Read the Dragon Chronicle’s breakdown of the lawsuit HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gaines is known for her athletic career at the University of Kentucky, where she won multiple championships and was a 12x All-American swimmer. After graduating in 2022, Gaines strayed from her initial plan of going to dental school to pursue a newfound passion of hers: advocacy. \u201cThe purpose of this tour is to revitalize and engage the youth,\u201d Gaines told the Dragon Chronicle in an exclusive sit-down interview before the event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to say the things that I\u2019ve been saying – which is honestly just merely saying that there are two sexes and you can’t change your sex. I understand that\u2019s a difficult thing to say and it\u2019s considered brave, so just inspiring younger people cause ultimately it\u2019s our future that\u2019s at stake,\u201d she continued, telling us what revitalization she hopes the Reclaim Feminism Campus Tour tour will bring to college students across the country. Gaines is an activist advocating for the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) to exclude transgender athletes from participating with cisgender athletes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When we asked Gaines how she responds to backlash of her work, she stressed to us that she is not \u201canti-trans\u201d but is \u201cpro-women.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n In the days leading up to the event, posters and signs were posted throughout campus. On Thursday (4\/18) afternoon, there was a big beach ball outside Corey Union. This was dubbed the \u2018free speech ball\u2019, and there were representatives from Gaines\u2019 team promoting the speaking event and encouraging students walking by to write anything they wanted on the ball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Notable entries from SUNY Cortland\u2019s own included \u201cLove is love,\u201d \u201cF*** Jake Gyllenhaal,\u201d \u201cDon\u2019t go to Texas, grass catches on fire,\u201d and \u201cKeep on going you got this.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gaines\u2019 journey in advocating for the separation of transgender athletes from cisgender athletes began after competing in the 2022 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship. It was in this race that Gaines tied for fifth place with University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, a transgender athlete, who uses she\/her pronouns.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n During the talk to SUNY Cortland students and community members, attended by around 200 people, Gaines went into depth about this occurrence. She detailed how in the weeks leading up to the race, she and her teammates didn\u2019t even think Thomas would be allowed to compete. Gaines claimed she and other swimmers were \u201cin the dark\u201d about Lia Thomas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The 200-yard freestyle championship ended with Thomas and Gaines in a tie for 5th place, an impressive feat in swimming, which is timed down to the hundredth of a second. Then, Gaines told the audience how she lost out on receiving a trophy from the NCAA officials, who allegedly told Gaines that Thomas was the one who had to be pictured with it on the podium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gaines described this experience as \u201cA photo-op to validate the feelings of a man at the expense of our own [women].\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the NCAA championships, Gaines noted that athletes were uncomfortable sharing a locker room with Thomas, calling the experience \u201ctraumatic\u201d for her and many teammates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gaines is currently one of 16 athletes suing the NCAA for violating Title IX. The lawsuit details the shock Gaines and other swimmers felt when they learned they would have to share a locker room with Thomas at the championships in Atlanta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The lawsuit said the plaintiffs “bring this case to secure for future generations of women the promise of Title IX that is being denied them and other college women” by the NCAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWatching the national championships that I was a part of, and of course, Lia Thomas was a part of, the NCAA saw how this [the regulations for transgender athletes to compete] was blatantly unfair – as proven by the outcome and the results there,\u2019 Gaines told us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 2022, the NCAA has changed course and now leaves it up to each specific sport governing body to make their own policies, which Gaines says \u201cshows you how they [the NCAA] don\u2019t want any accountability\u2026 which to me shows me that they know they were wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NAIA, a division made up of mostly smaller private schools, voted in an overwhelming majority to bar transgender women from competing in female sports altogether.<\/a> Gaines told us she hopes the NCAA follows suit in the vote next week on April 25th, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon returning from the national championships, Gaines says the University of Kentucky swim team had to go to \u2018sensitivity training\u2019 for pronoun usage, describing her discomfort in learning how to use she\/her and he\/him pronouns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/sites.cortland.edu\/dragon-chronicle\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/04\/GLPWK11XwAAcXwD-1024x1024.jpg\")
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