix that participation in sports helps kids stay in school, improve their grades, higher self-esteem are all valid and applies to trans people like all of God’s children.
But women who are not treated equally, not paid equally, and have laws made mostly by men that infringe on their individual freedom and privacy, should have the opportunity to compete in athletics on a level playing field.
Lovely little echo chamber you have here. Riley is a much better conservative hack than she is a swimmer. At least she is until you come up with something else to be outraged about. It never takes much.
I think it is sickning that biological men are allowed to compete against biological women. Why dont they just compete in their own category? Trans women agains other trans women? That would make it fair, but they are not interested in what is fair! They want to destroy womens sports.
I think Riley Gaines has a lot of hatred in her heart towards people that’s different but if I trans woman takes estrogen she becomes much weaker than a man cause her muscle mass deteriorates and that’s permanent cause there’s no way to regain your muscle mass and and another thing I researched Riley and her speech is getting more male ani LGBTQ support than female cause men hate and reject people more than women she’s encouraging violent activity and hatred just like these so called abortion rights activists they are speaking to justify shedding innocent blood I think Riley needs to be more considerate and humble and stop seeing things from only her negative point of view she’s narrow minded and I women are more energetic than men naturally that’s why Lia finished in 5th place not first, but I do agree with Riley some trans women should have to be a certain weight to compete in women’s sports the trans community may hate me for this but a large trans woman with a lot of muscle mass should not be allowed to compete against small women cause if they get in a confrontation she could hurt the cis woman and what about trans men the NFL is discriminating against trans men cause men football players does not want them playing ok if a transgender man has transitioned and taken to Testosterone which gives him permanent male strength cause he’s gained muscle mass and is equal in weight to the cis men and has the skills he should be allowed to play football respect people and show love not disrespect and hate and male chauvinist men like to see women devided if cis women and trans women come together as feminists we’ll be larger in numbers when devided we are giving male chauvinist pigs exactly what they want i hope my post gives new insight to everyone that reads it remember do not judge anyone the Bible says if you judge someone god will judge you Jesus Christ came to show love ❤️ not hatred only god can judge people we are selves can not judge anyone that’s not our place I’m a female activist if anyone wants to email me you can @ Glitterpink3370@gmail.com