Riley Gaines, a swimmer at the University of Kentucky who tied with Lia Thomas in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA swimming championships said this week that most female athletes are "not OK with the trajectory" of women’s sports.
Gaines told Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., on her podcast "Unmuted with Marsha" that "the majority of us female athletes, or females in general, really, are not OK with this, and they’re not OK with the trajectory of this and how this is going and how it could end up in a few years."
According to Fox News, Gaines was referring to the NCAA policy that allows transgender women to compete in women’s sports.
She went on to describe how she felt upon realizing she had tied with Thomas during the event.
"I touched the wall and saw there was a five by my name indicating that I got fifth … I also looked up, and I saw the number five by Lia’s name and so, in that moment, I realized we tied," Gaines said. "It was kind of like a flood of emotions. I was extremely happy for the girls above me who conquered what was seemingly impossible by beating Lia."
She added, "I walked back [to get my trophy] and the NCAA official came up to me, and he said, 'Hey, that was a great swim. We only have one fifth place trophy,' which I understood, I get how that works. But he said, 'We’re going to have to give the trophy to Lia. Yours will be coming in the mail. Great job.'"
Gaines said, "I don’t think they handled this properly. But I don’t think they were prepared, you know, to handle this kind of situation."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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