Former American swimmer Riley Gaines is headlining the news yet again. And this time, she is raising her voice and using her platform to create awareness about a 16-year-old swimmer who was banned by the YMCA for opposing a male presence in the changing room.
Riley Gaines has been prominently vocal about the participation of trans athletes in female sports and has always opposed the idea of it. Recently, on her Twitter feed, the swimmer-turned-activist tweeted about an incident involving a 16-year-old banned by the YMCA, accusing her of hate speech.
The teenager entered the girl's locker room in April this year and noticed a couple of transgenders sitting on a bench. After going out on the pool deck to inform the head coach, she was told there was nothing that could be done. The practice of allowing biological men claiming to be women in girls' changing rooms, even in the presence of minors, was adopted by the coaches and admins with no notification to the girls or their parents.
Riley Gaines posted a tweet where she shared details about the case and how the teenager's elder sister had to go through a similar incident involving Lia Thomas.
"16-yo girl banned from YMCA and kicked off her swim team for opposing a naked male in their locker room.
"And to make matters worse, her older sister had to go through the exact same thing with Lia Thomas. But it's 'not really happening'...."
A press conference is being held with the teenage girl in Rotary Park, Springfield, IL, on July 13, from 1 pm onwards.
Riley Gaines called out famous female athletes to hear their stance on the trans debate
From confronting Governors to calling out trans athletes, Riley Gaines never misses out on an opportunity to raise her voice on the trans athletes' debate. To do the same, she once took to social media to call out famous female athletes to choose a side. Gaines also stated that choosing to stay silent on the issue was wrong.
"Each day for the next week I'm going to call on well-known female athletes to take a stance on this issue because silence is complicity...we need their voices."
In the same post, Riley asked famed Tennis sisters Serena and Venus Williams about what they thought of the issue.
"Day 1: @serenawilliams @Venuseswilliams how do you feel about males competing against women?"
Gaines then proceeded to call out the likes of Ronda Rousey, Allyson Felix, Simone Biles, Kerri Walsh, and Misty May-Treanor.