Riley Gaines Calls NCAA Spineless, President Charlie Baker A 'Weak Leader' Over Lack Of Transgender Policies

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NCAA President Charlie Baker had an opportunity to be transparent and address policies involving transgender athletes in women's sports as a witness during Tuesday's U.S. Senate Judiciary hearing.

Instead, he tip-toed around the subject and relied on the excuse that he wasn't president of the NCAA in 2022 when Riley Gaines and other female swimmers had to share a locker room with and compete against a biological male in Lia Thomas. It appears that Baker is of the opinion that since he wasn't there, he's not obligated to apologize to Gaines or even discuss the ridiculousness that she and other female swimmers endured at the 2022 NCAA Championships.

Gaines, host of OutKick's 'Gaines For Girls' podcast, was left unimpressed with Baker's comments, or lack thereof, during the Judiciary hearing. She joined 'Don't @ Me With Dan Dakich' to share her thoughts on the Baker while making it clear that the NCAA is full of cowards.

Riley Gaines Sounds Off Against NCAA, Charlie Baker

"What the NCAA is doing now is an abomination really, in regards to the whole trans issue, because they want all hands off that. They don't want to be responsible or accountable at all, which is pretty telling that they know it's wrong," Gaines told Dakich.

"If they wholeheartedly stood by the fact that there was nothing wrong with allowing men to compete in women's sports and there was no difference between men and women, they would have a blanket policy like they did in 2010 that was that was implemented all the way through 2022. But now they're in a phase-out approach, meaning they just want to leave it up to each specific sport to make the policy for their own sport, which shows you how they're spineless."

"It shows you how they're cowards. It shows you how we have weak leaders. And that is how we got here, because we have people like President Charlie Baker who are unwilling to stand for what they know is right, what they know to be just what they know to be true and fair. They would rather throw their moral compass entirely out of the window if it means they get to look virtuous and seem as if they're doing the right thing. But in reality, they are doing just the opposite of the right thing. "

Riley Gaines spoke out against transgender athletes taking rights away from women during a hearing in front of the Senate. (IMAGN/USA TODAY)

Gaines penned a letter to Baker shortly after he was appointed president of the NCAA before leaving his post as Governor of Massachusetts. The letter details the ridiculousness of Lia Thomas competing against female swimmers at the national championship.

Gaines’ letter is dated Jan. 5, 2023, and she has yet to receive a reply of any sort.

OutKick reached out to the NCAA after Tuesday's hearing seeking comment from Baker about transgender policies and any changes that may be on the horizon. The NCAA replied by sending us a link to the current policy in place, which doesn't address biological men sharing locker rooms with female athletes.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.