Former college swimmer, and vocal critic of transgender athletes competing in girls' sports, Riley Gaines, told Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., during a Senate Judiciary Hearing Wednesday that his view that Republicans were engaging in "violent rhetoric" toward transgender athletes, and that they should be able to compete against biological women, was throwing girls' rights "out the window."
"At this point, I'd like to remind our colleagues, our children are listening, and they are in danger," Durbin said in his opening statement during the hearing. "In fact, today, transgender youth are among the most at risk of homelessness, depression, and death by suicide. So, when these young people who are already struggling, hear politicians amplify hateful rhetoric that denies their very existence, what message does it send?"
After giving her emotional opening statement about the damage allowing transgender athletes due to girls participating in sports at the college level, Gaines answered Durbin's allegation.
"Sen. Durbin, in your opening statement, you had mentioned this rhetoric," she said. "You had mentioned that, what message does it send to trans individuals? And my comeback to that is, what message does this send to women, to young girls, who are denied of these opportunities?"
"So easily, their rights to privacy and safety thrown out of the window to protect a small population, protect one group as long as they're happy," she continued. "What about us? That is the overall general consensus of how we all felt in that locker room."
Gaines said in her statement that the girls had to share a locker room with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological male, who was allowed to undress in front of them, exposing his male genitals.
She said he was also watching the girls undress, which made many of the swimmers feel uncomfortable and even traumatized.
"In addition to being forced to give up our awards, and our titles, and our opportunities, the NCAA forced me and our female swimmers to share a locker room with Thomas," she said. "Let me be clear about this. We were not forewarned. No one asked for our consent, and we did not give our consent."
Durbin responded back to Gaines by saying there was "no evidence" that transgender athletes had displaced female athletes because of their gender advantage, instead of directly addressing her comment.
"Since reference was made to my earlier statement, I would just like to add something for the record: There is no evidence that transgender athletes are an issue in certain levels of sports," he said in response. "No transgender female athlete has ever won an Olympic medal in women's sports, though the International Olympic Committee has allowed transgender athletes to compete since 2004."
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