Riley Gaines Urges Female Athletes To Refuse To Compete Against Trans Athletes

Biological men are infiltrating women's sports. And in order to make it stop, Riley Gaines proposed a simple solution: Female athletes have to boycott competitions against trans athletes.

"We have to have girls who, when the whistle blows, they don't run, they don't swim. They stand up on the block and they don't go," Gaines told Fox News.

Gaines was a swimmer at the University of Kentucky. At the 2022 Championships, she was forced to share the podium with and relinquish a trophy to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

And to make sure future female athletes don't suffer the same fate, Gaines said they have to take a stand. But she admits that's easier said than done.

"It's unfortunate, of course, to ask women to make that sacrifice because these are their sports. They should be entitled to playing," she said. "They shouldn't have to give up anything to get changes."

Many female athletes are afraid to demand change. Gaines herself has been called names and even physically attacked by trans activists for her stance on the issue.

But nothing gets done by trying to please the extremists. In fact, Gaines argued, that's how we got into this mess to begin with.

"I think initially, maybe two years ago, maybe we thought we could coexist and that we could allow trans women into our spaces because we could be inclusive," she said. "But now we're seeing, of course, that doesn't work."

Riley Gaines Describes A Growing Threat To Women's Sports

And while Gaines has personal experience with Lia Thomas, the UPenn swimmer isn't the only biological man to take away opportunities and accolades from deserving females.

In 2019, CeCé Telfer became the the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA title, taking gold in the Division II 400-meter hurdle. And Sunday, American Austin Killips became the first transgender cyclist to win an official Union Cycliste Internationale race, the Tour of the Gila.

And these are just a couple of examples.

"I think this will get worse before it gets better," Gaines said. "How many girls have to be injured playing against a male, how many girls have to lose out on scholarships and trophies and titles? How many girls have to feel violated in the locker room?"

Riley Gaines speaks during a discussion on transgender athletes In women's sports. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Gaines had previously expressed discomfort in sharing the locker room with Thomas (a problem the NCAA skirted around by declaring the locker rooms “temporarily unisex”).

And since then, many similar stories have made headlines — including an 18-year-old trans student exposing his genitalia to underage girls in a high school locker room.

"How many girls have to go through this before they make changes?" Gaines asked. "Because the argument we're seeing now is, 'oh, it's not really happening,' or 'it's just high school, middle school sports, it's not that deep.'"

All of those claims are "insensitive and untrue," according to Gaines.

The issue of biological men in women's sports has become a hot topic lately.

Last month, the Republican-controlled House passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. This bill would allow only biological females to compete in women's sports that receive federal funding under Title IX. But Democrats blocked it in the Senate. 

"MAGA Republicans are trying to sensationalize an issue that doesn't really exist in the way that they are falsely portraying," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters.

In other words, don't believe your lying eyes.

(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

"To say this isn’t existing is to deny the facts in front of our faces," Gaines said. "This is happening at all levels, all states, all sports, all ages. My experience is becoming less and less unique by the day."

Women's sports are in jeopardy. And the more gender ideology propaganda is pushed, the worse it will get.

"In five, 10 years, if this isn't fixed, one male winning a national title among the women will quickly turn into three and five and 10 and so on," she said.

The way to stop this madness, Gaines said, is simply to stop participating in it.

"It's, of course, scary to step on toes and ruffle feathers, but that's exactly what we need in order to make changes."