Riley Gaines urges Bill Maher to use your imagination as Podcaster asks details about Lia Thom |
Daniel Hoffman
Updated on February 18, 2026
Riley Gaines once again recalls the horrifying locker room experience where she and her co-female competitors were forced to share the locker room with trans swimmer Lia Thomas. Since the 2022 NCAA competition, there’s been a never-ending debate on trans participation in women’s sports.
Gaines, who has served as one of the crucial speakers on the subjects, recalled her experience of tying score with Thomas during the 2022 event. She claimed that tying the record shattered all her dreams and the effort she had put into the sport, as it allowed a trans swimmer in the event.
Furthermore, not only was the trophy presented to Thomas but Gaines and the female swimmers also were forced to change in Thomas’ presence. They noted that the athletes were exposed to male genitalia and couldn’t “unsee” the moment.
“Being in that space with a male, it’s like a bad car wreck.” In Riley Gaines’ latest podcast interview with Bill Maher, the podcaster asked Gaines about the details of Thomas’ genitalia. The 23-year-old at first frankly stated that she was “trying to run away from this question”. It’s a 6’4 male, “Use your imagination,” she later replied.
Riley Gaines talks about trans participation in women’s sports and how it affected athletes so far
Riley Gaines further said that many athletes were scarred from that experience but no authority came in to protect them. Rather they were told to deal with the situation and accept the new changes. Among the female athletes present in the locker room that day, few refused to change clothes in Lia Thomas’ presence and chose the janitor’s closet instead.
They felt safe changing in the janitor’s closet rather than in the locker room. Gaines said that it was a situation that she chose to “refrain from looking entirely.” Moreover, UPenn swimmer Paula Scanlan also voiced out against trans participation in women’s sports. She told that she suffered from “nightmares for weeks” after sharing the locker room with Thomas.
World swimming’s governing body has banned trans identifying men from competing with women, starting Monday! Lia Thomas is banned from competing with women. 🥳👏🥳👏🥳👏🥳👏🥳👏
— LGB 🏳️🌈 (@theLGBgroup) August 3, 2023Gaines also talks about the unfair physical differences between male and female athletes. Thomas, who ranked 65th in the male’s category, jumped to 1st spot in the female’s race in the 500-yard and 200-yard freestyle. Gaines says that Thomas’ who has a larger physique than the female swimmers had an upper hand in the competition.
After the severe backlash of the NCAA tournament in 2022, there have been numerous debates on trans participation with Gaines being an active participant in all. In June, World Swimming’s governing body effectively banned any trans athletes from participating in women’s sports. They even stated that “an open category competition” will be held to avoid such circumstances.
In case you missed:
ncG1vNJzZmiemafAtb%2FPqKmtsl6YvK57zqWwpqiZmHqvsdasZKuhnJrGbrPAoqWeq12qv6ix0maZoqScYrqitMSrZJ2dpJa2rb%2BMpaCaZaSdvK6t0majqJubmr9uvs6opGadqKWys7XEp5qeZw%3D%3D
