Sangamon Sun

Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines expressed her disappointment on Twitter over an incident involving a 16-year-old Springfield, IL, girl who was expelled from her swim team after expressing her objection to naked biological males in the locker room, Breakthrough Ideas reported.

"16-yo girl banned from YMCA and kicked off her swim team for opposing a naked male in their locker room," she wrote July 9 on Twitter. "And to make matters worse, her older sister had to go through the exact same thing with Lia Thomas. But it's 'not really happening'..."

Gaines has taken on the role of activist for women in sports after she tied for fifth place with transgender woman Lia Thomas in the 2022 NCAA Women's Swimming National Championships, according to Fox News. Since then, she has advocated for their protection of female athletes who have to compete with transgender athletes in women's sports.

Several members of the Springfield YMCA Typhoons Swim Team expressed their discomfort with transgender athletes dressing with and underage girls in the same locker room, Breakthrough Ideas reported. Parental concerns were reportedly disregarded by coaches, who argued that it would be discriminatory to deny access. In response, a few of the girls hung signs on locker room doors, stating messages such as "Biological Women only" and "Women's Rights," which upset the team's coach. When the 16-year-girl admitted to hanging the signs, she was accused of hate speech and banned from the team, the report stated.

"The coach (Alex Totura), the YMCA admin (Angie Sowle), and everyone else who told these girls their innate feeling of discomfort when undressing next to someone with male parts is really just 'transphobia' need to be held accountable," Gaines wrote.

"This is insane," women's sports advocate Paula Scanlan wrote on Twitter. "Women and girls are banned from their own spaces for opposing men being in them. If even one girl is banned for voicing her opinion it’s happening too much."