'Are You Transphobic?': Mike Lee Questions Riley Gaines

thank you Miss Gaines I'd like to start with you if I could um and thanks again for sharing your story I I've been touched and saddened to hear of the misogynistic and discriminatory treatment that you received from the NCAA which I regard as nothing short of shameful um you've handled it uh with with Grace and and courage and I appreciate that example that you're setting for so many women and girls across America uh your story reminded me of of a letter that I received from a constituent a couple of years ago a constituent who explained to me her own story with girls and women's Athletics she explained that she would never have been able to go to college never would have had a chance at a college education that she'd not done so under an athletic scholarship uh and and while she was in college she became the most dominant female track athlete in the state of Utah and she was a two-time All-American Sprinter who held the 100 meter record at BYU for 22 years she told me that even at the height of her Collegiate year as one of the top female sprinters in the country she would sometimes go to help her dad who coached High School track and she would go to those those events with her dad she said even then the high school boys could beat her because of biological differences between people who were born male and people who were born female so what would you say to all the high school female athletes who worry about losing potential College scholarships to say nothing of the world in which we now face name image likeness endorsements things like that all the things that they might forego as a result of having to compete for scholarships endorsements and notoriety with people who were born male my message would be that it's not transphobic to acknowledge how women deserve respect how we deserve safety how we deserve fairness we deserve our keeping our dignity it's not transphobic to say that um it's not transphobic to say that you can't change your sex sex is down to a chromosomal level and that's not something that can be changed and that matters in sports your biology that Sports is the one area where that your sexual chromosomes matter um and again I'll Echo Harley's message as well as you're not alone the overwhelming majority of people regarding this issue of fairness and women's sports agree that having men and women's sports is wrong and that it's unfair and it's a violation to again our privacy and rights to safety as women um so that would be my message to be bold be empowered and before anything stand firm in the truth biological truth are you transphobic Riley that is simply not true you hold anything against transgendered persons absolutely not I agree Leah Thomas was following the rules set in place by the NCAA and I have no problem with Leah Thomas um I I do believe there's a bit of selfishness and narcissism and entitlement surrounding this person in regards to the utter disregard that Thomas displayed for us in these situations but I have no animosity towards Thomas my problem is the NCAA my problem is the Biden Administration pushing a rewrite of Title IX that is my problem and that's why I'm here that's why this issue has become political for me because I realize that legislation is the way you curb these things um I I can't believe it's come to this but I have no hate in my heart towards anyone even the protesters who mob me the first thing that I did was prayed for them um I saw the soullessness the Vengeance the violence in their eyes and they do it in the Name of Love and inclusion and acceptance and tolerance and welcoming and embracing diversity but they did not embrace my diverse thought um that to me was what hate looked like nothing in my heart is hateful how about the NCAA did did the NCAA embrace your diversity tell me tell me what uh attempts that the NCAA made to accommodate you and other female swimmers who felt uncomfortable sharing an open locker room with a biological male nothing they actually made us feel guilty for feeling as if we were uncomfortable time and time again that's what we saw there was even a group of girls who undress in the Janitor's Closet they changed clothes in the Janitor's Closet because they felt more comfortable undressing in that environment than they did undressing next to someone with male gaze and were they doing that because they were transphobic they were doing it because they were violated tell me how they were violated I think two three four years ago some man claims the identity of simply saying they are a woman walks into a locker room a D.A would follow this man into a locker room arrest him and he's charged with sexual harassment voyeurism and decent exposure and the list goes on but this was celebrated this was encouraged Leah Thomas Was Then nominated for NCAA woman of the year which is an award that I was also nominated for but when I saw the full list of nominees and Saul that instability woman of the year was not exclusive to just women the award was immediately devalued and meaningless to me that's how they were honoring this rather than making us feel reassured in our feelings that this was wrong when you accommodate men time and time again refusing to accommodate women we call that misogyny thank you Mr chairman

Channel: Forbes Breaking News

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Length: 5min 44sec (344 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 21 2023