Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines celebrated the University of Pennsylvania’s decision to remove records set by transgender swimmer Lia Thomas, but thinks that getting the NCAA to fall in line will be an uphill battle.
UPenn’s decision followed a federal investigation that found the school violated Title IX.
As part of the resolution, Thomas’ medals are to be revoked, and the university must issue formal apologies to every female competitor who lost out to a biological male.
University President J. Larry Jameson confirmed the school’s new stance.
We laugh, but there's an entire political party that calls men like this "brave" lol https://t.co/ST8IUVeD0u
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) July 2, 2025
“The University will not – on the basis of sex – exclude female students from participation in, deny female students the benefits of, or subject female students to discrimination under, any athletics programs,” he said.
Jameson added that intimate spaces, such as locker rooms and bathrooms, would now be “strictly separated on the basis of sex.”
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights concluded UPenn had violated Title IX by “allowing a male to compete in female athletic programs and occupy female-only intimate facilities.”
President Trump kept his promise to protect women’s sports.
With support from @EDSecMcMahon, @Penn will now:
✅ Restore female records
✅ Update Title IX policies
✅ Apologize to women athletesA major win for women across America. Keep men out of women’s sports! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/jWhQF1Ugrd
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 2, 2025
Education Secretary Linda McMahon praised the outcome. “The department commends UPenn for rectifying its past harms against women and girls, and we will continue to fight relentlessly to restore Title IX’s proper application and enforce it to the fullest extent of the law.”
Lia Thomas, whose 2022 NCAA win in the 500-yard freestyle drew national attention, clocked in at 4:33.24.
While UPenn has now wiped those results from its record books, the NCAA has yet to remove Thomas’ finishes from its national records.
Former University of Kentucky swimmer and current OutKick host Riley Gaines, who tied with Thomas for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle that year, is spearheading a lawsuit aimed at reversing those NCAA results entirely.
In an appearance on “Don’t @ Me With Dan Dakich,” Gaines took aim at the NCAA’s silence.
Justice is finally being served! @Riley_Gaines_ pic.twitter.com/qSVRF7D34v
— OutKick (@Outkick) July 2, 2025
“While the Ivy League, the University of Pennsylvania will have to rescind his records from their account and their record boards, the NCAA, as I understand it, does not have to. So, we will see what the NCAA does,” Gaines said.
She didn’t hold back when sizing up the governing body’s inaction.
“These ‘leaders,’ if you will, have remained spineless and weak-kneed and morally bankrupt and just total cowards over the last three years,” she declared.
President Donald Trump has already weighed in on the broader issue. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, addressing the controversy in April, reinforced Trump’s order that Title IX be upheld as federal law and warned that violations could be “prosecuted.”
Gaines told Fox News that such prosecutions would be warranted. “I would love to see prosecution because I believe what is happening is criminal,” she said.
“The way that we have been told that a man’s feelings matter more than our physical safety, than our rights to participate, to call ourselves champions, I believe that is a criminal action. Therefore, I believe it is a criminal offense.”
“Someone somewhere has to be made an example of, otherwise you will have the woman-hating Democratic Party continue with full steam ahead,” she added. “I believe university officials should be charged.”
Former ESPN personality Keith Olbermann took a shot at Gaines online after UPenn’s decision.
“Wanted to congratulate Whiny Gaines on now being able to say she finished tied for FOURTH not tied for FIFTH in the Lia Thomas race,” he posted.
“Thank you! And while you’re keeping track, make sure to congratulate Emma Weyant, the right National Champ in the 500 freestyle, too,” Gaines fired back on X.
Thank you! And while you’re keeping track, make sure to congratulate Emma Weyant, the right National Champ in the 500 freestyle, too.
(If you’re insinuating 5th in the nation is bad, what do you call a man who ranks 462nd nationally in the men’s category?) https://t.co/liCRPraFQD
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) July 2, 2025
Weyant had finished second to Thomas in that controversial race.
“If you’re insinuating 5th in the nation is bad, what do you call a man who ranks 462nd nationally in the men’s category?” she added.
Gaines also recently found herself the target of Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, who took a jab at her in June.
“You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race,” Biles told Gaines. “Straight up sore loser.”
@Riley_Gaines_ You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser. You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender… https://t.co/pjpzuZ0AlO
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) June 6, 2025
“Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male,” Biles added.
Backlash to Biles’ comments was rapid and devastating to the gymnast’s brand. She later apologized, and Gaines responded with class.
“I accept Simone’s apology for the personal attacks including the ones where she body-shamed me,” Gaines wrote.
“I know she knows what this feels like. She’s still the greatest female gymnast of all time.”
Shortly after the controversy exploded, Biles deleted her X account. Reacting to that move, Gaines didn’t hold back.
– has an incredibly unpopular and morally indefensible take
– gets rightfully ridiculed for it
– issues a groveling public apology after unrelenting backlash
– deletes account to pretend it never happenedSad to see such a phenom go down like this https://t.co/AiYir3kRG5
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) June 23, 2025
She noted that Biles had “an incredibly unpopular and morally indefensible take,” got “rightfully ridiculed for it,” then issued “a groveling public apology after unrelenting backlash,” and finally deleted her account “to pretend it never happened.”
“Sad to see such a phenom go down like this,” Gaines concluded.
Biles has since reactivated her X account, though she has not posted any new content.