I’ve been threatened, slandered, and physically assaulted because I dared to speak up for my fellow female athletes.
Hi, John,
I’m Riley Gaines.
If you aren’t familiar with my story, I’ve been threatened, slandered, and physically assaulted because I dared to speak up for my fellow female athletes.
You see, I’m a 12-time All-American swimmer and former NCAA athlete with 5 SEC titles. Being the daughter of two college athletes, it was instilled in me at an early age that dedication and hard work are needed to compete at the highest level of athletics.
My whole world revolved around living, breathing, and working to improve my abilities as a swimmer and athlete. But that world was turned upside down in 2022.
At the 2022 NCAA Women’s Swimming Championships, I was forced to use the same locker room as and compete against Lia Thomas, a biological male.
Despite Thomas and I tying in the 200m freestyle race, NCAA officials handed Thomas the trophy, denying me that moment of achievement I had worked my entire life towards.
I remember wondering why no one stood up for any of us women in the room. That’s when my life changed, and I knew what I needed to do.
I spoke up for every woman at that pool who felt what I felt but feared the consequences. And I now work with an organization dedicated to fighting for female athletes– sign up to learn more about my fight here >> https://www.iwv.org/campaign/protect-womens-sports/
And after I spoke up, I quickly realized I wasn’t alone.
Leaders like Congresswoman Claudia Tenney and others are standing up with me to ensure no other female athletes have to experience what we did that day.
Congresswoman Tenney recently played a pivotal role in helping pass legislation to protect women’s sports. We are determined to see this fight through to the end, but we need your help.
