Riley Gaines – Approaches to Women’s Sports (NCAA, NAIA, and Public Action)

This autumn marks a new chapter in the debates on transgendered athletes in sports for college students, teens and younger children.

With this new academic year, two major oversight organizations deal with collegiate sports will handle the question differently. The NCAA across all three of its divisions will support student-athletes who were born male to be active with women’s sports, women’s records and women’s scholarships. The NAIA which regulates sports for more than 250 smaller and mid-sized schools is going the other direction, with athletes playing either the male or female sports which matches their genetic makeup.

Riley Gaines, a former championship collegiate swimmer is now an advocate for fairness, privacy and safety surrounding transgender policies. She not only is a commentator for Outkick.com, she is a litigant in Title IX lawsuits against the NCAA. In this special Family Life Interview, she says she one significant change over the past year has been the level of public advocacy for protecting women and girls.

Archives of our Family Life interviews with former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines:

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• The Politics of Protecting Female Athletes (full 10-minute interview):  FLN 5/31/2024
  
• Title IX, and a majority opinion on fairness which crosses all political stances:  FLN 5/29/2024
  
• How Riley Gaines’ vocational calling began, as an advocate for women and girls:  FLN 10/31/2023
  

Also on the issue of gender, education and politics, Family Life aired a related interview 9/16/2024 with Shena Rossettie of the Twin Tiers Family Forum.

 

 

Riley Gaines recent testifying about her interactions with the NCAA and with a university president:

vimeo.com/1000850865#t=1h20m51s