Olympic gold medalist calls on parents to 'wake up,' speak out in support of Riley Gaines
Former Olympic gold medal swimmer Donna de Varona explains the need for a 'reasonable way' to allow all people to compete in sports while protecting fairness and safety in women's divisions.
Olympic gold medalist Donna de Varona spoke out on the need for a reasonable approach to the ongoing debate over women’s sports and transgender rights.
Varona called on parents of young girls to voice support for Riley Gaines, a former Kentucky swimmer who has spearheaded the fight for women’s sports in recent months.
Gaines was assaulted on the San Francisco State University campus after delivering a speech on protecting women’s sports. She has faced severe backlash for her opinion that transgender athletes – specifically biological males who have transitioned to female – should not be permitted to compete in the women’s division.
Varona said Gaines is not alone in her fight.
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"She's got a lot of us veterans behind her," Varona said on "The Brian Kilmeade Show" Monday. "But where is middle America? Wake up, mothers and fathers, and start speaking out."
Varona told host Brian Kilmeade that athletes like Gaines were "muzzled" and told not to speak out after competing against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Varona argued there needs to be a "reasonable" approach that allows transgender athletes to participate in sports.
Swimmer Riley Gaines is barricaded in a room at San Francisco State University after she says she was assaulted while speaking at a college event put on by a popular conservative organization. (Riley Gaines via Twitter, Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
"Every young kid should have sports, but it doesn't have to be in the women's category in every sport," she explained. "You see the New York City Marathon – everybody runs. What's the problem? In fact, the marathon opened up a separate space for those that are non-binary and don't identify with their birth sex."
"But when you get to extreme sports, when you get to scholarships, when you get the fairness and safety, we have to come up with a reasonable way to deal with this population."
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Varona said she worked on Title IX for 50 years. She said the overall understanding was that everyone can compete in the classroom, but that men and women need separate spaces when it comes to physical competition.
"I don't think you'd be seeing us dominate in the Olympics, nor would you see professional basketball, nor would you understand the foundational values that sports offer girls as they transition through life and find themselves in corporate America as leaders, as politicians, as astronauts. It's amazing what the sport experience can do for girls and women if they’re offered a fair and safe environment," she said.
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She said transgender athletes can find a space to compete in co-ed and intramural sports, but she argued taking hormones like testosterone or estrogen would make them ineligible to compete at a high level.
"There's a way to include and not get involved in weaponizing this whole issue," she said. "You just have to look at the eligibility requirements in sports. You can't take drugs to fit into a category. It's simple."
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