London (Parliament Politic Magazine) – Riley Gaines, an ex-college swimmer, called squads Dem an ‘a misogynist after the congresswoman accused her of ‘transphobic bigotry’ during a heated exchange on Tuesday.
Gaines, Kim Russell, the former lacrosse coach at Oberlin, and Sarah Parshall Perry of the Heritage Foundation were present at a House Subcommittee on Healthcare and Financial Services hearing on the effects of transgender participation in women’s sports. It coincides with efforts by the Biden Administration’s Education Department to amend Title IX in order to facilitate transgender athletes’ participation in women’s sports.
Lee Statement
Democratic congresswoman Summer Lee stated to the committee during the hearing that “we’re likely to be forced to listen to trans-phobic bigotry” because of their presence.
Gain’s replay,
“If my testimony makes me transphobic…your opening monologue makes you a misogynist,” retorted former Kentucky swimmer Gaines.
Lee moved swiftly to have Gaines’ comments taken down for “engaging in personalities” as opposed to the debate’s actual content. Lee motioned to the chair, “I move to have the gentlewoman’s words taken down.”
At the hearing, Gaines subsequently stated that she believed an excessive number of trans athletes were participating in women’s sports and that “Americans know intuitively that this is not fair.”
In a prepared statement given to the media, Gaines stated, “There are many documented instances of males competing not just in women’s swimming but also in women’s track, cross country, basketball, volleyball, field hockey, and other sports at all levels of competition.”One of the nation’s most underreported stories at the high school level is undoubtedly the involvement of male athletes on women’s teams.
“Leave Thomas as an example,” she uttered. “In just a year, he went from being mediocre against men, placing in the 400th and 500th places nationally at best, to dominating all women nationwide, by body length, might I add.” She stated on Tuesday that it is unsafe for transgender women to compete against other women.”It is true that injuries can occur even in situations where women are competing against other women,” stated Gaines, a member of the conservative Independent Women’s Forum.
This is one of the explanations for the fifty years that federal Title IX regulations have permitted schools to provide separate teams for men and women in sports that require competitive skill or contact. Gaines specifically criticized the Department of Education for proposing to allow women’s sports participation for anyone who identifies as female. “I sincerely hope that members of this committee will act to prevent the unlawful administrative rewriting of Title IX by the Biden administration,” she said in closing.
Tennessee-born Gaines supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s bid for the US presidency in 2024 in June. Later that month, she testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the preservation of LGBTQ civil rights. ‘In addition to being forced to give up our awards, our titles, and our opportunities, the NCAA forced me and my female swimmers to share a locker room with Thomas, a 6’4′ 22-year-old male equipped with (and exposing) male genitalia,’ Gaines said during that testimony and again on Tuesday.
Russel’s removal,
Russell, a fellow member of the Independent Women’s Forum, lost her position as Oberlin College’s women’s lacrosse team coach in Ohio after making statements critical of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. Russell claims that because of her views on transgender athletes in women’s sports, she was transferred to a paperwork role and was no longer able to work directly with students.
Russell said in a prepared statement, “I chose to publicly tell my story and refused to be silent or back down about my belief that men, no matter how they self-identify, should not be allowed to compete in women’s sporting events, and as a result, Oberlin College removed me from coaching women’s lacrosse.”
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The CEO Fatima’s Statement
Fatima Goss Graves, the CEO of the National Women’s Law Center and a minority witness, provided an alternative viewpoint on Tuesday by stating that Congress ought to “pursue policies that meaningfully increase gender equity and promote fairness.”She stated in her prepared remarks that “anti-trans policies undermine Title IX’s intent for at least three reasons.” First, by encouraging challenges that place the onus on women to prove they are “real” women and raising the possibility of harmful and invasive sex verification practices, policies that bar trans girls and women from
The Bottom Line
In her final remarks, Graves urged the Subcommittee to back the Biden Administration’s proposed Title IX amendments that would allow trans athletes to participate.