Riley Gaines, former Division 1 swimmer and current advocate for women’s sports, speaks at the Riley Gaines Center’s spring campus tour at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Riley Gaines is the Director of The Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute. (Photo/Maggie Foster)
Posters and other memorabilia line the chairs inside the lecture hall for attendees
to take home on Thursday, March 14, 2024 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo/Maggie
Foster)
Maggie Foster
Among the rest of the athletes who filed the lawsuit, Gaines believes transgende
women are at an unfair physical advantage over biologically female athletes.
The lawsuit lists the University System of Georgia as a defendant, according to
AP, because Georgia Tech hosted the 2022 swimming and diving championships
“College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America, and while
the NCAA does not comment on pending litigation, the Association and its
members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in
women’s sports and ensure fair competition in all NCAA championships,” the
NCAA said in a statement, according to AP.
“How could we as women expect someone to stand up for us if we weren’t even
willing to stand up for ourselves,” Gaines said at Thursday’s event. “This has to
come from us.”