The movement against transgender athletes in women’s and girls’ sports has gained traction among conservative politicians, right-wing media, and a niche consumer base looking to capitalize on manufactured outrage. One of the most vocal figures leading this charge is former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, a woman who has seemingly turned her personal grudge into a full-fledged campaign against transgender inclusion in athletics.
Gaines’ fervor for excluding transgender women from sports dates back to her infamous tie with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships—a tie that saw her placing fifth but somehow ignited a deep-seated vendetta against an already marginalized community. Instead of moving forward with her career or using her platform to advocate for real issues affecting women in sports, Gaines has made it her personal mission to erase the few transgender women who dare to compete.
The Profitable Crusade Against Trans Inclusion
In 2024, Gaines became the first brand ambassador for XX-XY Athletics, a sportswear company that has built its entire brand on excluding transgender athletes. The company, founded by former U.S. gymnast and ex-Levi’s executive Jennifer Sey, has positioned itself as a financial backer for female athletes who are willing to publicly oppose trans inclusion in women’s sports. With a seven-figure profit in its first 10 months, XX-XY Athletics has proven that transphobia is, unfortunately, a lucrative business.
Not content with merely being the face of the brand, Gaines is now looking for major star power to lend legitimacy to her crusade. In an interview with Fox News Digital, she called on basketball star Caitlin Clark and Olympic legend Simone Biles to publicly denounce trans inclusion in sports, as if their voices alone could silence the growing demand for equality and fairness for transgender athletes.
“People who I think would be critical to this movement are, of course, people like Caitlin Clark, people like Simone Biles, which I think is definitely a stretch, but these are women who have been able to shatter glass ceilings and break barriers,” Gaines said. “To have them emphatically say [trans athletes] do not belong in women’s sports… the issue would be solved across all levels, like yesterday.”
It’s an audacious demand from someone whose entire career now hinges on vilifying transgender athletes—athletes who, contrary to her fearmongering, make up an incredibly small percentage of competitors and face significant barriers even getting to the starting line.
The Manufactured ‘Crisis’ and the Reality of Trans Inclusion
Despite Gaines’ insistence that trans women pose an existential threat to women’s sports, the reality is much different. Transgender athletes have been competing for decades, and there is no overwhelming dominance in women’s sports as anti-trans activists claim. Most transgender athletes do not win major titles, and many barely make it onto teams due to strict hormone regulations and institutional barriers.
Yet, Gaines and her supporters have painted transgender athletes as an urgent problem in need of a sweeping ban. This campaign, driven by misinformation and selective outrage, ignores the real issues plaguing women’s sports: lack of funding, pay inequality, and rampant abuse by coaches and organizations. Instead of fighting for solutions that could actually benefit all women athletes, Gaines has made a career out of punishing transgender women for daring to exist in sports spaces.
A Culture of Fear and the Dangerous Consequences
XX-XY Athletics, under the leadership of Jennifer Sey, has actively sought out female athletes willing to take a stand against trans inclusion, offering financial incentives for those willing to put their names on the brand’s agenda. Sey bemoans the fact that no current top-tier female athlete or coach has publicly opposed transgender participation, claiming that the fear of backlash keeps them silent.
“We don’t have any currently competing top-tier athletes who have spoken out. I think that’s an illustration of how far we have to go,” Sey lamented. “It should be normal for them to stand up and say, ‘I will fight for the protection of women’s sports,’ and yet they haven’t because I think a lot of them are afraid of being called terrible names.”
Perhaps the real reason elite athletes aren’t lining up to join Gaines’ crusade is that they recognize its inherent cruelty and its role in fueling discrimination. By demanding the exclusion of transgender athletes, Gaines and Sey aren’t “protecting” women’s sports; they are targeting a marginalized group that already faces disproportionate levels of violence, mental health struggles, and systemic discrimination.
The backlash against their movement has been met with resistance, including incidents of harassment and threats. Former San Jose State University volleyball player Brooke Slusser, who signed with XX-XY Athletics after speaking out against transgender teammate Blaire Fleming, claimed she had to leave campus due to threats. Additionally, former SJSU assistant coach Melissa Batie-Smoose, who appeared in a XX-XY Athletics ad, had her home shot at in February.
While no one should face violence for their opinions, it is important to recognize that the rhetoric Gaines and her allies promote fuels hostility toward transgender individuals, leading to real harm. It’s not just about banning trans athletes—it’s about fostering an environment where trans people are treated as threats rather than human beings deserving of the same dignity and respect as anyone else.
The Numbers Show a Manufactured Outrage
Anti-trans activists frequently cite public opinion polls to bolster their arguments, but these surveys often reflect the impact of relentless misinformation rather than a nuanced understanding of the issue. A New York Times/Ipsos survey found that 79% of respondents opposed transgender women competing in women’s sports, and a Gallup poll from last year reported similar findings. However, public opinion has historically been slow to support marginalized groups, and these figures are more indicative of fear-based messaging than legitimate concerns about fairness in sports.
Transgender inclusion in athletics is not a new debate, nor is it the existential crisis Gaines and XX-XY Athletics make it out to be. The real question isn’t whether transgender women should be allowed to compete—it’s why people like Riley Gaines have dedicated their entire post-athletic careers to ensuring they can’t.
The Bottom Line
At its core, Riley Gaines’ campaign against transgender athletes is not about fairness, but about personal grievance. She lost a race to Lia Thomas, and instead of accepting that competition means sometimes you don’t win, she has chosen to dedicate her life to vilifying a vulnerable community. With the financial backing of XX-XY Athletics, her message has found an audience among those looking for another culture war to wage.
But no matter how much money or star power she manages to recruit, the fact remains: transgender athletes are not the enemy. They are just athletes—like anyone else—trying to compete in a system that was never designed with them in mind. The real integrity of women’s sports will be preserved not by exclusion, but by making sports more accessible and equitable for all athletes, regardless of gender identity.
