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Riley Gaines vs. transgender people

Riley Gaines is a former college athlete, sex segregationist, and anti-transgender activist. Gaines parlayed competing with trans swimmer Lia Thomas into a lucrative conservative media career. Gaines gone on to be a prominent opponent of transgender athletes in sex-segregated competitive sports.

Gaines is affiliated with several anti-trans groups, including Independent Women’s Forum, Our Bodies, Our Sports. and XX-XY Athletics.

Background

Riley Marie Gaines was born April 21, 2000 in Nashville, Tennessee to Brad and Telisha Gaines. Gaines attended Station Camp High School in Gallatin, Tennessee. After failing to qualify at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, Gaines attended University of Kentucky. At the 2021 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, Gaines earned seventh in the 200 freestyle and second in the 4 × 200 freestyle relay. Gaines is a 12-time All-American and three-time Southeastern Conference champion.

Gaines married Louis Barker in 2022 and has since used the name Riley Gaines Barker.

Anti-trans activism

At the 2022 NCAA Women’s Swimming & Diving Championships, Gaines tied for fifth place in the 200 freestyle with trans swimmer Lia Thomas. Thomas later became the first openly trans woman champion in the NCAA women’s division after winning the 500-yard freestyle.

At the time, Gaines told The Daily Wire: “I am in full support of her and full support of her transition and her swimming career… because there’s no doubt that she works hard too, but she’s just abiding by the rules that the NCAA put in place, and that’s the issue.”

From 2023 to 2025, Gaines was titular head of the Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute. Gaines has spoken at conferences for anti-trans group Independent Council on Women’s Sports and is supported by Eagle Forum.

Anti-trans legislation under the title the Riley Gaines Act has been signed into law in Georgia and West Virginia.

References

Shellenberger, Michael; Woodhouse, Leighton (April 10, 2023). VIDEO: “Oh my God” – San Francisco Students React To Trans “Kidnapping” Of Swimmer Riley Gaines. Public https://public.substack.com/p/video-oh-my-god-san-francisco-students

Olohan, Mary Margaret (March 23, 2022). ‘I Left There With No Trophy’: NCAA Female Swimmer Who Tied For Fifth With Trans Athlete Says Officials Put Lia Thomas Ahead Of Her. Daily Wire https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-left-there-with-no-trophy-ncaa-female-swimmer-who-tied-for-fifth-with-trans-athlete-says-officials-put-lia-thomas-ahead-of-her

Selected published work by Gaines

Gaines, Riley (2024). Swimming Against the Current. Center Street, ISBN 9781546007449

Gaines, Riley (December 5, 2023). Testimony before the House Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial
Services: “The Importance of Protecting Female Athletics and Title IX.” https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Testimony-Gaines.pdf

Gaines, Riley (June 21, 2023). Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/2023-06-21_-_testimony_-_gaines.pdf

Media

Ben Shapiro (June 10, 2025). Ben Shapiro Interviews Riley Gaines About Her Viral Feud With Simone Biles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWCVd-1yNDY

The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe (July 31, 2024). Examining the Lia Thomas “Incident” with Riley Gaines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYkvEyLECd8

The Rubin Report with Sage Steele (April 26, 2024). Riley Gaines Makes Sage Steele Go Quiet with Never-Before-Told Details of Lia Thomas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lreItfRxCeE

Joe Rogan Experience with Joe Rogan (March 7, 2024). #2115 – Riley Gaines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-kinevyxJg

Eagle Forum (October 10, 2023). Riley Gaines: Women’s Sports and Private Spaces are for Women Only! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdChbVlwSNk

Club Random with Bill Maher (August 5, 2023). Riley Gaines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw0BtFnrW6g

Josh Hawley (June 21, 2023). Sen. Hawley Questions Female Sports Advocate Riley Gaines On Competing Against Transgender Athletes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sc-dpoFi70

Jordan B. Peterson (May 11, 2023). Narcissists, Frauds & Enablers: The Death of Women’s Sports | Riley Gaines | EP 356. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08DSMeEpQyY

Fox News (April 6, 2022). Female swimmer who tied Lia Thomas speaks out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-MKufBgav0

Resources

Riley Gaines (rileygaines.com)

Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)

GLAAD Accountability Project (glaad.org/gap)

America First Policy Institute (americafirstpolicy.com)

  • Riley Gaines, Vice Chair, America First Athletes Coalition
  • americafirstpolicy.com/team/riley-gaines

Independent Women’s Forum (iwf.org)

X/Twitter (x.com)

Instagram (instagram.com)

UK Athletics (ukathletics.com)

  • Riley Gaines
  • ukathletics.com/sports/swimming/roster/player/riley-gaines

IMDb (imdb.com)