NASHVILLE — A resolution to recognize Riley Gaines, a conservative activist known for speaking against transgender athletes in sports, passed the Tennessee House on Thursday morning.
The vote kicked off the third day of business in the legislature and coincided with the NCAA convention in Nashville this week. Ahead of the vote, House Republicans released a statement Tuesday against the organization’s decision to allow transgender athletes to compete in college sports.
A flood of GOP representatives left their desks to stand behind the resolution’s sponsor, state Rep. Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, as he addressed the room. The resolution has a long list of co-sponsors, including Reps. Greg Vital, R-Harrison; Michele Reneau, R-Signal Mountain; Esther Helton Haynes, R-East Ridge; and Greg Martin, R-Hixson.
Gaines, a former swimmer at the University of Kentucky, tied for fifth place with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in the 200-yard freestyle NCAA championship in 2022. Gaines has toured the country to counter the inclusion of trans athletes in women’s sports and stopped in Collegedale in September to speak at a fundraiser for the Hamilton County Young Republicans.
(READ MORE: ‘People really are fed up’: Anti-trans athlete activist coming to Collegedale)