Former college swimmer Riley Gaines told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that she felt “extreme discomfort” when she was forced to share a locker room with competitor Lia Thomas who is transgender.
Gaines swam competitively for the University of Kentucky. She claims she was extremely uncomfortable having someone with “different parts” in the locker room while she was changing. She went on to accuse organizers of failing to disclose the fact that Thomas would be sharing the locker room with female competitors.
“That’s not something we were forewarned about, which I don’t think is right in any means, changing in a locker room with someone who has different parts,” Gaines asserted during an interview with Carlson on Wednesday.
“It is now sexual assault to refer to someone as their wrong pronouns but it’s not sexual assault to have someone with opposite body parts in a female locker room,” she pointed out.
NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines tells Tucker Carlson what it was like competing against Lia Thomas. pic.twitter.com/BToxzSqQAG
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) July 27, 2022
Gaines graduated this year from college and has gone on to nail Thomas for competing against women in swimming. She claims that being born male gives Thomas an unfair advantage over biological women.
“So not only were we forced to race against a male, we were forced to change in the locker room with one,” she stated. “Then we’re sitting there not even knowing who to talk to, who to complain to because this kind of all happened behind the scenes and very discreetly.”
Gaines accused the National Collegiate Athletic Association of failing to protect the integrity of women’s sports.
The former NCAA swimmer became a vocal opponent of Thomas after tying with the swimmer in March for fifth place in the 200-meter freestyle NCAA championships.
A woman defending women's sports- why now? Former @NCAA swimmer @RileyGaines isn't letting biological male #LiaThomas crash the female pool without speaking out. The interview streams exclusively on @foxnation – plus: unlock free sign-up offers only at https://t.co/voL1Yti7Mo pic.twitter.com/zZ6uqfGdYj
— Tucker Carlson Today (@TuckerToday) July 27, 2022
Early in July, Gaines blasted the University of Pennsylvania for nominating Thomas for the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s 2022 “Woman of the Year” award. That nomination was shot down by the university.
“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. she tweeted. “First a female national title and now nominated for the pinnacle award in collegiate athletics. The @NCAA has made this award worthless.”
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. First a female national title and now nominated for the pinnacle award in collegiate athletics. The @NCAA has made this award worthless. https://t.co/MRCieqbltd
— Riley Gaines (@RileyGaines) July 16, 2022
Gaines went public against Thomas in April in an interview with Carlson. She said that being forced to compete against the transgender swimmer was unfair and claimed the majority of female athletes were on the same page.
(Video Credit: Fox News)
“We’re dealing with something that’s completely out of our control when we’re racing, biological males,” she commented during the April interview. “Whether they have different lung capacities, their height, testosterone levels whether they’ve used testosterone blockers are not — it doesn’t suppress going through puberty as a male. Especially Lia who swam for three years as a male.”
“It’s completely unfair and it’s a matter of equity really,” Gaines noted.
Lia Thomas just took first place at the 2022 NCAA Division 1 Women's Swimming & Diving Championships in the 500 freestyle. #SaveWomensSports pic.twitter.com/UWvDQMYHRJ
— Colin Wright (@SwipeWright) March 17, 2022
The controversy engulfing transgender women in sports resulted in the world swimming’s governing body, FINA, banning them from competing in elite women’s events in June.
A complaint against the University of Pennsylvania has been filed by the conservative group Concerned Women for America. It highlights testimony from Thomas’ teammates. One stated that sharing a locker room with Thomas is “definitely awkward because Lia still has male body parts and is attracted to women.”
The complaint also asserted that “While Lia covers [himself] with a towel sometimes, there’s a decent amount of nudity.” One swimmer said that “she and others have had a glimpse at [his] private parts.”
Gaines told Carlson that “Thomas’ teammates have actually reached out to me and thanked me personally for doing this.”
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