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Riley Gaines holds ceremony for girls volleyball players who refused to play trans opponent

"We knew having a man undressing next to us in the locker room, standing at six foot four, we knew that was wrong," Gaines said. "We knew the silencing that we were facing from our universities, our institutions, how really, they effectively silenced us, muzzled us. We knew all of that was wrong. But none of us, including myself, had the courage that these girls on this court today had."

Stone Ridge Christian High School, located in Merced, was set to play San Francisco Waldorf in the Northern California Division 6 tournament back in November. However, Stone Ridge announced it would not play that game just before it was set to be played, citing the presence of a trans athlete on the team.

The player who was referenced is reportedly a three-sport athlete who led San Francisco Waldorf to a California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) North Coast Championship last season. The CIF enacted "gender identity participation" rules in 2013. 

Transgender athletes in girls high school sports, and the subsequent opposition, have become a statewide issue in California this year. 

Critics of the proposed Maine bill claim it effectively allows the state to take children from parents blocking them from getting "gender-affirming care." (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Gaines, at a Trump campaign rally on Oct. 23, shared her harrowing recollection of her experience being forced to share a locker room with Thomas. 

Former competitive swimmer Riley Gaines speaks during a campaign rally for former President Donald Trump at Desert Diamond Arena on August 23, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

"I could share the grotesque details of what it was like being forced to undress, inches away from a 6-foot-4 man who watched us strip down to nothing, while he did the same, exposing his fully-intact naked male body," Gaines said. "There are no words to describe the violation and the betrayal, the humiliation that we felt." 

Gaines leads a lawsuit against the NCAA with other female athletes, accusing the governing body of violating their Title IX rights due to its policies on gender identity. 

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, details the shock Gaines and other swimmers felt when they learned they would have to share a locker room with Thomas at the 2022 championships in Atlanta. It documents a number of races they swam with Thomas, including the 200-yard final in which Thomas and Gaines tied for fifth but Thomas, not Gaines, was handed the fifth-place trophy.

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