Riley Gaines on Joe Rogan Show: “NCAA, in True Cowardly Fashion, Is Changing”

Joe Rogan‘s podcast has been one of the most mainstream platforms where athletes from various domains often share their ‘unfiltered’ thoughts. Understandably, many of those go on making headlines. Staying true to this, a recent episode of the show has once again caught the attention of the fans. It featured former seven-time Tennessee State swimming champion and political activist Riley Gaines, whose statements have grabbed the attention of swimming fans.

It is her claims to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for not holding themselves liable for certain things that have surfaced. The incident came to light when the former was advocating for female swimmers and the injustice they have to go through.

The Joe Rogan Experience delivers yet again

On March 7, Rogan hosted Gaines on his Powerful JRE YouTube channel, and the two had an extensive conversation on modern-day swimming. In a particular segment, Gaines talked about Lia Thomas and how she used to perform in the men’s category and transitioned herself into the female roster, which was unfair to the female swimmers because of the biological benefits she holds, Gaines also talked about the one year of hormonal replacement therapy that the transitioning athlete has to go through to change his or her professional category.

Furthermore, Joe Rogan asks Riley whether there is an analysis of testosterone levels or if someone is even checking if the person is taking the inhibitors or not, and the one-year HRT policy that has been there for 12 years and no one is doing anything about it, to which the former swimmer replies, “Correct, and now the NCAA, in true cowardly fashion, is changing course right they don’t want to be responsible.”

She further added that the association doesn’t want to be held accountable for this, and they have left it to the governing bodies of each specific sport, which in swimming’s case goes to the World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA. The 23-year-old has been an advocate for swimmers for years, even after retiring from the sport.

What led to her standing up to the inequity

It was the 2022 NCAA Championships, where she and Thomas finished fifth and the scores were tied, and to the surprise of Gaines, she had to settle for sixth place, which was unfair according to her. The authorities decided to present the trophy to Thomas and apologized to Gaines for having only one trophy, which led to Gaines challenging the unjust outcome and standing up for herself and her fellow swimmers.

Also Read: How Many Races Has Lia Thomas Won? Is Her Request to World Aquatics Valid?

Since then, she has been relentless in her efforts to ensure fairness in the sport for all athletes, particularly female competitors, and has successfully implemented significant changes. Her conversation with Joe Rogan implies the strong-headed person she is, and she also signifies the responsibility that organizations should hold to make sports equal for all.

Read More: Riley Gaines Reveals Ugly Side of Team USA to Joe Rogan: “Go Home Empty-Handed, End of Story”