Riley Gaines delivers emotional statement at LGBTQ hearing
Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines gave an emotional opening statement at the Senate hearing on ‘Protecting Pride: Defending the Civil Rights of LGBTQ+ Americans.’
Riley Gaines blasted the Biden administration’s proposal to amend Title IX to include regulations on transgender issues in schools during a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., asked Gaines about what it meant to her to be able to participate in team sports and the value playing sports has had on her life. The former Kentucky swimming star detailed the hard work that went into becoming a top swimmer in Division I athletics.
Gaines then used part of her time to talk about the proposed Title IX revisions.
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President Biden meets with his science and technology advisers at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 4, 2023. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
"The rewrite of Title IX is an abomination. It’s equating sex to gender identity, which means men would live in dorm rooms with women," Gaines said. "Men would have full access to bathrooms, changing areas, locker rooms. Men could join sororities, which we’re seeing happening. It’s happening at the University of Wyoming. Men can take academic and athletic scholarships away from women. In this new rewrite, it’s actually sexual harassment if you misgender a trans-identified individual. It’s sexual harassment that if you’re in a dorm room and you’re a woman and you feel uncomfortable sharing this room and you complain and asked to be moved — you’re guilty of sexual harassment."
Under the department’s proposed rule, no school or college that receives federal funding would be allowed to impose a "one-size-fits-all" policy that categorically bans transgender students from playing on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. Such policies would be considered a violation of Title IX.
Riley Gaines participates in a discussion on transgender athletes in women's sports during a National Girls and Women in Sports Day event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 1, 2023. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
"The U.S. Department of Education (Department) proposes to amend its regulations implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) to set out a standard that would govern a recipient’s adoption or application of sex-related criteria that would limit or deny a student’s eligibility to participate on a male or female athletic team consistent with their gender identity," the Education Department wrote.
"The proposed regulation would clarify Title IX’s application to such sex-related criteria and the obligation of schools and other recipients of Federal financial assistance from the Department (referred to below as ‘recipients’ or ‘schools’) that adopt or apply such criteria to do so consistent with Title IX’s nondiscrimination mandate."
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In a press release, the administration said the "proposed rule affirms that students benefit from the chance to join a school sports team to learn about teamwork, leadership, and physical fitness."
"The proposed rule would establish that policies violate Title IX when they categorically ban transgender students from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity just because of who they are. The proposed rule also recognizes that in some instances, particularly in competitive high school and college athletic environments, some schools may adopt policies that limit transgender students' participation. The proposed rule would provide schools with a framework for developing eligibility criteria that protects students from being denied equal athletic opportunity, while giving schools the flexibility to develop their own participation policies."
SEC champion swimmer Riley Gaines speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas on Aug. 6, 2022. (Reuters/Go Nakamura)
Gaines has supported the "Saves Women’s Sports" bill, which passed the House 219-203 in April. All the "yes" votes came from Republicans and all the "no" votes came from Democrats.
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However, President Biden has vowed to veto the bill if it comes to his desk.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
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