3 key moments from Riley Gaines' testimony at Senate hearing on trans rights

By Samantha Kamman, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, June 22, 2023

Locker room

University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines (right) poses next to Lia (formerly Will) Thomas after the two athletes tied for fifth place at an NCAA Women's Swimming Championship, March 17, 2022. | Screenshot: YouTube/Fox News

The women’s sports advocate teared up as she recalled how the NCAA forced her and her fellow female athletes to share a locker room with Thomas, describing him as a “6’2,″ 22-year-old male, equipped with and exposing male genitalia.” According to Gaines, none of the young women were warned about the situation ahead of time, nor did officials ask if they consented to share a locker room with a man.

“And I’ll set the scene — a swimming locker room is not a place of modesty,” she said. “You’re undressing, you’re fully exposed, and we were forced to take off our swimsuit in front of a man who was doing the exact same thing.”

Gaines revealed that many young women have felt traumatized by the experience and stressed that forcing women to change in the same room as a man is a violation of privacy.

“Because I saw the tears, I saw the tears from the ninth and 17th place finishers, who missed out on being named an All-American by one place,” she said. “And I can attest to the extreme discomfort in the locker room, from these 18- to 22-year-old girls, when you turn around, and there’s male eyes watching in that same room.”

“And I can attest to the whispers and the grumbles of anger and frustration from these girls, who, just like myself, had worked our entire lives to get to this meet,” Gaines added.

The former swimmer stated that many female athletes were forced to remain quiet about the situation or they could lose their scholarships or have their reputations ruined. Gaines testified that girls were told not to express their concerns about Thomas competing as a woman because that would be “oppressing” him.

“Defending women’s rights is not ‘anti-anyone,’” Gaines said. “Believing in biology is not bigoted. And following the science that there are only two sexes and that there are very real and important differences between the two sexes is not ‘hateful’ — it’s fact.”