Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - Roanoke College's Fight for Fairness

00:00:00.520 Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line, but first...

00:00:10.980 There, the last one. Enjoy a Coca-Cola for a pause that refreshes.

00:00:18.040 Welcome back to the Gains for Girls podcast.

00:00:30.200 We have been seeing stories similar to mine, similar to Paula Scanlon at University of Pennsylvania, pop up all across the country.

00:00:40.380 And it's the same story every time.

00:00:43.040 Mediocre Man decides to join the women's team to become a record smasher. 0.99

00:00:48.040 We just saw this in New Jersey this week at Ramapo College, where a male athlete, of course, was breaking team records and the women's division, different things like that.

00:00:59.940 Today's guests have their own experience dealing with this at Roanoke College.

00:01:05.280 Their story gained a lot of attention at the beginning of October.

00:01:09.720 But of course, events happening in the Middle East, Israel and Palestine, that kind of took precedent, of course, and understandably in the media.

00:01:19.360 And so their story got covered up pretty quickly.

00:01:22.420 But it needs to be heard.

00:01:24.680 People need to know this is happening.

00:01:26.600 And these girls were warriors who fought back, which is what we need to see more of.

00:01:31.480 I think we can learn a lot from them.

00:01:33.440 So enjoy the episode today with two out of the three captains of Roanoke College's swim team.

00:01:40.740 Oh, my gosh.

00:01:41.800 It is so good to see you guys.

00:01:44.120 Thank you so, so much for coming on today.

00:01:46.740 You guys have been absolutely incredible warriors defending women's sports because, unfortunately, you have seen firsthand the impact of what allowing men into women's sports looks like.

00:02:01.900 And so we have Lily and Bailey, the captains of the Roanoke College swim team here.

00:02:06.480 I kind of just want you guys to, one, start by introducing yourselves and give us a rundown on really what went on on your team, because truthfully, it happened at such a time where there was other issues going on in the world.

00:02:21.120 And so I think I think y'all's story kind of got looked over to a degree.

00:02:25.520 And so I want to give you the opportunity to talk about how you guys are here now.

00:02:33.360 I guess I'll start.

00:02:34.300 I'm Lily.

00:02:34.960 I'm a junior.

00:02:36.040 And like Riley said, I am a captain of the swim team.

00:02:39.540 I don't know.

00:02:40.200 I guess I could say my events.

00:02:41.400 I swim the 50 and 100 freestyle and then the 100 back.

00:02:45.160 And I'm Bailey Gallagher.

00:02:47.060 I'm a senior and also captain of Roanoke College's women's swim team.

00:02:50.360 And then I swim the 200 IM, 400 IM, and 200 backstroke.

00:02:57.020 Yeah.

00:02:58.260 Okay.

00:02:58.900 For to kind of start.

00:03:00.940 So how we learned about this is in the summer, we got an email from our coach and we were going to have like a leadership meeting with all of us, the women's captains and the men's captains.

00:03:13.300 And kind of at the end of the meeting, he had told us, like, just so you know, this person is going to be able to swim with you guys.

00:03:21.720 And I mean, for me, it kind of just sent like a little bit of shock through my whole body.

00:03:28.240 And then I was like, oh, gosh, like, how do we move on from here?

00:03:32.220 And so after that, we had just talked with the women's leadership.

00:03:37.000 And whenever we did, I think we were all pretty timid as to how to talk about this at first, because none of us really knew how to say anything or what to say.

00:03:48.320 I don't know if Bailey, if you want to talk about how you felt initially.

00:03:52.100 Yeah, I was going to say, I feel like we were all a little afraid.

00:03:54.820 I was afraid anyway, because I didn't know if we were all on the same page kind of when we found out about it.

00:03:59.640 But we were all just kind of like, okay, like, cool, cool.

00:04:02.980 And then we texted to the side and we were like, oh, has anyone else thought about this?

00:04:07.160 And we're like, oh, my gosh, like, I'm so glad I'm not the only one freaking out about this.

00:04:11.360 So it was definitely when I first found out about it, I was worried.

00:04:15.660 But I don't think I knew how extreme the worriedness would get.

00:04:20.160 I was just kind of like, this might be a problem.

00:04:22.640 And then in like two weeks, I was like, okay, this is a big problem.

00:04:26.120 Um, so yeah, I was definitely worried, like, right when I found out, but I didn't realize how big of a deal this was really going to be.

00:04:34.480 So that was pretty scary, I guess, just transitioning and like having to deal with it building up and like escalating and just like that whole entire like situation building up until like we got on campus.

00:04:46.480 So for clarification for everyone, you know, this is a male swimmer who swam on the men's team.

00:04:52.680 Um, what year was the swimmer before he decided to switch to the women's team?

00:04:59.040 He started off as he swam as a freshman on our team.

00:05:02.220 So he's in Lily's year.

00:05:03.320 He's a junior.

00:05:04.540 Um, so my sophomore year, he came in as a freshman on the men's team.

00:05:08.480 And then over the summer, I think it was summer 2022.

00:05:11.360 We kind of found out that this person was going to transition into being a trans woman and, um, that whole, their whole sophomore year, my junior year.

00:05:22.800 So last year they spent the whole year transitioning.

00:05:26.200 So they weren't swimming with us.

00:05:27.400 They were just transitioning, coming to practices, but not participating, just kind of like showing their face to still be a part of the team.

00:05:33.220 And then that following year, this year is when they came back as a woman.

00:05:39.440 Then you guys, how were you as a team told that this was going to happen?

00:05:44.520 Um, and were you kind of, you know, offered to give your perspective to it?

00:05:50.200 Or was it kind of just like, here, this is what's happening, smile and step aside.

00:05:56.300 Yeah.

00:05:56.880 Um, so when we got on campus, um, we have these things that are called Friday night on the quad and we were all sitting there.

00:06:03.740 It's just kind of, there's dinner outside and then, you know, they have, the school has a bunch of different activities.

00:06:09.000 And so we were sitting there and as captains, Bailey, Kate, and I were all kind of like, do we want to have a meeting about this before we have like an actual team meeting with our coach in the room?

00:06:20.600 And so we said, okay, let's get our ducks in a row and go talk as just a women's team. 1.00

00:06:26.920 So we got that put together really fast.

00:06:29.920 It was just kind of a, come if you want to talk about this.

00:06:32.340 If you feel comfortable talking about it, we're going to be in the locker room.

00:06:35.580 So we, it was very, so at first it was kind of like, nobody wanted to say anything.

00:06:41.320 Cause everyone was like Bailey, Kate, and I had said it like at the beginning, we were like, well, who agrees with us and who doesn't?

00:06:46.940 Um, so initially us three kind of were like, all right, we don't think this is fair.

00:06:52.480 And then after that, it was like, it was rapid fire.

00:06:55.100 Everybody started saying everything that they thought, well, what about this?

00:06:58.040 What about that?

00:06:58.800 And so we came up with a list of our concerns with, um, having a trans athlete on the team. 1.00

00:07:06.200 And so that the next day, so that was obviously on a Friday, the next day we had a team meeting with our coaches in the room and we just kind of laid it all out there, all of our concerns.

00:07:15.940 And he was honestly very receptive to what we had to say, um, at the time he didn't have like any sort of information at all.

00:07:26.200 And that's kind of where our issue comes into play is where the school didn't communicate enough with him.

00:07:32.580 They didn't communicate enough with us.

00:07:34.100 It was just like, nobody knew what was going on.

00:07:36.980 So we were having all these meetings, but at the same time, it was like, no information was actually being given to us.

00:07:44.580 And then vice versa, it was very, it was just strange, but that's how we were initially told as a team.

00:07:50.580 And the freshmen didn't know about it at all until we had mentioned it, um, in that meeting with just the women's team.

00:07:59.180 And so they were really taken back, but truthfully, nobody really knew that this individual would be wanting to compete.

00:08:08.580 So it was all up in the air until it wasn't.

00:08:11.660 And it was very, it was quick.

00:08:13.080 So, so talk about kind of when it wasn't, you know, what did that look like and when did it become a reality for you guys that it wasn't just kind of like this idea anymore?

00:08:26.500 It was to the point where you all as women were going to lose opportunities on your women's team. 0.83

00:08:35.720 Yeah.

00:08:36.260 I feel like once we kind of all started talking to each other is when it started to become very real because we started to talk about all the possibilities that can be going on records that could be taken relay spots that could be taken times, just like spots on the scoring roster.

00:08:50.340 That could possibly be taken when we started talking about as a team, I think that's when it started getting a little bit scary.

00:08:56.780 Um, but a week after our meeting is when, or was it, it might've been a few days after our meeting is when practice has started, which I think for a lot of people, it started getting very real.

00:09:07.120 Luckily, um, the captains, me, Lily and Kate didn't have to practice with this individual much at all, except for Saturday mornings when our whole team's in the pool together.

00:09:15.380 But I know a lot of, uh, the girls who swim with this person through every single practice was just like having such a hard time, like watching this person swim, like just even like seeing them like on the pool deck in the pool.

00:09:31.000 And then like, just coming back and like telling us how their practice was to be like, Hey, how was practice?

00:09:36.360 Instead of like, Oh, I had a really great set.

00:09:38.240 It was all about the transgender person who was up to practice. 0.99

00:09:41.300 It really just like took everything over.

00:09:43.060 So then you guys were set to have your inner squad meet, um, which is basically, you know, where half of your team competes against the other half of your team before your season starts.

00:09:55.100 Um, and so you guys were set to have your inner squad meet, um, and you all were told that the male athlete would be competing, um, on the women's team.

00:10:03.920 And to my understanding, you guys were told you got to vote on if this is something that you wanted, um, on your team or not.

00:10:11.440 So what did that look like?

00:10:13.940 So I, I had kind of touched on all the meetings we were having.

00:10:17.080 So obviously we were going into meetings, Bailey, Kate, and I with our coach.

00:10:22.960 Um, like I said, though, the school wasn't doing a very good job communicating.

00:10:26.960 So when we were trying to bring our concerns, it was like a, I don't really know what to tell you kind of thing.

00:10:33.000 Um, so with that, we ended up having to write a letter to the individual where we stated our concerns point blank, just from Bailey, Kate, and I kind of representing what we had talked about as a women's team at our first meeting.

00:10:48.620 And then after that, the individual was not happy with that letter, obviously, because they wanted to swim.

00:10:55.540 And I mean, we said just not on a women's team.

00:10:59.120 And so then, um, after that, we ended up having a meeting with the individual in the room where we kind of got to just state our concerns to the person.

00:11:07.460 And then they also got to say to us what their side of the story kind of, um, and with that, there were a lot of things that were just not really a part of the discussion, nothing that should have been a part of the discussion.

00:11:23.560 Like there were mental health battles being brought up and Bailey and I were actually on FaceTime during that meeting.

00:11:29.160 And so we weren't able to put in like, like in person feedback.

00:11:34.960 And so it was just Kate at that meeting by herself, um, with the rest of the women's team, but the only captain there.

00:11:42.720 And so she was pretty uncomfortable with that.

00:11:45.540 But with that, the individual had said that, um, they wanted to compete on the women's team and everyone kind of was like, uh, on edge about it.

00:11:56.840 And so what had happened was, um, one of the girls had sent in the group chat, a poll of whether or not we should revote after mid season.

00:12:05.700 Um, if this individual would be able to compete with us and score.

00:12:09.840 So the idea was the individual would swim exhibition up until our mid season meet.

00:12:15.640 And then after that we would revote and then see whether or not we decided that this individual could score points.

00:12:24.060 And so that was crazy.

00:12:27.360 The fact that we had to do that, it was so, it was just, I don't know.

00:12:32.660 I was, I was sitting at home obviously on FaceTime and I could feel the tension in the room.

00:12:36.760 It was like, I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked at my phone and saw that there was a poll being sent in our women's team group chat voting of whether or not a biological man should be on our team.

00:12:48.940 Like I just, it was crazy to me, but so that was our vote.

00:12:53.560 Um, and actually only four girls voted no, like they wanted an answer now.

00:12:59.940 And the reason that every other girl voted, yeah, they had come to us and said that they felt like they were pressured into doing that.

00:13:07.160 And just because that person was sitting five feet from them, like they could feel that they were watching.

00:13:13.200 Like, are you going to, what are you going to vote?

00:13:15.180 Like, this is my swim career.

00:13:17.300 And so that's how that vote came about.

00:13:20.900 Um, but yeah, Bailey, if you want to talk about that too, cause that was a pretty pivotal part in.

00:13:27.360 Yeah, definitely.

00:13:28.280 I think just the most uncomfortable part was the fact that the person was like, okay, let's vote right now.

00:13:36.180 Like right now let's vote.

00:13:37.520 It was very like pressured and it didn't seem like anyone really wanted to vote.

00:13:42.180 And then it had to be sent like in the women's group chat.

00:13:44.540 And then I was very confident that everyone was going to vote no because of the previous meetings we've had and how like on the same page everyone was.

00:13:52.840 So to see the results and just to see the yeses keep rolling in, like I was just sitting there like, oh my gosh, like, like I didn't even really know what to think because I didn't know where everyone's head was at.

00:14:03.760 I was like, did everyone change their opinion?

00:14:06.220 And now they really are like, okay with this.

00:14:08.460 Like, did everyone just feel pressured, which ended up being the case.

00:14:12.140 Like, I know a lot of girls came up to us afterwards and was like, ah, I kind of regret like voting yes.

00:14:16.680 Like, I would just felt like in the moment I needed to, like, it was like they were staring at me.

00:14:21.580 Like, I just felt like uncomfortable.

00:14:23.640 So that definitely like changed a lot.

00:14:27.040 And I guess going back to when things started feeling real, I feel like after that vote came in, it was, it was really scary because, yeah.

00:14:36.220 Well, I think that shows the power because, of course, we hear the saying courage is contagious, but I think, you know, cowardice is also contagious.

00:14:46.320 Um, I, I think those, those two things are both true.

00:14:50.940 Um, it's kind of like the Stockholm syndrome, right?

00:14:53.460 You have one person vote no or yes in this case.

00:14:57.000 Um, and then it, it becomes a trend.

00:14:58.980 And I think you guys were truly, um, emotional, emotionally blackmailed into abandoning your gut instinct and your moral compass and what you know to be right and true and fair and just.

00:15:11.140 Um, which I don't think a lot of people, I hear all the time from people, oh, well, why don't you just not compete?

00:15:17.280 Why don't you just boycott?

00:15:18.640 Why don't you just all these other excuses?

00:15:20.660 But, um, they haven't put their, their selves in that situation.

00:15:24.680 Um, because when you, you feel burdened with someone else's mental health or whatever other circumstance that might be, it is a hard position to be in, especially as, you know, 20 year old and younger girls.

00:15:36.340 Um, so I absolutely understand that.

00:15:39.980 And I think it's awesome too, just how unified you guys were leading up to that point.

00:15:44.640 And of course, after this point, initially you guys got back unified, which we'll get to, um, this is really the only time that we've seen this, um, all of the team kind of stand together.

00:15:57.180 Um, speaking from my own experience, um, Paula Scanlon, who, who swam at university of Pennsylvania on the team with, with Leah Thomas, Will Thomas.

00:16:05.600 Um, there was not that, that unity aspect necessarily.

00:16:11.200 And so I want you guys to, to talk about what that looked like.

00:16:16.680 Um, because it's not like you had 30 or however many, you know, 17, if you had 17 people voting, it's not because you had 17 staunch conservatives on your team.

00:16:28.560 Was it?

00:16:30.320 No, definitely not.

00:16:32.060 Um, yeah, I think our team was very like diverse.

00:16:35.440 In that area, like we have like several different people, like in the community, which I thought was really, really awesome that they even had the courage to like come out and stand up for something that's so right.

00:16:45.060 Um, I think our team being unified definitely just like made so much of a difference.

00:16:50.640 And it also just made our team so much of a safe space because of all the things that was going on outside.

00:16:56.440 We could always come back into the locker room and just let it all out.

00:16:59.420 Like some of us just spend like so much time in there because we know, like those are the group of people we need to stick with.

00:17:06.700 Like these are the safe people to talk to.

00:17:08.240 So that was really awesome.

00:17:09.220 And I really appreciated that.

00:17:10.520 Yeah, it was, um, whenever we had left our initial meeting, I remember feeling like, okay, like I felt like I could take a deep breath because I knew that everyone, that we all at least agreed with the fact that this wasn't fair.

00:17:28.420 Whether or not it was, um, like people were back and forth on whether or not this person could swim exhibition or that kind of thing.

00:17:38.940 That part wasn't as important as how we all felt just as a whole.

00:17:46.100 Like we all were unified under, like I said, under the umbrella of the fact that this isn't fair.

00:17:51.300 We shouldn't have to go through this.

00:17:52.980 And so the fact that we could lean on each other, um, and the fact that we were able to just say, all right, guys, like we all agree on this.

00:18:03.960 Now, where do we go from here?

00:18:06.060 Um, that was, it was, it was a relief, I guess, to say the least.

00:18:12.520 Yeah, no, I think that's a very good word.

00:18:15.600 Um, you had your inner squad.

00:18:18.080 Um, ultimately the male swimmer did not end up competing with the women, um, which was, it was good news, right? 1.00

00:18:28.040 Um, no one was, no woman was being infringed upon.

00:18:32.720 Um, then there was a press conference, which I think this is where the story kind of got a lot of national attention.

00:18:39.940 Um, there was a lot of outlets there covering that, including OutKick, including Fox, um, lots of outlets who were there.

00:18:46.940 I was there, which it was so incredible for me to see, um, you guys standing together, um, unified again, um, sharing how this affected you.

00:18:56.720 Because we hear all the time about how this affects the other side, how this is affecting trans athletes.

00:19:02.280 But what about the women?

00:19:03.720 Um, and so you guys so bravely shared how you felt and also your parents were there and read a statement from the parents' perspective, um, which is amazing.

00:19:14.560 I'm going to insert a picture of your parents at your inner squad meet and the shirts that they were wearing, uh, which is what we need more of.

00:19:21.600 We need more parents willing to defend their daughters, whatever age their daughters are. 0.68

00:19:25.840 We need parents to be firm.

00:19:27.320 We need strong dads, strong moms. 1.00

00:19:28.920 Um, so talk about that press conference and really the courage that it took to do that, knowing that, you know, being on a college campus, it's pretty well understood that that won't always be, uh, received in the best way.

00:19:45.400 Even though you guys didn't have bad intentions, it's not like you, you have any ill will or, or, um, bad intentions towards this trans athlete.

00:19:55.040 Um, you just wanted to preserve women's sports. 1.00

00:20:00.860 Yeah.

00:20:01.380 Um, at the, so leading up to the press conference, Bailey and I actually, when we were behind the door getting ready to walk out, both of us were shaking.

00:20:10.620 We were looking at each other, like, there's no way this is about to happen.

00:20:13.600 Like we're about to, like, what are we doing?

00:20:15.940 But, um, at the same time, we were all back there, like all 10 of us were back there and we're like, okay, everybody take a deep breath on three.

00:20:23.320 So we took a deep breath together and we were like, guys, we're doing this for a good cause.

00:20:26.460 And then after that, it was like, all right, like we're, we're about to go do this.

00:20:30.060 Like it kind of, it was kind of like the feeling, I know Riley, you'll probably relate to it, like behind the block whenever you're like, okay, I'm ready to go.

00:20:36.380 Like it's time to go.

00:20:38.080 Um, so that's kind of how we felt with that, but it was definitely nerve wracking, especially because, um, the Daily Mail article came out that morning.

00:20:45.960 And so we had, oh gosh, we had reporters all over campus and they were stopping people asking questions.

00:20:52.600 And for us, we were just kind of like, like, oh gosh, we were, we were kind of the ones who got, like, we got this started.

00:21:01.120 Um, cause I mean, our names obviously were on the article.

00:21:04.480 And so whenever all these people were coming and asking questions to all these people, it was like, oh my gosh, like what, what's happening right now?

00:21:11.880 Um, and so that was pretty nerve wracking, but like I said, it was just, once we got there, it was like, okay, we're doing this and we know we're doing this for a good cause.

00:21:22.380 Like it was, yeah.

00:21:24.680 And having, I know my mom was the one who gave the speech.

00:21:28.200 And so whenever she did that, I know even just having her in the front row, like just being able to look at her and say what I was saying in my speech, I was like, okay, my mom's right there.

00:21:39.020 Like I can, I can take a deep breath.

00:21:41.100 She like, if I need something, I can go ask her afterwards.

00:21:43.520 And it was just good to have every parent up there too.

00:21:47.440 Cause it just meant so much that they even made the trip.

00:21:50.360 I mean, not everyone is from Virginia.

00:21:52.100 I mean, I'm from Ohio, so that's like a six hour trip.

00:21:56.340 Um, and so the fact that my mom made that and then Bailey, I know that's a pretty long drive for you as well.

00:22:02.040 And so your mom making that trip, it was just, it meant the world to have that support behind us.

00:22:07.700 Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course.

00:22:10.780 Um, so what was the point where the male swimmer, um, came out and said, you know, I'm not going to be on the women's team or did it come from a coach?

00:22:21.040 Where did, where did that final, um, executive decision that the male ultimately would not be competing on the women's team come into place?

00:22:29.180 It was actually before the press conference, which is kind of crazy because we already had this whole thing planned out.

00:22:35.480 So when the text message dropped that the swimmer was not going to be swimming anymore, we were like, oh my gosh, like it was like very weird.

00:22:41.740 It was like, so the, um, the swimmer sent a message.

00:22:46.260 I think it was the week after our inner squad meet and the week before or the day before the press conference.

00:22:52.660 So my timeline's a little messed up.

00:22:53.940 It was like within the week of the inner squad meet in the press conferences, um, individual sent a text message out in our whole team group meet.

00:23:01.660 So like guys team, girls team, and then all three of our coaches, and it was basically explaining that they were not going to be on the team for the rest of the year.

00:23:13.140 Um, didn't really go into much detail about why, but kind of mentioned how they didn't like how the administration wasn't giving them a straight answer on what they were going to do.

00:23:22.040 So like just how we were like really not okay with how the administration handled things.

00:23:26.980 Neither was the person on the other side of the situation, which is kind of crazy.

00:23:30.640 Um, so yeah, that's when the text message came to be, um, which was very weird because when the text messages came out, I, I thought I would feel a lot more relieved.

00:23:44.260 Like it was a, I don't really know how to describe the feeling of when it came out.

00:23:48.640 It was almost like, I don't know, Lily, do you?

00:23:51.260 It was, it was kind of like, I mean, we had all this tension and all this, I guess the best word to put on it for me was heartache.

00:23:59.640 Cause I obviously never want to see anybody upset, but at the same time, my entire team was upset.

00:24:07.240 And so going through that and all of us at the same time, feeling all these emotions and we were, we were up here and then all of a sudden it just dropped.

00:24:15.780 So everything that we had been feeling, it's like, we weren't, it, to me, the way I kind of, I don't know, the way personally I felt it, it was like, I couldn't feel that way anymore.

00:24:26.620 Like, it was like, okay, the, the individual quit, like, like stop.

00:24:31.520 But at the same time in, in my head as well, I was like, no, no, like we just went through a month and a half of every other day having two hour long meetings talking about this.

00:24:41.380 I didn't sleep for that whole time.

00:24:43.600 I like eating was a chore, like all these things.

00:24:46.580 And so having that all just come crashing down that fast, it was just, it was like, I didn't know how to feel.

00:24:54.920 I didn't know what to think.

00:24:57.400 I didn't know what course of action to take next, especially, I mean, Bailey had said that like that message came right before we were supposed to have this press conference.

00:25:05.860 I had this internal battle with myself, like, well, our situation's over, but like, we went through this.

00:25:13.540 I don't want anyone else to go through this.

00:25:15.200 Like, should I still speak out?

00:25:16.520 Should I, I was like, what, it was just so many things going through my mind at once.

00:25:21.660 I'm grateful that you spoke up because I actually went to Virginia to testify last year.

00:25:28.040 And I will never forget, it was Delegate Jeff Bourne.

00:25:30.940 Uh, he looked me in my eyes and told me that I was a hateful bigot, that I was bullying trans people for advocating for this piece of legislation that would ultimately, it wouldn't ban anyone from competing.

00:25:43.120 Of course, you would just compete with your sex, um, the sex you, you were born with. 0.97

00:25:48.940 And so, uh, and he went on to tell me, why are we creating a solution to a problem that doesn't exist?

00:25:55.200 Um, and unfortunately you guys were on the receiving end of a problem that most certainly does exist.

00:26:01.920 Um, so hopefully your situation can of course be used to, um, propagate this issue, um, you know, persuade people onto our side to see how this is harmful to women. 0.96

00:26:13.900 Um, as you said, Lily, you know, not eating, not sleeping.

00:26:17.160 I mean, it's, it's really, it's torment for you guys.

00:26:20.340 And so hopefully more people can realize that, unfortunately, sometimes it takes a pretty terrible circumstance, uh, for people to realize that.

00:26:30.400 Um, but as we wrap up here, I just want to give you guys the opportunity to, you know, if you had any advice for someone going through this, which those stories seem to be popping up daily now in different sports and different states, different levels, you know, high school, college, elementary school, even.

00:26:48.980 And, uh, what would y'all's advice be, whether it's a team or an individual athlete, I guess, just have courage.

00:26:55.980 It would be my main advice.

00:26:57.600 Like I was so terrified just going into this situation, having to deal with the unknown of what was going to happen and then deciding to stand up and for what's right about the situation.

00:27:10.160 And the biggest thing that I think helped me and I think helped our team was just having the courage to do so because it was very scary.

00:27:19.160 As Lily was saying, like we were shaking before the press conference.

00:27:22.240 Like it was, it was a very, um, nerve wracking experience, but I have never felt so like empowered after standing up for something I believe in.

00:27:31.980 So I just would tell everyone, just don't be, don't be scared.

00:27:35.480 Just do what's right.

00:27:36.940 Yeah.

00:27:37.580 I'd say the same thing.

00:27:38.680 I would say just instead of thinking about what kind of helped me, I guess, is I had mentioned that internal battle I had of our situation was over, but do I still speak out?

00:27:50.960 Do I do this?

00:27:51.500 And the way I told myself to speak out is I'm like, if, and I've said it multiple times, if I have a daughter and I put her into a sport and then this happens to her, I would never be able to forgive myself because I had this opportunity and I didn't do anything about it.

00:28:06.360 And so that kind of helped me.

00:28:08.160 So just have the courage to be able to say, this is bigger than just what's happening here.

00:28:13.440 This is, this is across so many different age groups, so many different like levels of competition too.

00:28:22.360 It doesn't matter if, I mean, we're a D3 school, but this is happening all over the place.

00:28:26.940 Obviously Riley with D1, it was, it's just be able to sit there and say, look, I'm doing something for the greater good.

00:28:35.360 And I'm, I know that what we're doing is going to make an impact.

00:28:40.300 I think that just knowing that and having, like Bailey said, having the courage to just say what you believe truthfully that, oh, it just, it, it does so much.

00:28:52.860 Like I, I had no idea that this was going to get as big as it did, but now that it is, and now that, I mean, on the West coast, we had heard that our story inspired other people to stand up for what they were going through.

00:29:04.260 And so I think just that it's bigger than just one person.

00:29:09.820 So if you can, and if you have the opportunity to speak up, my advice would be to do it, take the opportunity and do it as many times as you can.

00:29:19.620 Excuse me.

00:29:20.580 No, I think that's wonderful.

00:29:22.600 Bailey, I love how you said it's empowering because truly that's how I felt.

00:29:26.980 It's liberating to speak the truth.

00:29:30.200 It feels like a weight is off of your shoulders.

00:29:31.740 And so I so appreciate you guys.

00:29:34.640 You just had your mid season.

00:29:36.360 I've been following along.

00:29:37.500 You guys are doing incredible things both individually and as a team.

00:29:41.620 And I am one of your biggest fans.

00:29:44.000 So I appreciate you guys for being warriors in the face of adversity.

00:29:50.800 That's what we need more of.

00:29:53.660 Thanks for tuning into the gains for girls podcast.

00:29:56.180 Um, like I mentioned in the intro, this is happening all too often.

00:30:01.460 And also, as I said, it's the same story every time.

00:30:06.540 Why don't we see women joining the men's team and becoming record smashers? 1.00

00:30:11.440 Uh, I think we all know the answer to that.

00:30:13.560 Um, but again, thank you for tuning in.

00:30:15.660 Uh, you can download, subscribe, like anywhere where you get your podcast, Apple, Spotify, Outkick.com.

00:30:21.540 Uh, we look forward to seeing you guys again next week.

00:30:25.560 We'll see you next week.

Gaines for Girls with Riley Gaines - November 22, 2023

Roanoke College's Fight for Fairness

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