Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines slammed former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas by calling the transgender athlete “an arrogant cheat” who “stole a national title.”
Gaines went after Thomas, whom she competed against in the NCAA swimming championships in 2022, in a tweet Sunday.
LIA THOMAS COMPETITOR RILEY GAINES BLASTS THE ‘SYSTEMIC ERADICATION OF WOMEN’
Lia Thomas is not a brave, courageous woman who EARNED a national title. He is an arrogant, cheat who STOLE a national title from a hardworking, deserving woman. The @ncaa is responsible.
If I was a woman working at ESPN, I would walk out. You’re spineless @espn #boycottESPN https://t.co/DF3n5RWsmV
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) March 26, 2023
“Lia Thomas is not a brave, courageous woman who EARNED a national title,” Gaines wrote.
Gaines went on to describe Thomas as “an arrogant, cheat who STOLE a national title from a hardworking, deserving woman,” saying that the “[NCAA] is responsible.”
The 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer made the comments against Thomas in response to a segment on ESPN which honored the transgender swimmer as part of its Women’s History Month celebrations.
Gaines, who works as a spokeswoman for the Independent Women’s Forum, has previously spoken out against Thomas and said she feels an obligation to do so since no one else would.
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“I thought surely there would be someone, whether that be a coach, or another swimmer, or someone within the NCAA, I thought surely someone would stick up for us,” Gaines told the Washington Examiner in February. “That’s when I realized it’s my duty as a female athlete who experienced this injustice to really use my voice and my platform to advocate for those female athletes who are emotionally blackmailed and gaslit into silence.”
The GOP-led House announced earlier this month it would take up laws prohibiting biological males from competing in women’s sports.
Amy DeLaura contributed to this report.
