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Riley Gaines: I’m in Nashville to protest Biden’s Title IX changes and fight for women’s sports

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Riley Gaines: “I won’t stand by and watch as female athletes are pushed aside. And if you care about women and fairness, neither should you.”

Riley Gaines
 |  Guest Columnist

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Editor’s note: The Tennessean has been covering the issues surrounding gender-affirming health care and the intersection of gender identity and sports. Two pillars of The Tennessean’s opinion and engagement mission are to welcome diverse perspectives and amplify underrepresented views. Find supporting or opposing views throughout the column. Send responses to letters@tennessean.com.

Two years ago, when I swam for the University of Kentucky, I raced and tied with Lia Thomas, a transgender athlete.

The NCAA not only didn’t stand up for me, but they claimed that Lia needed to hold the trophy for photo purposes.

I refused to stay silent after that, and my story has been told time and time again. I have since gotten to travel the nation, sharing my experience and speaking about the importance of preserving women’s sports and spaces.

I wish I could say that my experience was an isolated incident.

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According to SheWon.org, there have been hundreds of competitions across the country where a transgender athlete has entered a women’s sports competition meant for women and taken spots on teams, medals and honors on award podiums, and even scholarships meant for women athletes.

This already bad situation is about to get worse. Much worse. The Biden administration has just rewritten Title IX — a law that was supposed to ensure that women have equal opportunity in education, including athletics — to equate sex with gender identity. Basically, the new Title IX will require schools and athletic competitions to allow any athlete to opt into a competition that matches their self-proclaimed gender identity.

A judge recently blocked the Biden administration from enforcing the rule in four states.

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Claiming that this inclusion of transgender athletes doesn’t threaten female athletes is ridiculous.

Just take a look at the world’s records for women’s and men’s competitions.

You’ll see that men are consistently faster and stronger than women, which gives men the edge in just about every sport.

That’s why we have women’s teams and men’s teams in the first place: Because if we didn’t, women simply wouldn’t win and often wouldn’t even make the team.

Take Back Title IX Summer tour ends at Redneck Riviera

This is precisely why I’m joining female athletes and coaches on a bus right now, winding our way around the country, to be a part of the Our Bodies, Our Sports Coalition. And why I’m asking you join us in Nashville on June 28 for a rally to Take Back Title IX.

We are doing this because we know that, right now, what we are fighting for is bigger than any single competition. We are fighting for the future of women’s sports itself. We need every athlete, coach, parent, and women’s advocate to join us for the Our Bodies, Our Sports Take Back Title IX Summer 2024 Bus Tour.

I won’t stand by and watch as female athletes are pushed aside. And if you care about women and fairness, neither should you. Join us at 2 p.m. Friday, June 28, at Redneck Riviera (208 Broadway) in Nashville, Tennessee, for our final stop on the bus tour. Take a stand to defend women and to take back Title IX.

Riley Gaines is an ambassador with Independent Women’s Forum (iwf.org) and a former 12x All-American swimmer at the University of Kentucky.

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