Joe Rogan Shocked To Hear What NCAA Put Riley Gaines Through To Accomodate Trans Athletes

OutKick's Riley Gaines, one of the most critical voices in the push to stop men from competing in women's sports, joined podcast giant Joe Rogan on Wednesday for a wide-reaching conversation. 

Rogan said he was familiar with Gaines and is someone who greatly admires her and what she's doing to fight against those who refuse to subscribe to reason. However, some of the things Gaines laid out for Rogan shocked him. 

They should shock everyone, quite frankly. Having heard Riley's story many times, I still shudder when I listen to what the NCAA put Gaines and other female swimmers through just to placate this man called Will Thomas. You might know him as "Lia Thomas." 

Penn swimmer, Will "Lia" Thomas – a male, stands on the podium after winning the NCAA women's 500-yard freestyle as other medalists, females Emma Weyant, Erica Sullivan and Brooke Forde, pose for a photo. 

(Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

I had a chance to visit Harvard with Gaines, where she spoke to a full auditorium of students and parents. I know her story well. 

Still, hearing it again reminds me that what she and those female athletes went through – what they had to endure just so this one man wouldn't feel "excluded" – is hard to fathom. 

And that's exactly how Rogan reacted. With utter shock and dismay.

When Gaines competed at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, she not only competed against Thomas, a male, but she also competed against a female swimmer who was transitioning to be a male. Rogan nearly couldn't contain himself, as Gaines noted. 

"You've got a six-foot-four man in a woman's swimsuit – with a bulge – next to a woman wearing only a speedo with nothing covering her top. Your reaction was my reaction," she told Rogan. 

Rogan then attempted to try and wrap his head around the situation. Which is nearly impossible, by the way. 

"You're a woman, and you have a biological male who's intact; who's having sex with women; [and who's] walking around naked in the locker room with women. And, if you're uncomfortable with that, you should educate yourself," he said, trying to sum up what Gaines was conveying. 

"You said it," she replied. 

Riley Gaines looks up at 6'4" male Will "Lia" Thomas after the pair both competed in the women's NCAA Swimming and Diving National Championships.

(Getty Images)

Then, he attempted to get at the root of this problem: the extreme left-wingers who not only think this behavior is OK, but actually endorse it. 

"Because of this insane cult … you have to deal with this literal mental patient in a women's sport – dominating – and everyone's cheering. All the women are competing with this man and the whole world's like ‘Yay, diversity!’ And you must feel like you're in a f***** movie or something," he said.

That's when Gaines explained her breaking point. Although she tied Thomas for fifth-place in an event, an NCAA official told her that Thomas would receive the trophy. 

"He looked sad," Gaines recalled. "His voice changed. I could tell he didn't even believe what he was about to say. This official looked at me and said, 'Riley, I am so sorry, but we have been advised as an organization that when photos are being taken, it's crucial that the trophy is in Leah's hands … You go home empty-handed. End of story." 

That's when the camera cuts to Rogan. His face says it all: perturbation that the NCAA admitted to Gaines that a man winning a woman's trophy was better for "photos" than giving the trophy to a woman. 

OutKick's Riley Gaines went on the Joe Rogan Experience and told her story, most of which shocked Rogan, especially when it came to trans athletes.

(Joe Rogan Experience)

WATCH: 

Riley Gaines brings up important point to Joe Rogan about men who identify as women: they're still men emotionally 

As Gaines points out, she spends most of her time explaining why the physical differences between men and women create an unfair playing field when it comes to athletics. That's obvious to most people; in fact, that's why we separate men's and women's sports in the first place. 

However, Gaines brought up another important point that I hadn't previously considered. The reason that these "trans women" are so vocal is that they're still emotionally-wired as men. 

"The same assertive, dominant men – who have always and will always be men – are the same men claiming to be women, demanding the language that we use," she said. 

"And the same apologetic, emotionally-driven, empathetic women – who have been and will always be women – when they enter into a man's space, they're not demanding anything because they're the same women they always have been. It shows the differences that we possess within our characteristics almost innately." 

A great point, with which Rogan agreed. 

"This is the problem that a lot of feminists are having, where these biological males [who call] themselves women [enter] into these women's spaces and then [start] dominating the way men dominate and behaving the way men behave," he said. "It's unfortunate [that] a lot of it is supported by these older, liberal women, which is really strange … it makes no sense whatsoever. It's a tribal thing; it's a cult thing." 

WATCH: 

Rogan and Gaines spoke for over two-and-a-half hours about myriad topics. The entire podcast is worth watching, and you can do that here: