"If you want to continue to ignore female athletes, that's fine" - Riley Gaines slams NCAA President Charlie Baker

Riley Gaines recently slammed NCAA president Charlie Baker after coming across a new article on him. The piece highlighted Baker’s avoidance of speaking on the position of trans women athletes in women’s sports. Sharing the article, Gaines expressed her views on Baker’s attitude.

On January 8, Fox News released an article on Charlie Baker dodging a bullet to speak on the issue of women’s sports. The NCAA is set to hold its annual convention from January 10 to 13 in Phoenix. Before the function, Baker and his members discussed a couple of questions on Name, Image and Likeness compensation and debated whether college athletes are employees of universities.

However, when asked to speak on the position of trans women in women’s sports, Baker dodged the question. Sharing about Baker’s attitude towards women’s sports, Gaines posted the article on the NCAA president on her X (formerly known as Twitter) and captioned it,

"Shame on NCAA President @CharlieBakerMA"

She added,

"If you want to continue to ignore female athletes, that's fine. We'll make it to where you can't. See you next week"

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Riley Gaines criticized Charlie Baker for change in blanket policy

Riley Gaines at House Oversight Committee

Riley Gaines also previously slammed Charlie Baker for dodging questions on women’s sports.

She highlighted that the NCAA previously had a blanket policy (introduced in 2010) that allowed students to use locker rooms and bathrooms based on their gender identity, regardless of their sex at birth.

However, in 2023, Riley Gaines revealed that the NCAA planned to focus on a decentralized approach, letting each sport set its own policy. She called out the NCAA for its lack of backbone and inconsistency on the part of the NCAA.

Nevertheless, the former swimmer slammed President Charlie Baker for being a weak leader unwilling to stand up for what he believed was right and just. Gaines also accused him of evading questions and providing vague answers during a judicial hearing when asked about his stance on transgender issues.

Moreover, the swimmer wrote in her X (formerly known as Twitter) handle,

“It shows you how they’re cowards. It shows you how we have weak leaders. And that is how we got here, because we have people like President Charlie Baker who are unwilling to stand for what they know is right, what they know to be just, what they know to be true and fair. They would rather throw their moral compass entirely out of the window if it means they get to look virtuous and seem as if they’re doing the right thing. But in reality, they are doing just the opposite of the right thing."