Riley Gaines, a former 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer from the University of Kentucky, hand-delivered a petition and demand letter to the NCAA outside the 2024 National Collegiate Athletic Association Convention in Phoenix on Thursday, urging the organization to meet with female athletes "adversely affected" by the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Gaines, joined by Olympians, coaches and other NCAA athletes, met with NCAA officials to hand-deliver the letter as well as a petition, which Gaines said received over 70,000 signatures.
"We have an entire coalition of groups and organizations here dedicated to protecting women and upholding and fighting for rights and our opportunities and for equal opportunities," said Gaines, an OutKick contributor and host of OutKick’s "Gaines for Girls" podcast.
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"We feel as if our voices are not being heard. That is the objective, that is why we are here — that is why we are chanting. We want to be let into the conversation. So at any opportunity, at any chance to meet, we are happy and more than willing to work with you all on looking at what this looks like, how to uphold fairness and protect our rights to privacy and our rights to safety and our sports."
Gaines also made mention of NCAA President Charlie Baker, who replaced Mark Emmert in March, and her hopes to have conversations with him regarding the NCAA policies on transgender athletes' participation.
"I know President Baker testified before the Senate a few weeks ago that changes are being made and that changes have been made, but that’s not what we’re seeing. We’re still seeing the NCAA continue to discriminate against women on the basis of our sex. It’s happening in just about every sport, every level, every division, every state — that’s why we’re here," she said.
Baker, the former Massachusetts governor, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in October on the future of college sports, specifically as it relates to Name, Image and Likeness (NIL).
During his testimony, Baker was asked about the debate surrounding transgender athletes' participation in women’s sports, which became a contentious issue in 2021 with the emergence of University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas.
"I'm not going to defend what happened in 2022," Baker said in response to questions about the sports governing body’s current policy with regard to transgender athletes being allowed in women’s locker rooms.
"I wasn't there. I was still governor of the commonwealth. What I will say is, we have very specific rules and standards around the safety and security of all our student athletes, and anyone who hosts one of our national championships has to accept that they know what they are and then abide by them accordingly."
"I don't believe that policy would be the policy we would use today," he continued.
Baker was pressed further about what measures the NCAA has taken to avoid a similar situation. He pointed to the new policies set by other sports governing bodies which the NCAA follows, which he called "more restrictive."
According to the Independent Women’s Forum, the letter given to the NCAA outlines three demands, which include repealing all policies that "allow male athletes to take roster spots on women’s teams and/or compete in women’s events," enforcing "the right of female athletes to participate in sports based on sex" and single-sex locker rooms for female athletes.
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