Competing with Lia Thomas took women's rights backwards: Riley Gaines
Riley Gaines, who swam against UPenn's Lia Thomas, says including transgender athletes into women's sports shows 'utter disregard' toward females on 'The Ingraham Angle.'
A former collegiate female swimmer who swam against transgender competitor Lia Thomas slammed the continuance of the left's encouragement for transgender athletes to compete in women's sports.
In an interview with "The Ingraham Angle" on Thursday, Riley Gaines said transgender policy is turning back the clock on Title IX and women's rights and is anything but "progressive" as advertised.
Guest host Raymond Arroyo asked Gaines if women continue to have equal access to sports while government and schools force them to compete with transgender athletes.
"Absolutely not," Gaines said. "This is taking us back to the 1970s, to before Title IX. And that's what I think the left is not understanding. They think this is ‘progressive.'"
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University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"They think we're moving in the forward direction, but this is taking us back half a century. It's regressive."
Gaines rebuffed a clip of Thomas telling ESPN about being "humbled and honored" to win a Division I championship and voicing hope more transgender athletes would be motivated.
"To me, hearing that, all I hear is selfishness," Gaines said. "I hear lack of self-awareness, and I hear utter disregard and disrespect toward women — women who have dedicated their entire lives to their sport."
Former U.S. President Donald Trump. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
She said Thomas had previously been an average male swimmer under the name Will Thomas, adding that taking politics or subjectivity out of the discussion, there was a noticeable difference in Thomas' performance when Thomas later competed against biological females.
"If you're looking at this just off sheer statistics — nothing opinionated about this — Lia Thomas, the year before, when competing as Will Thomas, was ranked in the 500s at best," Gaines said.
"A year later, [Thomas ended up] winning a national title, being the fastest female in the country, and then being nominated for NCAA Woman of the Year — nothing about what I just said is an opinion, and if it frustrates someone or makes them upset, I think that speaks volumes."