Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville recently met with two former NCAA women’s swimmers who opposed transgender woman Lia Thomas competing in NCAA swimming events, thanking them for “standing up for women’s sports.”
The former Auburn Tigers head coach is a staunch opponent of transgender athletes competing against their chosen gender. He’s written a bill to block transgender women from competing in college women’s athletics altogether.
Tuberville posed for a photo with University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines and North Carolina State’s Kylee Alons, both of whom testified before Congress this week about their opposition to letting transgender athletes compete against their chosen gender.
“I will continue to stand with you — and we will save women’s sports,” Tuberville tweeted Thursday.
Thank you @Riley_Gaines_ and Kylee Alons for standing up for female athletes.
I will continue to stand with you — and we will save women’s sports. @IWF @CWforA pic.twitter.com/paXC9XtuUs
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) June 22, 2023
Gaines, who competed against Thomas in college, has become one of the leading critics of transgender women competing against other women.
“Lia Thomas is not a brave, courageous woman who EARNED a national title. He is an arrogant, cheat who STOLE a national title from a hardworking, deserving woman,” she tweeted in March.
“Trans women competing in women’s sports does not threaten women’s sports as a whole,” Thomas told ESPN. “People will say, ‘Oh, she just transitioned so she would have an advantage, so she could win.’ I transitioned to be happy, to be true to myself.”
[AL.com]
