A heated social media confrontation between former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has reignited a fiery debate.
The exchange began when Gaines shared a photograph on X showing Ocasio-Cortez at a New York political rally.
Gaines accompanied the image with commentary about the state of the nation.
The New York congresswoman responded by referencing Gaines’ fifth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
Ocasio-Cortez suggested that Gaines should have focused more on swimming performance.
Gaines fired back with a pointed response defending her athletic achievements.
She noted that she finished as the fifth-fastest female swimmer in the nation at that competition.
The former University of Kentucky swimmer then highlighted that Lia Thomas, the trans-identifying athlete who tied with her for fifth place, had previously ranked 462nd in the men’s division before his so-called transition.
Thomas competed for the University of Pennsylvania’s men’s swimming team prior to competing in women’s events.
Gaines accused Ocasio-Cortez of hypocrisy in her follow-up response.
She wrote: “It’s always ‘we support women’s rights!’ until it’s a woman who wants the right to compete & undress free from less than mediocre men Keep your mentally ill men out of our sports, locker rooms, prisons, etc.”
In another post, Gaines called out what she described as selective memory regarding the competition.
She stated: “It’s always hilarious when they think they’ve landed a ‘gotcha’ by pointing out I was the 5th-fastest woman in the nation yet they conveniently forget the mediocre man who ranked 462nd in the men’s division lol. Misogynistic dunce.”
The 2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships marked a controversial moment in collegiate athletics.
Thomas became the first trans-identifying athlete to win a national NCAA title in women’s swimming at that event.
Gaines has emerged as a prominent voice opposing the participation of biological males in women’s athletic competitions.
She regularly appears in media outlets to discuss her position on the issue.
The clash on social media comes one month after significant progress in Gaines’ legal efforts.
She is leading a group of 19 female athletes in a lawsuit against the NCAA, the Daily Mail reported.
A federal judge in Atlanta recently ruled that Title IX claims against the NCAA can proceed to the next phase of litigation.
The development represents a major advancement for Gaines and her fellow plaintiffs.
The lawsuit centers on NCAA policies that permitted biological male athletes to compete in women’s sporting events.
The legal action stems directly from the 2022 NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships.
According to the complaint, Thomas used women’s locker rooms, showers, and restrooms at the Georgia Tech facility during the championships.
Gaines previously told media outlets: “[Thomas] was full naked and, of course, full intact inches away from where we, 18-, 19-, 20-year-old girls, were fully undressed.”
The original lawsuit named Georgia officials and the Georgia Tech Athletic Association as defendants.
The court dismissed those parties, maintaining only the NCAA as a defendant in the case.
While allowing the case to move forward, the court dismissed two additional claims against the association.
The lawsuit will now focus specifically on the Title IX claim.
The legal proceedings will center on determining whether the NCAA received federal funding, which is crucial to the Title IX argument.
Federal funding status would subject the organization to Title IX requirements prohibiting sex-based discrimination.
