Riley Gaines slams Harvard for emotionally blackmailing athletes

Riley Gaines is a woman on a mission. Thank goodness. She advocates for women athletes and fights the NCAA’s support of men in women’s sports. She is a spokeswoman at Independent Women’s Forum and a former All-American swimmer at the University of Kentucky.

Riley made headlines for coming forward and speaking out against Lia Thomas at the NCAA Division 1 Championships in 2022. Gaines was defeated by Thomas at that championship meet. Her decision to speak out against the unfairness of men competing against women in sports is the right message. Without voices like Riley’s, women’s sports will disappear. It is the trans activists’ war on women.

On Tuesday, Riley tweeted out a letter allegedly sent to members of Harvard University’s swim team. The letter insists that members of the Harvard team be supportive of those who are transitioning. It mentions an transgender athlete who was a Harvard student.

‘The conversations and controversy surrounding Lia have been challenging to read. In particular, they focus or (sic) what is fair and what is ethical. Regardless of your personal stance, Lia has been incredibly transparent and is abiding by all NCAA rules.

That is a fact. Having watched [Schuyler Bailar]’s transition first hand, I can tell you that if it wasn’t for the support of the teams, he may not be here today. Life is more important than politics.

While we will never tell you what to do or what to believe, it doesn’t benefit out team from winning a championship if we spend our collective energy getting annoyed or frustrated. Let the NCAA figure out their next steps.

Let us focus on our team. And if any press reaches out, then please direct them to our Sports Media Office and ideally, refrain from comment.’

Riley Gaines’ translation in full:

‘Let [me] divert your attention from inherently feeling like something is wrong, by asking you to focus on how great Lia has been.

Let me emotionally blackmail you into accepting mistreatment because otherwise you are complicit in a potential death.

Exchanging your fair treatment for someone else’s benefit (a male in this case) is a justifiable cause. And the fair treatment of women is ‘just politics’ anyway.

While we won’t tell you what to do, we’re telling you it is a bad choice to fight this. Let the men in charge at the NCAA decide your fate.

Immerse your thoughts and feelings into something else to ignore the obvious injustice you face. Let other people decide if you are worthy of fair competition without your input or voice. Oh, and finally don’t talk.’

Riley testified during a Senate hearing on ‘Protecting Pride: Defending the Civil Rights of LGBTQ+ Americans’ Wednesday. She spoke about competing against Thomas and the decision made to give the trophy to him instead of her for the photo op.

“Having only one trophy, the NCAA handed it to Thomas and told me I had to go home empty-handed,” she said. “And when I asked why – which was not a question they were prepared to be asked – I actually appreciate their honesty because they said it was crucial Thomas had it for picture purposes. Thomas had to have it for the pictures. I felt betrayed. I felt belittled. I felt reduced to a photo-op. But my feelings didn’t matter. What mattered to the NCAA was the feelings of a biological male.”

She became emotional as she spoke about sharing a locker room with him.

“But that is not all. In addition to being forced to give up our awards and our titles and our opportunities, the NCAA forced me and my female swimmers to share a locker room with Thomas,” Gaines said. “A 6-foot-4, 22-year-old male equipped with and exposed male genitalia. Let me be clear about this – we were not forewarned we would be sharing a locker room. No one asked for our consent and we did not give our consent.”

“I know that I don’t speak for every single person who competed against Lia Thomas but I know I speak for many because I saw the tears,” she said. “I saw the tears from the ninth and 17th place finishers who missed out on being named an All-American by one place. I can attest to the extreme discomfort in the locker room from these 18–22-year-old girls when you turn around and there’s male eyes watching in that same room.

“And I can attest to the whispers and the grumbles of anger and frustration from these girls who just like myself worked their entire lives to get to this meet. I can attest to the fact that around the country these female athletes who opposed the inclusion of Lia Thomas in the women’s division were threatened, intimidated and emotionally blackmailed into silence and submission.”

That is some powerful testimony from someone who lived the experience. No one should expect the Senate Democrat majority to try to right the wrongs of this, though. They don’t want to risk angering the trans community, despite its small size.

She rightly referenced Title IX and how it is being squandered now because of transgender activism. Is this what women fought for all those years? Where are the feminists now? They should be leading the charge against this atrocity.

It’s wrong. People have to speak out in order to shut this down.

“Sen. Durbin … you had mentioned this ‘rhetoric.’ You had mentioned ‘what message does it send to trans individuals?’ My combat to that is: what message does this send to women, to young girls … their rights to privacy and safety thrown out of the window?” @Riley_Gaines_ pic.twitter.com/vBHgW7AJyy

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 21, 2023