Riley Gaines Delivers Binder Of Petition To NCAA Reps As President Charlie Baker Continues To Duck

Riley Gaines is taking the fight for women's sports directly to the source.

The former Kentucky swimmer led a group of current and former NCAA athletes, Olympians, coaches and parents at the We Won't Back Down Rally in Phoenix on Thursday. Their goal was to send a message to the NCAA to stop discrimination in women's sports.

The event was the result of a coalition among several women's advocacy groups, including the Independent Women's Forum, ICONS and the Women's Liberation Front.

Together, they handed NCAA officials a binder containing a demand letter with more than 70,000 signatures. And the demand was simple: Keep women's sports female.

Among the signatures were more than 500 Olympians, tennis legend Martina Navratilova and former swimmer Donna de Varona.

"We feel as if our voices are not being heard. We want to be let into the conversation," Gaines told the representatives. "So at any opportunity, any chance to meet, we are happy and more than willing to work with you all on what this looks like — how to uphold fairness and to protect our rights to privacy and our rights to safety in our sports."

She also discussed the positive impact of Title IX and the importance of protecting it.

Unfortunately, Gaines is worried the women's pleas fell on deaf ears.

"They couldn't even look me in the eyes," she posted on X. "The NCAA is full of cowards."

Riley Gaines — Again — Calls Out Charlie Baker

When Charlie Baker took over as NCAA president in March 2023, he said changes would be made to the transgender policy to ensure safety and fairness for female collegiate athletes.

But so far, he's all talk.

"We're still seeing the NCAA continuing to discriminate against women on the basis of our sex," Gaines said at the rally. "It's happening in just about every sport, every level, every division, every state. That's why we're here."

Gaines and her fellow marchers are asking for a voice. They want to share their experiences with the powers that be to explain why the current policies are harmful to females across all levels of sport.

The NCAA reps promised to pass the binder full of signatures along and "make sure it gets in the proper hands."

Your move, Charlie Baker. We're all still waiting.

Follow Amber on X at @TheAmberHarding or email her at Amber.Harding@OutKick.com.