Swimmer Riley Gaines Blasts ESPN over men in sports!
ESPN has allegedly not responded to former NCAA All-American swimmer Riley Gaines' calls for female employees to revolt after honoring transgender athlete Lia Thomas for Women's History Month, leading Gaines to double-down on her argument Tuesday.
On "Varney & Co." when asked by host Stuart Varney whether Gaines had received a response from ESPN, the swimmer claimed she hadn't, "which is of no surprise to me."
"I will say," Gaines clarified, "I admire Sage Steele, who works at ESPN& I admire her so much because she has taken a public stance on this. Of course, working around sports, we know the advantages that men have in comparison to women when we're comparing things that require athleticism or sheer strength. And Sage has been the only woman working at ESPN to publicly acknowledge that, and so I admire her for her courageousness and her strength."
In honor of Women's History Month, ESPN celebrated Lia Thomas during a televised segment as the only transgender person to "ever win a NCAA Division 1 championship." Thomas told ESPN she's "very humbled and honored" by the recognition and hopes to give other trans people "inspiration and motivation."
Gaines, in response, took to Twitter on Sunday to criticize the sports outlet. The Kentucky swimmer has been at the forefront of physical fairness in women's sports after tying with Thomas at the NCAA championships last year.
"Lia Thomas is not a brave, courageous woman who EARNED a national title," Gaines' tweet reads. "He is an arrogant, cheat who STOLE a national title from a hardworking, deserving woman. The @ncaa is responsible."
"If I was a woman working at ESPN, I would walk out. You're spineless @espn."
VIDEO RILEY GAINES ON FOX NEWS