When it comes to athletes competing in sports, the issue of fairness is of the utmost importance. We all want to see our favorite athletes perform to the best of their abilities, and we want them to be able to compete in a level playing field.
Recently, a former NCAA swimmer named Riley Gaines has come forward to blast Lia Thomas for her “emotional blackmail” and “sheer entitlement and selfishness” during a podcast appearance.
According to Gaines, Thomas had attacked those who oppose allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports while supporting a transgender person’s right to transition, calling it “half-support” during a Monday podcast with transgender swimmer Schyuler Bailar.
“What Thomas is doing in this podcast is simply gaslighting people into feeling like they’re wrong for feeling uncomfortable in the locker room, feeling like they should be ok with stepping aside and smiling and allowing these men to take our spots on the podium, take our titles, take our scholarships, take away our opportunities,” Gaines, who competed against Lia Thomas as a member of the University of Kentucky’s swim team during the 2022 NCAA Championships, told “America Reports” co-hosts Sandra Smith and John Roberts.
Thomas also accused teammates at the University of Pennsylvania of being “anti-feminist” during the podcast. Gaines stated that Thomas was “gaslighting people into feeling like they’re wrong for feeling uncomfortable in the locker room, feeling like they should be ok with stepping aside and smiling and allowing these men to take our spots on the podium, take our titles, take our scholarships, take away our opportunities.”
“I talked to several of Thomas’s teammates, one even just yesterday after watching this podcast, who informed me the gaslighting that Thomas was portraying is what they dealt with all year last year.
She’s informed me of some really heartbreaking, awful stories that resulted in emotional blackmail by both Thomas and their university into trying to silence their voices, suppress their voices, trying to make them feel guilty for wanting fair competition and safety in their sports,” Gaines continued. “The word that comes to mind when watching this podcast is sheer entitlement and selfishness and it’s utter disregard towards women.”
It’s not just the NCAA that is facing this issue, either. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty released a letter Friday demanding answers from the Sun Prairie Area School District after a March 3 incident where a transgender woman reportedly took a shower with four 14-year-old girls.
“These are 14-year-old girls,” Gaines said when asked by Roberts about that incident. “They should never have to be in a position where they are seeing male genitalia without giving their consent. It’s mind-blowing and it’s becoming more and more common.”
It’s clear that something needs to be done to ensure that biological women and girls can enjoy the same rights and opportunities in sports as men and boys. We must stand up for fairness and equal rights, and make sure that all athletes can compete on a level playing field. We must also ensure that all girls are protected from seeing male genitalia without their consent, and that trans athletes are respected and given fair opportunities.
The issue of fairness and safety when it comes to sports is an important one, and it’s one that we must take seriously. Let’s make sure that all athletes, regardless of gender identity, can compete fairly and safely.
