Caitlin Clark and Simone Biles called out by Riley Gaines over silence on transgender athletes in women’s sports

Caitlin Clark and Simone Biles have been urged by Riley Gaines to join her in advocating against the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports.

Gaines, a former college swimmer, has been extremely vocal about the issue since University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas set NCAA women’s records as a transgender woman in the 2021-22 season.

And Gaines wants Clark and Biles to use their massive platforms and speak out against trans women in women’s sports.

‘People who I think would be critical to this movement are, of course, people like Caitlin Clark, people like Simone Biles, which I think is definitely a stretch, but these are women who have been able to shatter glass ceilings and break barriers, who are role models to young girls across the country,’ Gaines told Fox News Digital.

‘To have them emphatically say they [trans athletes] do not belong in women’s sports would be, the issue would be solved across all levels, like yesterday, if they were willing to do this.’

Thomas’ inclusion on UPenn’s women’s swimming team caused national controversy, while – more recently – San Jose State University’s women’s volleyball team competed with a trans player, Blaire Fleming, on the roster.

Gaines filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, claiming that SJSU’s volleyball coaches and college administrators withheld information about Fleming’s birth sex. The lawsuit was joined by Fleming’s teammate, Brooke Slusser.

Slusser, along with 10 other current or former Mountain West players and SJSU associate head coach Melissa Batie-Smoose), later filed a lawsuit against SJSU’s head coach, the college and the Mountain West Conference.

That lawsuit asked for Fleming to be declared ineligible for the Mountain West Conference tournament, SJSU’s wins to be vacated and the team to be deemed ineligible for the conference tournament.

In December, NCAA President Charlie Baker told a Senate committee that there were fewer than 10 trans athletes competing collegiately whom he was aware of.

Nonetheless, the issue has come to the forefront recently with President Trump issuing an executive order banning transgender women from women’s sports.

A transgender high school basketball player had recently been suiting up in Northern California and even scored 29 points for their team in one win.

However, the player was not present when the team had a playoff matchup last month.

Gaines is an ambassador for brand XX-XY Athletics, which advocates against the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports.

She and the company’s founder Jennifer Sey, told Fox News Digital that the company was ‘in talks’ with other prominent athletes, including Olympians.

Clark’s rookie season in the WNBA saw her cross paths with trans and non-binary player Layshia Clarendon.

Clarendon, a 2017 All-Star, came out as trans and non-binary in 2020 before retiring at the end of last season.