Riley Gaines launches a fresh attack on Lia Thomas, calling her ‘selfish and not self-aware’

Star college swimmer Riley Gaines has renewed her attacks on transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, describing her as an average male swimmer who became a champion after her transition. 

Gaines, 23, made her remarks in an interview on Fox News in response to an ESPN ad showing Thomas describing herself as feeling ‘humbled and honored’ to win a Division I championship.

The University of Kentucky athlete said, ‘To me, hearing that, all I hear is selfishness.’

She continued, ‘I hear lack of self-awareness, and I hear utter disregard and disrespect toward women — women who have dedicated their entire lives to their sport.’

Last March, Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania student, made history by becoming the first transgender athlete to win the NCAA Division I women’s 500-yard freestyle event.

On Fox News, Gaines pointed out that Thomas ranked somewhere between 500 and 600 in the country while she competed as a male. 

Both Thomas and Gaines were nominated by their schools for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award. During the 2018 and 2019 swimming seasons, Thomas competed in the men’s division.

In the aforementioned ESPN ad, Thomas also said, ‘I can only hope I’m able to give other trans people the inspiration and motivation I was given.’

Gaines also said in her response to seeing the commercial, ‘Women who have dedicated their entire lives to their sport, not just one year after the year before ranking in the 500s and 600s as a biological male. That’s what this was.’

The health sciences major continued by referring to Thomas as her dead-name and said that the year before becoming a champion, she ranked no higher than 500. 

She added, ‘Nothing about what I just said is an opinion and if it frustrates someone, or makes someone upset, I think that speaks volumes.’

Earlier this year, Gaines slammed President Joe BIden for proposing to change the definition of ‘sex’ in a federal civil rights law to include ‘gender’ and ‘gender identity.’

The changes to Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other education program that receives funding from the federal government, would therefore allow transgender female athletes to compete against biological women in sports.

By doing so, Gaines wrote in her essay, biological women would be placed at a disadvantage when competing against transgender women. 

In the essay, Gaines used the opportunity to recount how she was forced to share a locker room with Thomas at the NCAA Championships back in March.

She wrote: ‘At the NCAA Championships, I saw a 6’4’ male exposing male parts in our women’s locker room.

‘To be perfectly clear, the anatomy I and many other women were forced to view, confirms Thomas is a male.’

Gaines said she then asked National Collegiate Athletic Association officials where she could change ‘as I had no intention of undressing in front of a man.

‘They informed me that there were no protections in place for me to change in a  space that Thomas did not have access to.

‘To summarize, the NCAA put the onus on the female to avoid undressing in front of a biological man with biological parts who is sexually attracted to women. Let that sink in.’ 

It’s been a big year for Gaines, who in addition to her multiple appearances on Fox News, also joined former President Donald Trump at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas, Texas.

The former president had asked the 23-year-old athlete to join him while he discussed his intent to ban transgender women from competing in women’s sports — and before she took the stage, Gaines took the opportunity to share her thoughts on the issue.

‘Basically, all I want to say is that it takes a brain and common sense and fifth grade biology level understanding to realize that this is blatantly unfair. It’s completely obvious,’ she said.

She briefly reiterated that idea at the podium alongside Trump later that evening, saying ‘I’m just gonna say keep female sports female.’