Riley Gaines emotionally reads remarks to lawmakers, says they have an opportunity to send a message to women

Riley Gaines and other former NCAA women’s athletes addressed Georgia state lawmakers on the Select Committee to Protect Women’s Sports Tuesday morning.

Gaines was joined at the hearing by Reka Gyorgy, Kylee Alons, Grace Countie and Kaitlynn Wheeler. The five former swimmers spoke about their experiences at the championships and their emotions watching Lia Thomas, a transgender woman who swam at Penn, change in the women’s locker room at the time.

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University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, left, and Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines react after finishing in a tie for 5th place in the 200m freestyle final at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022 at McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

As the former Kentucky swimming star read her letter to Georgia Tech President Dr. Angel Cabrera, Gaines began to get emotional as she spoke about the “sexual harassment” she had experienced.

“We did not give our consent to be exploited and exposed to a 6’4” man completely naked,” she said. “Because you did nothing, this man walked into the women’s locker room at your university and watched me undress until I was completely naked.”

“You allowed female students to be traumatized and raped in this way on your campus. Why didn’t you protect us?”

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Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines speaks at an event. (Michael Clevenger/Courier Journal/USA TODAY NETWORK)

At the end of the hearing, the female athletes were asked how to address transgender inclusion in women’s sports – a hot topic in Georgia and across the United States.

“I think the legislature should take decisive action and send a clear and powerful message: Women deserve to be called champions,” she said. “You deserve to be called champions. You deserve to have privacy in the areas where you undress. You deserve to be safe in your sport. You deserve your dignity. You have the opportunity to send that message to young girls — to win not only in the state of Georgia, but more broadly, across the United States.”

Riley Gaines, then a swimmer at the University of Kentucky, reacts after finishing in a tie for 5th place with transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas in the women’s 200m freestyle final at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on March 18, 2022, at McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta. (Riche von Biberstein/Getty Images)

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Gaines also urged lawmakers on the committee to hold everyone who allowed what happened at the 2022 NCAA Championships at Georgia Tech “accountable.”

Georgia Tech released a statement to Fox News Digital after the hearing ended.

“As the host institution, Georgia Tech hosted the 2022 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. As is standard practice for NCAA Championships, the event was administered by the NCAA. We have cooperated and will continue to cooperate with the committee.”

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Ryan Gaydos is the editor-in-chief of Fox News Digital.