AMERICAN HEROES: Riley Gaines Protects Our Cultural Identity

Jan 17, 2025

Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

In this series, Million Voices explores the lives and work of AMERICAN HEROES who’ve stood up to protect our cultural identity, and shaped our social and political landscape by using their voice. 

Former NCAA swimming champion Riley Gaines is an American Hero. Before she became a best-selling author, podcaster, and leading in the protection of women’s sports, Gaines was a regular American college student, fighting to earn her place in modern athletics. Despite being on-track to become one of the top swimmers in the nation, Gaines’ work was thwarted by a biological male who believed he was a woman, and was granted a place in competitive collegiate swimming by the NCAA.

“There was no questions that we could ask or concerns that we could raise. We were told we had to accept this with a smile on our face, . . ” Gaines reflected later in an interview. “We were told we fully had to treat this person as a woman.” As she watched the crowds champion the biological male, Gaines had an epiphany, asking herself: “what in the world are we clapping for?” (RELATED: Joe Rogan Releases Most Heard Gospel Broadcast In History, Maybe)

She ignored the directive of her leaders, and decided to take a stand against biological men competing in women’s sports. “How in the world as female athletes can we, as women, expect someone to stand up for us if we aren’t willing to stand up for us?” she asked.

“I knew all season the unfair competition was wrong. I knew all season that the locker room aspect was wrong. I knew that the silencing that we were facing from our universities, I knew all of that was wrong. We all did. But it wasn’t until this official reduced everything that we had worked our entire lives for down to a photo-op to validate the feelings and the identity of a man, at the expense of our own. That’s really when I decided I couldn’t continue being silent.”

Wirestock Creators / Shutterstock.com

The Fight For Women’s Rights

Since using her voice to stand up for women’s rights, Gaines has helped motivate sweeping legislation and policy to protect her gender.

Gaines is a significant supporter of the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act(s), which are a series of bills that look to protect women’s and girl’s sports. Examples of the legislation include Idaho’s Defending Women’s Sports Act, which was signed into law by Governor Brad Little as an executive order in 2024. (RELATED: Laken Riley Act Passes As House Dems Flip Sides)

She’s spoken out in support of similar laws in Ohio, Alaska, testified to her own experience of being forced to compete against a man before Georgia‘s leaders, and sat before the House and Senate 

By President Loki – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=122049276 // Map of state laws which ban transgender athletes from participating in the sport of their gender identity, as of September 2022: [RED] Law enacted which bans trans athletes from participating in sports based on their gender identity; enforces gender classifications in sports based on registered biological sex [ORANGE] Law preventing trans athletes from participating in sport in their gender identity enacted, but currently blocked from enforcement via court order[1][2]Gaines is also among dozens of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in March 2024. The suit accuses the NCAA of violating the athlete’s Title IX rights by allowing a biological male to compete in national championships in 2022, according to The Associated Press.

“College sports are the premier stage for women’s sports in America, and while the NCAA does not comment on pending litigation, the Association and its members will continue to promote Title IX, make unprecedented investments in women’s sports and ensure fair competition in all NCAA championships,” the NCAA said in a statement at the time.

Successes Of Speaking Out & Work Moving Forward

Gaines testified in favor of an Idaho House resolution calling upon the NCAA to revoke its transgender student-athlete policy in early January 2025, which subsequently moved to the House floor with a “Do Pass” recommendation, according to IdahoNews6. The resolution comes as Boise State Volleyball team forfeited their games against San Jose State last season as one of the JSJU’s players is a biological male. (RELATED: Marco Rubio’s Son Gives Touchdown Glory To God)

BSU is among many schools that refuses to play against SJSU, according to the Daily Caller, proving that girls and women across this country have a clear stance on allowing men to compete in women’s sports, and are unafraid to use their voice to fight for what they want for the future of our culture.

And many leaders are listening.

A federal judge in Kentucky overturned President Joe Biden’s national rewrite of Title IX in early January, as reported by Politico. Chief Judge Danny C. Reeves of the Eastern District of Kentucky struck down the edits in his ruling that the U.S. Department of Education exceeded its constitutional authority.

Dozens of states had already sued over the ruling, including Kentucky, Virginia, Indiana, Tennessee, and West Virginia. Republican lawmakers in Congress are also preparing measures to ensure the protection of girls and women’s sports throughout the local, state, and federal levels of government. Much of this legislation focuses on codifying that “sex” under Title IX, means “sex assigned at birth.”

Are your elected officials working on these measures?

Not all AMERICAN HEROES see their names in headlines. If you’d like to nominate someone, whether it be a stranger, friend, family member, or yourself as a leading voice in shaping America’s future, email [email protected] with your story today. We can’t wait to meet you!

Join The Great American Revival

Did you know that it is your responsibility to tell your lawmakers what you want to happen during their time in office? Just because you voted for them in November (or maybe you didn’t) doesn’t mean your role in shaping America’s future is over. Now is the time to actually engage with your lawmakers by lobbying them to support the change YOU want to see.

Yes, Million Voices helps you with voter guides. Yes, we send letters from YOU directly to your elected officials because it’s the only way to guarantee they’ll listen to you. Yes, we publish data, articles, text messages, and help bridge the gap between education and civic action.

We want to make YOU the hero of our American story by giving you the tools you need to make a difference, from your local, state, all the way up to the federal level.

Join us in our mission to advocate for religious freedom, support fair and secure elections, and uphold the values that this great nation was built upon. Tell us what you want from the next four years, and we will fight to make it a reality … again!

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