‘Both Serena and Venus lost to the 203rd ranked male tennis player’
Riley Gaines was a key witness at a Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to push back against efforts by Democrats to pass the Equality Act, which would add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes to the nation’s nondiscrimination laws.
During testimony Wednesday, panelist Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, refused to concede that biological men have an advantage over biological women in sports. Robison cited the claim that men cannot beat Serena Williams in tennis.
Asked to weigh in, Gaines quickly shut down the claim. “Both Serena and Venus lost to the 203rd ranked male tennis player, which — they’re phenoms for women,” Gaines said.
She also explained that even though she has more accolades and national rankings as an NCAA swimmer from the University of Kentucky than her husband — who also swam competitively for the school — “he could kick my butt any day of the week, without trying.”
Dem witness: "There's been this news article about men that think they can beat Serena Williams in tennis. And it's just not the case. She is stronger than them." @Riley_Gaines_: "Both Serena and Venus lost to the 203rd ranked male tennis player." pic.twitter.com/MSAnV6IA5t
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) June 21, 2023
It was one highlight reel among many produced by Gaines, a spokeswoman for the Independent Women’s Forum, as she told senators that gender identity policies that allow men to compete against women “exclude female athletes.”
At times Gaines’ testimony was emotional, and she appeared to hold back tears as she spoke of changing in the locker room alongside biological male and fellow NCAA swimmer Lia “Will” Thomas.
“A 6-foot-4, 22-year-old male equipped with and exposing mail genitalia. … No one asked for our consent and we did not give our consent,” she said. “… We were forced to take our swimsuit off in front of a male who was doing the exact same thing, if nothing else I truly hope how you can see this is a violation to our right to privacy and how some of us have felt uncomfortable, embarrassed and even traumatized by this experience.”