Continuing to advocate for a ban on transgender athletes in women’s sports, former college swimmer Riley Gaines spoke on Wednesday during a U.S. Senate hearing on LGBTQ rights.
Gaines has become outspoken on the issue since she tied with Lia Thomas in the 200-meter freestyle of the 2022 NCAA Championships. Thomas, a transgender woman, later won the 500 freestyle.
On Wednesday, Gaines said none of the other student-athletes consented to sharing a locker room with Thomas and they were “exposed” to male genitalia.
“The NCAA forced me and my female swimmers to share a locker room with Thomas, a 6-foot-4, 22-year-old male equipped with and exposing male genitalia,” she said. “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.”
Also at the hearing was Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson. She claimed that biological males had no significant advantage over females, saying tennis star Serena Williams is stronger than some of her male counterparts.
Gaines was quick to dispute that claim.
“Both Serena and Venus (Williams) lost to the 203rd-ranked male tennis player,” she said.
The former swimmer also used the hearing to clarify that she isn’t calling for an outright ban on transgender athletes. According to Gaines, her advocacy is for “everyone to compete where it’
“I don’t believe trans athletes should be banned from sports,” she said. “That’s the rhetoric that’s being pushed from the opposition … Trans athletes should not be banned from playing sports, of course not. I just want everyone to compete where it’s fair and where it’s safe, and I don’t understand how that’s overly controversial.”
Watch above via C-SPAN