Riley Gaines: Unsafe, discriminatory behavior against female athletes must end
Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines delivers opening remarks on Capitol Hill about protecting women's sports.
Former NCAA swim star Riley Gaines pushed back on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s claim that women could face doctor exams if biological men are barred from female sports.
Gaines, who is the host of OutKick’s "Gaines for Girls" podcast and the director of the Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute, appeared on "OutKick the Morning with Charly Arnolt" and called the New York Democrat rep’s assertions "uninformed."
"It’s not the case for any state. She was referring to [the] state legislature and that’s the process states are going to go through to determine who is male and female is they’re going to ‘inspect your genitals.’ No, it’s called a routine physical," the former Kentucky Wildcats swimmer said. "It’s something that every athlete, including myself my entire life, has to go through.
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Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines testifies during a House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, December 5, 2023, hearing on Capitol Hill. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
"Certain states check birth certificates and certain [sports] governing bodies [do] cheek swabs, but there is no genital inspection. Actually, the people who had their genitals inspected were the females in that locker room who had a man in that locker room. But that doesn’t matter to AOC or, again, any of the Democratic members in the U.S. House and the Senate or the Biden administration. I certainly agree that was entirely fearmongering. That’s absolutely what that was."
Ocasio-Cortez made her claim during the Tuesday House Oversight Subcommittee on Health hearing, which featured Gaines. Ocasio-Cortez said there were several proposals looking to "marginalize" transgender Americans before claiming during her questioning that women would have to get their pants checked if someone disbelieves their stated gender.
FROM OUTKICK: RILEY GAINES TO DEMOCRAT REP SUMMER LEE: ‘IF I’M TRANSPHOBIC, YOU’RE A MISOGYNIST’
"We are talking about opening up all women and girls to genital examinations when they are underage, potentially just because someone can point to someone and say, ‘I don’t think you are a girl,’" she said.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends a House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services hearing, December 5, 2023, on Capitol Hill. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
"And we're saying this in an environment of a post-Dobbs America, where states are criminalizing access to abortion and want nothing more than data on women to figure out when, who's getting a menstrual cycle, who doesn't have one, and we're supposed to believe this is going to make us better and safer?"
"I think not, and, per usual, I don't believe we're sitting here on a panel of men that has actually thought about the biology and privacy consequences of all women, trans or cisgendered," the "Squad" Democrat added.
Tuesday's hearing saw fireworks from the get-go as Gaines, an outspoken advocate of keeping women's sports limited to biological women, fired back at Ocasio-Cortez's fellow "Squad"-mate, Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa.
Lee called Gaines' testimony, as well as the testimonies of the other women leaders looking to restrict women's sports to biological women, "transphobic" in her opening remarks.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., left, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., attend a rabbi's news conference calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, Nov. 13, 2023, on Capitol Hill. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Gaines blasted Lee, the ranking member of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Health, after the Squad member took her shot at the witnesses' testimony.
"There's a place for everybody to play sports in this country," Gaines said, noting transgender Americans were included in her view. "But unsafe, unfair and discriminatory practices must stop."
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"Inclusion cannot be prioritized over safety and fairness," the former NCAA swimmer concluded in her opening remarks. "And ranking member Lee, if my testimony makes me ‘transphobic,’ then I believe your opening monologue makes you a misogynist."
Fox News’ Houston Keene contributed to this report.
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