First appearance on FOXFive NCAA All-American female athletes, including OutKick.com contributor Riley Gaines, will testify in Georgia about their experiences competing and sharing locker rooms with players who are biologically male.
Earlier this month, the Georgia Senate created a special committee on women’s sports to analyze the issue of biological males competing against female athletes.
Fox News Digital has learned that the first agenda item of the committee’s investigation will focus on the 2022 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships, where swimmer Leah Thomas, who is biologically male, competed for the University of Pennsylvania women’s swimming team.
Riley Gaines is scheduled to testify at the hearing. “Gaines for Girls” She competed in the 200-yard NCAA championships with Thomas, who identifies as female, and ultimately finished in a tie.
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Former college swimmer Riley Gaines (left) testifies during a hearing of the House Health Care and Financial Services Oversight Subcommittee on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Ungerer)
Gaines and other female athletes involved in the tournament will reportedly recall being forced to share a locker room with Thomas, in addition to competing.
Also appearing as witnesses will be athletes Reka Giorgi, Kylie Arons, Grace County and Kaitlyn Wheeler, all members of the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICONS), which filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in March alleging that the association knowingly violated Title IX by allowing Thomas to compete.
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According to the players’ lead attorney, William Bock III, the players will reportedly “explain how they have been harmed by the actions of Georgia Tech and the NCAA and what must be done to protect women in the future.”
Virginia Tech swimmer Reka Giorgi swims in the 400-meter individual medley final at the 2022 National Collegiate Swimming and Diving Championships at the Macquarie Aquatic Center on March 18, 2022 in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“My number one priority is ensuring the right of female athletes across Georgia to compete on a fair and equal playing field, and I will never waver in this effort,” Georgia Lt. Gov. Bert Jones, a Georgia Republican, said in announcing the task force. “We will not stand by silently as radical politicians, sports associations, schools and institutions of higher education push forward policies that threaten this right.”
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The first hearing will be held on Tuesday, August 27th at the Georgia State Capitol.
Georgia Tech and the NCAA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
