Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines remains steadfast in her criticism of the NCAA for its leaders' reluctance to meet with athletes who say they have been negatively affected by policies allowing transgender athletes to compete in women's sports. , and for adopting a more passive attitude. approach to the topic that she believes is essential.
“In 2010, they implemented a blanket policy for all sports. [Saying that after] 12 months of HRT, you could compete in the category that aligns with your gender identity. Now, what the NCAA is doing is being in a phase-out process. “Essentially, they want nothing to do with politics, which shows how cowardly they really are,” Gaines told “Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Will Cain on Sunday.
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Riley Gaines spoke about the demand letter and petition she gave to the organization. (Fox & Friends Weekend/Screenshot)
“It shows that they know this is wrong and now they let each specific sport set rules for that sport.”
Gaines, along with Olympians, coaches and other NCAA athletes, met with organization officials at the 2024 NCAA Convention in Phoenix to personally deliver a demand letter urging officials to meet with female athletes who were says they are affected by the participation of trans athletes in women's sports.
The group also submitted a related petition that is said to have more than 70,000 signatures.
Gaines told Cain that the group of protesters at the convention made the same demands last year.
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“We came back this year to do the exact same thing because, over the course of the last year, the NCAA has not changed its policies and, as mentioned, women continue to be discriminated against because of our sex.” she said.
“The people I turned it in to, the people on the board of directors who gave me the petition and the letter, they even look me in the eye, which is pretty discouraging for an athlete…”
Gaines previously noted his hope to meet with NCAA President Charlie Baker, who took office in March 2023, to discuss the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's events.
“I know that President Baker testified before the Senate a few weeks ago that changes are being made and that changes have been made, but that is not what we are seeing. We still see that the NCAA continues to discriminate against women on the basis of “Our sex.” . It's happening in almost every sport, every level, every division, every state; That's why we're here,” she said last week.
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Riley Gaines gives a speech at Penn State. (Riley Gaines)
Baker testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in October and was pressed on the issue of transgender athletes being allowed into women's locker rooms.
“I'm not going to defend what happened in 2022,” he said. “I wasn't there. I was still governor of the commonwealth. What I will say is that we have very specific rules and standards around the safety of all of our student-athletes, and anyone hosting one of our national championships needs to agree that they know what they are and then abide by them accordingly.”
“I don't think that policy is what we would use today,” he added.
“Fox & Friends Weekend” reached out to the NCAA for a statement, but did not receive a response in time for the segment.
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Paulina Dedaj of Fox News contributed to this report.
