Ex-swimmer demands transgender locker rooms after Lia Thomas allegedly exposed ‘male genitalia’
A former college swimming star demanded that the NCAA establish separate locker rooms for transgender athletes, after she claims she was exposed to Lia Thomas’ “male genitalia.”
Riley Gaines, 23, a 12-time All-American and five-time SEC champ at the University of Kentucky, alleges that she and her teammates had no other option than to change in front of Thomas, who switched from the men’s team to the women’s team at the University of Pennsylvania after undergoing hormone replacement therapy.
“We were not forewarned beforehand that we would be sharing a locker room with Lia. We did not give our consent, they did not ask for our consent, but in that locker room we turned around and there’s a 6-foot-4 biological man dropping his pants and watching us undress, and we were exposed to male genitalia,” Gaines told Fox News’ “America Reports” Wednesday about Thomas, who is listed at 6 feet 1.
“That to me was worse than the competition piece,” Gaines told the outlet. “Not even probably a year, two years ago, this would have been considered some form of sexual assault, voyeurism. But now not even are they just allowing it to happen, it’s almost as if these large organizations are encouraging it to happen.”
Gaines is the spokeswoman for the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative nonprofit focused on advancing women’s rights. The decorated former college athlete, who accused President Biden’s White House of promoting “gender ideology propaganda,” attended Tuesday’s State of the Union address as a guest of Rep. Lisa McClain (R-Mich.).
She has been a vocal opponent of transgender women competing in women’s sports after she tied with Thomas for fifth place in a national swimming competition last spring, citing her opponent’s “unfair” biological advantage in height, muscle mass and heart and lung size.
The Post has reached out to Thomas and the NCAA for comment.
Thomas, who reportedly fancies herself a modern-day Jackie Robinson, was a men’s swimmer during the first three years of her collegiate career before joining the women’s team in 2021 and shattering Ivy League records.
She has roundly dismissed experts who insist that she has an unfair advantage in having gone through puberty as a male before transitioning.
“Trans women are not a threat to women’s sports,” Thomas told “Good Morning America” in May. “Trans people don’t transition for athletics. We transition to be happy and authentic and our true selves.
“Transitioning to get an advantage is not something that ever factors into our decisions,” she added.
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT+ civil rights organization in the US, has also defended Thomas’ decision to compete.
“We’re in solidarity with Lia and all athletes who compete in the sports they love and on teams consistent with their gender identity,” the group said.
But Gaines said the NCAA’s support of Thomas has eroded a fair playing field for cisgender athletes, and browbeaten many other women into grudgingly accepting the new politically correct paradigm.
“People are terrified, especially speaking from my experience of talking to other NCAA swimmers specifically. Lia Thomas’ teammates even,” Gaines reportedly said.
“They are told their school has made their stance for them. They are told if they feel uncomfortable seeing male genitalia in the locker room, they should seek counseling resources. They’re told they will never get into grad school if they speak out.
“All of these terrible, awful things that are not true,” she continued. “They are told, of course, that they will be called a bigot and hateful and transphobic, but it doesn’t make you any of those things to acknowledge that there are two sexes, you cannot change your sex and women deserve opportunities.”
