The 12-time All-American and three-time Southeastern Conference swimming champion, Riley Gaines, gained national attention after she tied for fifth with male swimmer Lia Thomas, who is an openly transgender athlete, in the 200 metre freestyle at the NCAA Division I Women’s Championships..After the race, she was told the trophy would be given to Thomas. .When Gaines questioned an NCAA official about the decision, she was told, “Well, for photo purposes, Lia has to have it. You can pose with this one, but you go home empty-handed. Thomas takes the trophy.”.In that moment, “it hit me across the head; this is not progress, this is not progressive,” Gaines said..“We are not moving forward. We are moving 50 years back in time to before Title IX, when women didn’t have equal opportunities in sports, by allowing men to infiltrate into our sports, into our locker rooms” says The Daily Signal..Title IX states: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Similar legislation is in place in Canada..Now Gaines is asking, “Where are the feminists” in the fight to protect women’s sports?.“Where are the people who once believed women, real women in all of their uniqueness, could conquer the world and deserved respect and deserved equal opportunities,” Gaines said in an interview with The Daily Signal at the Conservative Political Action Conference just outside Washington, DC last week..“I think it’s extremely ironic the people advocating for this (Title IX) are the same party, the same people who were once advocating for the empowerment of women,” Gaines said..In the interview, Gaines said she's weary of being one of the few collegiate and professional female athletes proclaiming men should not be allowed to compete with women and girls..“Where’s Billie Jean King, who’s a trailblazer? She’s fighting for trans inclusion. Where’s Megan Rapinoe, who fought relentlessly for equal pay and equal resources and equal access for women’s sports? Oh, she’s fighting for trans inclusion,” Gaines said, adding it's “worth mentioning neither one of these women have daughters, and both of these women are done with their careers, so they have nothing to lose. They would rather virtue-signal than do what’s right and what’s moral and what’s fair.”.In the 1960s and early 1970s, King advocated Title IX, even going “to Capitol Hill to testify on behalf of Title IX and to speak to its need in order for girls and women to advance in their sport,” according to King’s website..King is considered a pioneer for equality and social justice. In 1973, at age 29, she famously won the ‘Battle of the Sexes’ tennis match against 55-year-old Bobby Riggs..Rapinoe plays on the United States women’s national soccer team and her advocacy for equal pay in women’s sports paid off last year when US soccer agreed, after a legal battle, to pay female players at an equal rate to the men..The Biden administration proposed changing the definition of the word ‘sex’ in Title IX to include gender identity and sexual orientation, says The Daily Signal. Under that proposed change, men who identify as women would be permitted to use women’s restrooms, locker rooms, and participate on women’s sports teams..A new poll shows a majority of American voters think Biden’s reinterpretation of Title IX has had negative consequences on women’s sports..Conducted by Summit.org in partnership with McLaughlin and Associates, the poll found 60% of respondents say it’s been harmful to women’s sports, while 18% say it’s been helpful. When 22% of respondents without an opinion aren’t included, 77% of voters find allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports to be harmful and only 23% say it’s helpful..“The government and corporate elites are trying to get both sides of the story. However, they don’t define what a woman looks like. They also promote policies that harm women,” said Dr. Jeff Myers, Summit.org..On Thursday, West Virginia Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey said he's taking the fight for fairness in women’s sports to the US Supreme Court, citing an appeal against the state’s Save Women’s Sports Act..“This simple law (Save Women’s Sports Act) demands girls and women get their fair share of opportunities in sports,” said Morrisey..“The recent injunction decision from the United States Court of Appeals is a minor setback, but we remain confident in the merits of our defense. We are resolute in protecting opportunities for women and girls in sports because when biological males win in a women’s event, as has happened time and again, female athletes lose their opportunity to shine.”
