Former Kentucky swimming legend and women's sports advocate Riley Gaines is slamming the NCAA for refusing to meet with female athletes affected by the infiltration of transgender athletes into women's sports.
“In 2010, they implemented a comprehensive policy for all sports. [Claiming that after] After 12 months of HRT hormone replacement therapy, you will be able to compete in the category that corresponds to your gender identity. What the NCAA is doing right now is they're taking a phase-out approach. Essentially they want nothing to do with this policy, but this shows how cowardly they are,” Gaines said. fox and friends on sunday.
Gaines continued: “This shows they know this is wrong and now they're leaving it up to each sport to make the rules for their sport.”
Former college swimmer Riley Gaines (left) testifies during a hearing of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Health and Financial Services at the Capitol on December 5, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The strong words came after Gaines' efforts and dozens of other female athletes petitioned college sports governing bodies to meet with them and include them in the rule change process. At the 2024 NCAA Convention in Phoenix, Gaines handed out a letter signed by dozens of former female athletes asking them to meet with NCAA officials to voice their concerns about transgender issues. emphasized.
This wasn't the first time female athletes have expressed a desire to meet with NCAA leaders.
“We're back this year to do the exact same thing, because over the past year, the NCAA hasn't changed its policy and, as mentioned above, women continue to be discriminated against based on their gender. ,” he told Gaines and Fox News' Will Cain.
“The people I delivered to, the people on the steering committee who delivered petitions and letters to me, even looked me in the eye, which is pretty disappointing as a female athlete.”
Specifically, Gaines said he would like to meet with NCAA President Charlie Baker, who took office early last year.
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker speaks at the Massachusetts Women's Conference 2017 at the Boston Convention Center on December 7, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Mara Aufmus/Getty Images, Massachusetts Women's Council)
“I know President Baker testified before the Senate a few weeks ago that change is coming, but that's not what we're seeing. The NCAA continues to discriminate against women based on their gender. “We still see it happening in almost every sport, every level, every division, every state, which is why we're here,” she said.
Testifying before Congress in October, Baker distanced himself from the turmoil surrounding the 2022 Leah Thomas issue, saying it would never happen again.
“I'm not going to defend what happened in 2022,” Baker said. “I wasn't there. I was still the federal governor.. What I want to say is that we have very specific rules and standards regarding the safety and security of all of our student-athletes, and whoever hosts the national championships must understand and understand what they are. It means that you have to accept that it is happening and follow it accordingly. ”
“I don't think that's the kind of policy we would adopt today,” he added.
