Swimmer Riley Gaines, an outspoken advocate against transgender athletes in women’s sports, bashed a letter allegedly sent to the Harvard swim team gaslighting them about competing with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.
Lia Thomas, a man living as a woman, became a household name in 2022 after he dominated the competition while competing against females, winning first place in the women’s 500-yard freestyle event in the NCAA’s swimming championship. At the height of the controversy, members of the Harvard swim team were allegedly given a letter essentially gaslighting them about competing with a man.
“The conversations and controversy surrounding Lia have been challenging to read,” the letter said before going on to argue that teammates should set aside their “personal” beliefs and let Thomas compete.
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas accepts the winning trophy for the 500 Freestyle finals during the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 17th, 2022, at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“Regardless of your personal stance, Lia has been incredibly transparent and is abiding by all NCAA rules. That is a fact,” it said.
“Life is more important than politics,” it continued. “While we will never tell you what to do or what to believe, it doesn’t benefit out team from winning a championship if we spend our collective energy getting annoyed or frustrated. Let the NCAA figure out their next steps. Let us focus on our team. And if any press reaches out, then please direct them to our Sports Media Office and ideally, refrain from comment.”
Riley Gaines, who gained access to the letter, mocked it on Twitter, translating it to say what it actually meant.
“Let me emotionally blackmail you into accepting mistreatment because otherwise, you are complicit in a potential death,” said Gaines mockingly. “Exchanging your fair treatment for someone else’s benefit (a male in this case) is a justifiable cause. And the fair treatment of women is ‘just politics’ anyway.”
University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing tied for 5th in the 200 Freestyle finals at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18th, 2022, at the McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta, Georgia. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“While we won’t tell you what to do, we’re telling you it is a bad choice to fight this. Let the men in charge at the NCAA decide your fate. Immerse your thoughts and feelings into something else to ignore the obvious injustice you face. Let other people decide if you are worthy of fair competition without your input or voice. Oh, and finally don’t talk,” she added.
A swimmer from Harvard shared this message that was sent to their entire team surrounding the Lia Thomas controversy. Here is the translation of the message they’re communicating…
“Let my divert your attention from inherently feeling like something is wrong, by asking you to… pic.twitter.com/9yrN1ekuNN
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) June 20, 2023
Lia Thomas not only won the NCAA championship event but also received a nomination for the NCAA “Woman of the Year” award but lost the bid after significant backlash. Thomas also expressed support for the Biden administration’s proposed change to Title IX that will effectively ban schools K-8 from protecting women’s sports from transgender athletes.
“I’m a transgender woman, a former college swimmer, and the first trans athlete to be named Division I NCAA champion,” Thomas said in a video. “I started swimming when I was five years old and it has given me so much. It has given me so many opportunities to learn, grow, develop and connect with my peers — opportunities I wouldn’t have gotten if I didn’t have access to athletics. That’s why it breaks my heart to see trans kids across the country lose out on these opportunities.”
“The Department of Education has proposed a new rule for Title IX regarding transgender athletes; this rule would prohibit blanket bans on transgender kids, especially in grades K through 8. However, it would not prohibit discrimination against trans kids in the high school and college levels under the guise of competitive fairness,” Thomas added.
Lia Thomas mentions that the bill allows for “discrimination against trans kids in the high school and college levels under the guise of competitive fairness” and asks followers to comment “demanding equal protection for all transgender athletes” pic.twitter.com/QaDEa45U0j
— boysvswomen.com (@boysvswomen) April 18, 2023
Paul Roland Bois joined Breitbart News in 2021. He also directed the award-winning feature film, EXEMPLUM, which can be viewed on Tubi, Google Play, YouTube Movies, or Vimeo on Demand. Follow him on Twitter @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.