Riley Gaines appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday and gave an emotional opening statement to start the Senate hearing on “Protecting Pride: Defending the Civil Rights of LGBTQ+ Americans.”
Gaines opened her testimony by recalling how she and transgender female Lia Thomas, who competed for the University of Pennsylvania, tied for fifth place in the 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship and how she and her team watched Thomas win the 500-yard freestyle the day before.
The former Kentucky star, a 12-time All-American, said the NCAA opted to give Thomas the trophy and the photo-op.
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Riley Gaines, American competitive swimmer, speaks at the Greenville Convention Center on Friday, June 2, 2023. (MCKENZIE LANGE/ Staff / USA TODAY NETWORK)
“Having only one trophy, the NCAA handed it to Thomas and told me I had to go home empty-handed,” she said. “And when I asked why – which was not a question they were prepared to be asked – I actually appreciate their honesty because they said it was crucial Thomas had it for picture purposes. Thomas had to have it for the pictures. I felt betrayed. I felt belittled. I felt reduced to a photo-op. But my feelings didn’t matter. What mattered to the NCAA was the feelings of a biological male.”
Gaines, citing Title IX, said allowing Thomas “to displace female athletes in the pool and on the podium” the governing body for elite college athletes “intentionally and explicitly discriminated on the basis of sex.”
She then got emotional when talking about being forced to share a locker room with Thomas.
RILEY GAINES MOCKS MESSAGE APPARENTLY SENT TO HARVARD SWIM TEAM ABOUT LIA THOMAS
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas reacts after swimming the 100 Freestyle prelims at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 19, 2022 at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“But that is not all. In addition to being forced to give up our awards and our titles and our opportunities, the NCAA forced me and my female swimmers to share a locker room with Thomas,” Gaines said. “A 6-foot-4, 22-year-old male equipped with and exposed male genitalia. Let me be clear about this – we were not forewarned we would be sharing a locker room. No one asked for our consent and we did not give our consent.”
The NCAA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Gaines’ remarks.
Gaines, who is the Independent Women’s Voice advisor, said she hoped the lawmakers at the hearing could see that it was a violation of their privacy, and “how some of us felt uncomfortable, embarrassed and even traumatized by this experience.”
“I know that I don’t speak for every single person who competed against Lia Thomas but I know I speak for many because I saw the tears,” she said. “I saw the tears from the ninth and 17th place finishers who missed out on being named an All-American by one place. I can attest to the extreme discomfort in the locker room from these 18–22-year-old girls when you turn around and there’s male eyes watching in that same room.
Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania Quakers holds the NCAA 500 Yard Freestyle Champion’s trophy as she walks with her coach Mike Schnur after winning the event during the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming & Diving Championship at the McAuley Aquatic Center on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology on March 17, 2022 in Atlanta. (Mike Comer/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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“And I can attest to the whispers and the grumbles of anger and frustration from these girls who just like myself worked their entire lives to get to this meet. I can attest to the fact that around the country these female athletes who opposed the inclusion of Lia Thomas in the women’s division were threatened, intimidated and emotionally blackmailed into silence and submission.”
