lia thomas and riley gaineslia thomas and riley gaines

2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Trans extremists refuse to face facts: Men are stronger than women, Riley Gaines says some violated swimmers undressed in the janitors closet to avoid Lia Thomas, Provocative boxing champ would never fight trans woman, Growing majority of US is against trans athletes competing outside birth gender: Gallup poll, fancies herself a modern-day Jackie Robinson. F ormer University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines described the "traumatic" experience she and other female athletes endured while sharing a locker room with transgender athlete Lia. I was extremely happy for the girls above me who conquered what was seemingly impossible by beating Lia, and it was kind of an array of emotions. I just ask God to put me where I am needed. "It was this sense of helplessness," Gaines said. Over 50% of these appearances took place in the last two months a year after her race against Thomas on March 18, 2022. That's when I realized it's my duty as a 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.. Great job. I was kind of taken aback. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER. University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas enters for the 200 Freestyle final during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta Georgia. Not even probably a year, twoyears ago, this would have beenconsidered some form of sexualassault, voyeurism. But the most traumatic part was Thomas joining the female swimmers in the women's locker room. On May 31, during an appearance on ESPN, Thomas said the victory left her feeling "very humbled and honored," adding: "I can only hope I'm able to give other trans people the inspiration and motivation I was given. Thats not something we were forewarned about, which I dont think is right in any means, changing in a locker room with someone who has different parts, Gaines said in an interview with the conservative talk show host. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. U.S. Attorney David Weiss rejected GOP allegations of retaliation against an IRS whistleblower in a letter sent to Representative Jim Jordan. Unidad Editorial Informacin Deportiva, S.L.U. Riley Gaines Throws Down the Gauntlet: Lashes Out at 'Emotional But now noteven are they just allowing itto happen, its almost as ifthese large organizations areencouraging it to happen. The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT+ civil rights organization in the US, has also defended Thomas decision to compete. However, there was only one trophy. They are simply there to make sure this biological man gets their awards, gets their respect, and gets validation from them, said Gaines. Thanks for contacting us. From the May 24, 2023, edition of Fox News'Fox News at Night. Legal Statement. Gaines interpreted the official's words to mean that any man could walk into her changing space. "Honestly, you have all thesepeople all the time tell me howcourageous it is to speak to this and how braveI am, but truthfully does it make someonebrave to just acknowledge womendeserve equal opportunities?" I dont really know what were being chronological about. I was shocked, really.. . You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! "They said my appearance on campus was so traumatic that they were owed something," she added. Swimmer Riley Gaines, known for not holding back on the subject of transgender athletes competing in women's sports, has ripped apart a letter reportedly sent to the Harvard swim team. "The NCAA rules regarding trans women competing in women's sports have been around for 10-plus years. Blackburn asked Gaines if she had her trophy yet. New rules for transgender swimmers after Lia Thomas controversy he name Riley Gaines will forever be linked to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who has been under fire lately for. Riley Gaines, who graduated from the University of Kentucky earlier this year, made the comments this week during an appearance on Fox News. Riley Gaines who tied transgender swimmer Lia Thomas for fifth place in the women's 200-yard freestyle finals at the NCAA championships over the weekend told the Daily Wire that officials cheated her on the podium after the event. As far back as June 2022 and in 45% of her interviews, Gaines made claims about the legitimacy of trans identity or trans inclusion in areas other than athletics. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Last month, Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, testified before a Senate panel. There's a lot of head scratching going on. There are so many things that can be taken down with it. Gaines' most frequent claim, in 79% of her interviews, is that trans women possess an unfair advantage over cis women in athletics, either directly in competition or by winning athletic scholarships. Thomas came back for the final year as a female swimmer and began Having a naked man in the locker room felt like a violation and destroyed the womens mental focus before the competition. Riley Gaines slams NCAA for allowing Lia Thomas to compete at There was what some commentators interpreted as an awkward moment when Trump reached over, in an apparent attempt to kiss Gaines on the cheek. Gaines' newfound role as an advocate for women's sports is not one that she sought out, and it's not something she wants to be doing, she testified. pic.twitter.com/z09vAJlVkW, CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER, "What I saw was not peaceful by any means," she testified. Riley Gaines in tears over Lia Thomas locker room incident, outrage Since tying for fifth with Thomas in the 200-meter swimming championship last year, Gaines has become a central figure in the heated political battle overwhether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete against biological females. Even though the two swimmers tied, Thomas is listed ahead of Gaines on the official results page, indicating that Thomas touched ahead of Gaines by less than one-hundredth of a second. Riley Gaines SPEAKS OUT about Transgender Swimmer Lia Thomas Elliott Hess Gaines, who competed for the University of Kentucky and raced against Thomas, slammed the comments in a tweet she posted Tuesday. Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines testifies at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on protecting civil rights for LGBTQ Americans about her own personal experience competing with . Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Regardless of where they fall in the political spectrum, what mother, what father wants their little daughter, their little son to be in a school where they're being confused at the age of 6 years old, in kindergarten, about their identity? (Mike Comer/NCAA Photos via Getty Images), Women's sports advocate Riley Gaines attends State of the Union, attended President Biden's State of the Union. They were leading the country by multiple seconds in multiple events. WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE. Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines described the "traumatic" experience she and other female athletes endured while sharing a locker room with transgender athlete Lia Thomas at the NCAA championships and the violent backlash she has faced since speaking out Tuesday before Congress. "I've dedicated 18 years of my life to my sport, dedicated 18 years of my life to achieving maximum performance," she said. Fox News Riley Gaines (right) said she felt uncomfortable changing in the same locker room as transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. "Not even probably a year, twoyears ago, this would have beenconsidered some form of sexualassault, voyeurism. FEMALE ATHLETES SHOULD COMPETE ON THE BASIS OF SEX, NOT GENDER. "We were not forewarned we would be sharing a changing space," she testified. MostlyAgnostic on Twitter: "RT @fairyofbloom: Female swimmer Riley If we simply look at the data, it is evident Lia Thomas does have a clear advantage over the rest of competitors. It throws you off, said Gaines. Both Lia Thomas and Riley Gaines have been contacted for comment. HOW BIDEN HAS STRUGGLED TO KEEP DEMOCRATS TOGETHER ON ENVIRONMENTAL PUSH, "Of course, in the locker room, especially, it's awkward. In 17% of her interviews, Gaines claimed that trans identity is illegitimate or otherwise questionable. She made this claim in 28% of her interviews (8), with 5 of those 8 interviews taking place in the last two months. So, I walked back there and the NCAA official came up to me and said, Hey, we only have one fifth place trophy which I understood. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. 01/13/22 2:40 PM EST, Research/Study Her media career from her race against Thomas to her recent public endorsement of Gov. They are toldtheir school has made theirstance for them. 2023 For months during the pandemic lockdowns, Gaines would get up every day, put on a wetsuit and swim for miles around a lake near her home in Nashville to maintain her swimming. Riley Gaines, 23, a 12-time All-American and five-time SEC champ at the University of Kentucky, alleges that she and her teammates had no other option than to change in front of Thomas, who switched from the mens team to the womens team at the University of Pennsylvania after undergoing hormone replacement therapy. However, once she was there, she found herself without support, Gaines testified. the chants rang out, and Gaines began to fear for her safety. Thomas insisted she had transitioned "to be happy, to be true to myself," rather than to gain "an advantage" in the pool. Just days after the competition, Gaines spoke out about her experience competing against Thomas and her concerns about how female athletes had been negatively affected. Thanks for contacting us. Gaines recalled. NCAA. Gaines said she was finally done being silent after officials at the tournament told her Thomas would pose with and take home the fifth-place trophy and that she would receive one in the mail at a later date. In March, Gaines tied with Thomas for fifth place in the 200-meter freestyle NCAA championships and has loudly criticized Thomas since then. Gaines has appeared on Fox News with increasing frequency since April 2022, expanding her exclusionary anti-trans statements beyond the scope of womens athletics, Research contributions from Vesper Henry & Rob Savillo. "This was the first time that I became aware of a swimmer named Lia Thomas," Gaines said. Were in solidarity with Lia and all athletes who compete in the sports they love and on teams consistent with their gender identity, the group said. T he name Riley Gaines will forever be linked to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, who has been under fire lately for competing against biological female swimmers in NCAA official tournaments. Gaines. Especially Lia, who swam for three years as a male.. In addition to tying Gaines for fifth in the womens 200 freestyle, Thomas also won the 500-yard freestyle. This was the first time that I became aware of a swimmer named Lia Thomas. Gaines was having a breakout season her sophomore year when the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, just weeks before the Womens Swimming NCAA Championship. At the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships in March 2022, Riley Gaines tied with Lia Thomas for fifth place in the 200 freestyle. Her experience on April 6 at San Francisco State University is a prime example. Supreme Court LGBTQ 'Fake Case' Could be ReversedLawyer, Trump-Appointed Prosecutor Pushes Back on Republicans' Hunter Biden Claims, Josh Hawley's Wife Faces Calls to Be Sanctioned Over Supreme Court Case, Wagner Group Fires One of Its Five Leadersa Former Russian Army Colonel. Riley Gaines is a 12-time NCAA All-American, five-time SEC Champion and record holder, and two-time Olympic trial qualifier. This attitude is the general consensus of what's happening around the country, according to Gaines, and it has been the impetus behind her traveling to college campuses around the country to share her experiences. She was the 2022 Southeastern Conference Women's Swimming and Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year. I dont think they handled this properly, but I dont think they were prepared to handle this kind of situation. "What I saw was not peaceful by any means. Riley Gaines says some 'violated' swimmers 'undressed in the janitor's Gaines swam against In that moment, I felt like we, as women, were being mocked. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. June 24, 2022 08:00 AM WASHINGTON, D.C. R iley Gaines, a swimmer at the University of Kentucky who swam against transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, described seeing. In the wake of the incident, members of the SFSU administration lauded the protesters, whom Gaines alleges held her hostage, as representatives of free speech and the right to protest peacefully. (Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports), RILEY GAINES MOCKS MESSAGE APPARENTLY SENT TO HARVARD SWIM TEAM ABOUT LIA THOMAS. Lia Thomas exposed 'male genitalia' in women's locker room after meet Story tips can be sent to yael.halon@fox.com. Lia Thomas prior to swimming the 500 freestyle during the 2022 Ivy League Womens Swimming and Diving Championships at Blodgett Pool on February 17, 2022 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It's bigger than just sports, we are seeing it all over and we are changing the language we are using. There was no way to continue improving in your sport.". "The room filled with glares of cellphone flashlights, some in my face, and I realized I was at the mercy of the crowd, and I was assaulted.". Riley Gaines, now a spokeswoman for the Independent Womens Forum, tied Lia Thomas for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships last year. Gaines said it took all the women by storm and was a complete distraction from the meet. Trans women are not athreat to womens sports, Thomas told Good Morning Americain May. "Unbeknownst to me at the time, this was a male. "There's so much that goes into competing at the highest level.". "All of these terrible, awful things that arenot true. The anti-trans rhetoric that accompanies Gaines claims of unfair competition including arguments in favor of the exclusion of trans people from other areas of public life and the anti-trans media figures that she aligns herself with, reveal the extent to which fairness in sports is a surrogate for more extensive anti-trans beliefs. Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines on her experience competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. They flickered the lights and, ultimately, turned the lights off," Gaines testified. University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines after finishing tied . Ex-swimmer demands transgender locker rooms after Lia Thomas allegedly "The vice president released an email to their student body applauding, word-for-word, 'I applaud the tremendously brave student who behaved the way they did. Gaines began swimming at age four and had her sights set on being a champion ever since. We did not give our consent to undress in front of a male. People areterrified, especially speakingfrom my experience of talking toother NCAA swimmersspecifically. All rights reserved. No one stood up for us, and so, that's exactly why I'm doing what I'm doing.". The Washington Examiner spoke to one college athlete who went up against transgender swimmer But Gaines said the NCAAs support of Thomas has eroded a fair playing field for cisgender athletes, and browbeaten many other women into grudgingly accepting the new politically correct paradigm. Gaines said she delayed her plans to attend dental school after college so she could dedicate her time to fight to protect womens spaces. Thomas had reportedly started the process of hormone replacement therapy at the time but hadn't undergone surgery. She is also a storyteller with the Independent Womens Forum. We did not give our consent,they did not ask for ourconsent, but in that locker roomwe turned around and theres a6-foot-4 biological man dropping hispants and watching us undress,and we were exposed to malegenitalia, Gaines told Fox News America Reports Wednesday about Thomas, who is listed at 6 feet 1. Taylor. close. [The Ingraham Angle. Gaines actually tied with Thomas in a 200 freestyle race. As a spokeswoman for the Independent Womens Forum, Gaines said the NCAA not only fails to protect the integrity of womens sports, but it has become a champion of transgender female athletes in recent years. Jesse O'Neill February 9, 2023 10:48am Updated 0 seconds of 43 secondsVolume 0% 00:00 00:43 This video file cannot be played. Being the real girl in that photo and also University of Kentucky's nominee for NCAA WOTY, this is yet another slap in the face to women. "This is something I constantly pray about. Gaines has appeared on Fox News 29 times for a total time of more than two hours and 38 minutes between April 2022 and the end of May 2023. . But her life was "flipped upside down" after she tied transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in last year's NCAA finals. , a biological man who spent the first three years as a college swimmer for the University of Pennsylvania men's swim team. "They are encouraging [biological] men tocompete in womens sports.". 'I raced Lia Thomas - and I still feel the burning injustice' They are told if they feeluncomfortable seeing malegenitalia in the locker room,they should seek counselingresources. We've received your submission. ", "There's a lot of head scratching going on," she added. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. American Swimmer Riley Gaines on Competing with Trans Athlete Lia Thomas Former Teammate of Trans Swimmer Lia Thomas Speaks Out and Shares I looked up and I also saw a No. Reflecting this right-wing media discourse, Republicans across the country continue to politicize trans inclusion in womens sports, proposing legislation that bans trans athletes from competing in their lived gender at all levels. 07/03/23 11:19 AM EDT, Article Gaines was first interviewed about Thomas participation in womens swimming by Carlson in April. Citation You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! Riley Gaines is a former college swimmer who competed against Lia Thomas and has criticized the unfairness of including transgender athletes in women's sports. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. On Thursday, she appeared at. The decorated former college athlete, who accused President Bidens White House of promoting gender ideology propaganda, attended Tuesdays State of the Union address as a guest of Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.). And if you look up this person who they partnered with to do all the illustrations, this person is an open satanist. Gaines said this is dangerous. The protesters demanded a ransom for her release, Gaines said. 06/06/23 12:42 PM EDT, Over a year after her last race against Lia Thomas, Riley Gaines has built a media career on the trans swimmers name, Fox News host says she doesn't trust any vaccines, Only 5% of national TV news segments on the record-shattering heat wave that scorched Texas mentioned climate change, Fox Business correspondent: Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action will lead to fewer transgender males like in beer commercials, BlazeTV's Steve Deace: Trump is in serious jeopardy legally, Salem's Eric Metaxas defends Moms for Liberty quoting Hitler, Fox News leads hate campaign against trans college swimmer Lia Thomas, airing 32 segments about her in just 6 weeks, Doom & Groom: Fox News has aired 170 segments discussing trans people in the past three weeks, MSNBCs Morning Joe consistently misrepresents trans people as a political liability for Democrats. Yael Halon is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Former NCAA swimmer and women's sports . "I went to the classroom building where I was supposed to speak, which was on the third floor, and I entered the room, which soon began to fill with protesters. So, it's not a big deal.'". Iszac Henig, Lia Thomas are All-Americans in women's 100-free Because, the night before, Lia won the 500-meter. Kentucky's Riley Gaines makes splash by blasting 'unfair' rules after Lia Thomas: the transgender Athlete Dividing the World's opinion, New rules for transgender swimmers after Lia Thomas controversy, Is it time to bid farewell to Bill Belichick? All rights reserved. Citation All of these terrible, awful things that arenot true, she continued. But what Ive realized is if we want a change, you have to use your voice. All rights reserved. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, a tearful Riley Gaines spoke passionately about competing against Lia Thomas, a biologically male swimmer who identified as. OPINION: I AM A 12X NCAA ALL-AMERICAN SWIMMER. She went home without her trophy, and the NCAA avoided a Lia Thomas controversy via the mainstream media that would have destroyed the organizational body if it had sent Thomas home . But he said, Were gonna have to give that trophy to Lia.