All-American swimmer Riley Gaines will always be proud of her accomplishments as a collegiate athlete.
Twelve-time NCAA All-American. Five-time Southeastern Conference champion. Southeastern Conference record-holder in the 200-meter butterfly.
“Some really incredible things that I’ll forever be proud of,” she said.
“But my senior year, we were unfairly matched against a man who swam three years prior on the men’s team at University of Pennsylvania before deciding to switch to the women’s team,” Gaines, who has been a vocal critic of allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports, said Monday night at a private dinner hosted by Independent Women’s Forum.
Gaines is an ambassador for Independent Women’s Voice, a sister organization of Independent Women’s Forum. Both praised and criticized for her advocacy, she will headline a Women’s Rights Rally at the Roundhouse at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Gaines was making headlines even before her arrival.
In an op-ed published in the Albuquerque Journal, Gaines wrote she was coming to New Mexico, along with “other strong women who are standing up to preserve women’s opportunities and private spaces,” to thank Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, for introducing House Bill 205, the Women’s Bill of Rights Act.
The bill “defines words like ‘woman’ and ‘female’ so when it comes to laws that use these words, we are all speaking a common language,” she wrote. “The bill also declares the state’s important interest in preserving female-only spaces and opportunities.”
Gaines wrote a letter to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asking if she would meet with the group while they were in New Mexico.
“Gov. Lujan Grisham’s staff said she didn’t have time to meet with us,” she wrote in the op-ed. “That seems a real shame. Women’s rights should be a priority.”
A spokeswoman for the governor did not return a message seeking comment.
Although Gaines didn’t name transgender athlete Lia Thomas by name, Riley said Thomas ranked 462nd nationally before dominating the women’s side. Riley referred to Thomas as “he.”
“He raced in the 200-freestyle, which ultimately resulted in a tie, almost impossibly enough,” Gaines said. “But despite typing down to the hundredth of a second, the NCAA official alerted me that Thomas was to have the trophy and take the trophy home because it was crucial when photos were being taken the trophy was in his hands.”
The “unfair competition, on top of the locker room aspect,” prompted her to step into an advocacy role.
“I mean, sharing a changing space where you’re entirely exposed next to a fully naked, 6-foot-4 man, on top of the silencing aspects we face from our universities and institutions, all of this piled on top of each other,” she said.
“I felt guilty, honestly, like I felt responsible, and it kind of hit me in that moment that if I were to turn a blind eye, I truly was just as bad as the people who created and enforced these policies,” she added.
Mark Ronchetti, a meteorologist-turned-politician who ran unsuccessfully for governor against Lujan Grisham last year, said he and his wife, Krysty, have hosted Gaines multiple times on their No Doubt About It podcast because as parents of two daughters, they understand how important it is to compete with other girls “and not have that space encroached on by biological men.”
“We stand firmly beside Riley in her ongoing efforts to engage with state leaders nationwide, and we’re proud to support her work in New Mexico,” he said. “This is not a difficult decision, and most New Mexicans agree that only biological women should be competing in women’s sports, and that’s something Riley Gains stands up for everywhere she goes.”
Ronchetti said he and his wife hope Lujan Grisham would “back up her words to support women by protecting women’s sports” and meet with Gaines.
“Enough of the partisan politics,” he said. “There is so much we agree on that can benefit women.”
Marshall Martinez, executive director of Equality New Mexico, accused Gaines in a statement of making a name for herself by attacking transgender people across the country. He called it shameful behavior.
“It’s clear, because she opposes trans women competing in any way, even in chess, that she is not focused on creating an equal playing field as she claims but rather on her hatred and othering of people who have the courage to be themselves when that includes being different,” he wrote.
Rep. Kristina Ortez, D-Taos, said New Mexicans have a long, rich history of embracing diversity and accepting people for who they are.
“These values are reflected in policies like the New Mexico Human Rights Act and the Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Health Care Freedom Act,” she said. “We will not let out-of-state extremists looking to drum up publicity and spread fear distract us from these values or from our work this session.”
Sen. Leo Jaramillo, D-Española, said transgender youth experience various forms of mistreatment because of their gender identity, such as family rejection and threats of physical violence.
“We need to remember that representation matters, and we also need to remember that playing sports helps young people maintain good physical health, build self-confidence and self-esteem grow leadership skills, understand the value of teamwork and much more,” he said.
