Gaines collaborated with Independent Women's Voice
This is an opposition to ‘biological reality’: Riley Gaines
Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines reacts to the recent ruling to allow trans athletes on women’s sports teams on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend.’
The Independent Women’s Voice and Riley Gaines plan to hold American candidates who run for federal office accountable during the 2024 election season.
The group announced the Riley Gaines Stand with Women Scorecard on Wednesday. The resource will help each prospective voter identify where each candidate stands on legislation that helps preserve female opportunities and keeps private spaces female.
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Riley Gaines attends a House Oversight subcommittee hearing on Dec. 5, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
"Every day I get messages from athletes, some adults, most girls, who are competing against men in their sporting categories. It’s not just insane, it’s heartbreaking. It’s sad we’re here as a nation, and it’s even more disheartening that we are governed by people who claim to represent us, but aren’t," Gaines said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"When over 70% of the American population believe that men don't belong in women’s sports, why isn’t Congress voting to protect female athletes from losing out on roster spots, titles, and their privacy in locker rooms? Congress has had several opportunities– just this year– to vote for women’s sports and we still don’t have a federal law that protects us. Don’t get me wrong, many elected leaders have taken decisive action, either through a vote or co-sponsorship. And the good news is that many candidates have also pledged their public support to protect women’s spaces and opportunities. But it’s not enough.
"I am proud to have worked with Independent Women’s Voice to create the Stand with Women Scorecard so that every single American can check to see if their elected officials and candidates for federal office stand with women. The Scorecard is simple: candidates either stand with women, or they do not. I wish I had a tool like this when my sex-based rights were violated at a swim meet, and I hope it makes an impact now so girls and women stop losing their rights in the false narrative of inclusion."
It’s why Gaines, the host of OutKick's "Gaines for Girls" podcast, and the Independent Women’s Voice launched the scorecard.
Tulsi Gabbard, a former Hawaii congresswoman, appeared on the "Gaines for Girls" podcast to help Gaines unveil the resource.
"It’s sad that we live in a country where we can’t just make the safe assumption that our elected leaders are going to look out for our children – the most vulnerable among us," Gabbard said.
"That even those politicians who stand on stages, tout their support for women and equality and fairness in life and the workplace and sports and in education when it comes down to this simple issue of biological males competing against biological females in sports and therefore completely undermining the heart and the core of why Title IX was passed in the first place and what has been the reason for progress for so many women and girls for over five decades this not a safe assumption to make."
Riley Gaines, left, attends a House Oversight subcommittee hearing on Dec. 5, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Gabbard said she was sure there were Democrats running for office who would be "afraid" of their voters learning where they stand on the issue.
The tool allows voters to see whether their candidate is standing with women and has Gaines’ seal of approval, doesn’t stand with women or is still unknown. The scorecard lists every candidate and current incumbent and provides those three criteria. The scorecard also provides a "battle box" to give the simple answer between two candidates.
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The scorecard has three factors that will contribute to their approved score.
To earn an approved score, a candidate signed the Stand with Women Commitment or publicly declared their support for female-only sports and acknowledged the differences between males and females.
Congressional incumbents who supported the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act or voted to repeal the current White House administration’s Title IX rewrite will earn an approved score.
Senate incumbents who receive an approved score must have co-sponsored the Congressional Review Act and/or voted to have a floor vote on the Protections of Women and Girls in sports Act.
President Biden pauses as he speaks during the AARP and Des Moines Register presidential candidate forum at Drake University on July 15, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
"Right now, [men] are competing in women’s sports, stealing roster spots and titles from women," Gaines added in a video posted to the organization’s website. "How did we get here?
"Women’s unique opportunities and accomplishments should be celebrated and protected. But too many leaders are failing us. This is a true war on women.
"Every American deserves to know who stands with women and who does not.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
