Locker Room Wars: High School Girls Basketball Team Retreats Over Transgender Athlete — Riley Gaines Speaks Out. Tensions flared when a high school girls basketball team refused to play — or even share a locker room — with a transgender athlete, sparking a nationwide outcry. Now, former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines is adding fuel to the fire, criticizing policies that allow biological males to compete against females. What really happened behind the scenes, and could this spark a turning point in the debate over gender in sports?

Riley Gaines recently slammed a high school basketball player named Henry Hanlon, who she called male, for putting up strong performances in women’s matches.

On Thursday, January 18, 2024, the San Francisco Waldorf High School girls basketball team dominated the Jewish Community with 54-22 points. Hanlon alone scored 24 points in the faceoff.

Hanlon is a junior and a three-sport athlete, participating in girls basketball, soccer, and volleyball. Ranking fourth in basketball in California’s North Coast Section with 2.08 points per game, the three-sport athlete led the San Francisco Waldorf High School to the CIF North Coast Championship in Volleyball last season.

Gaines took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to slam Hanlon, stating that the athlete scored more than 1/3 of the team’s points in three consecutive games.

“Male player, Henry Hanlon, scored 26 pts in girls high school basketball game last week in San Francisco. This is the third consecutive game where he’s scored more than 1/3 of the team’s points,” she wrote.

“The emperor wears no clothes,” the former NCAA swimmer added.

The former University of Kentucky swimmer has been a vehement supporter of women’s safety in sports since the 2022 NCAA Championship. At that event, she and Lia Thomas tied for fifth place in the women’s 200-yard freestyle event but only Thomas, the transgender athlete, was presented with an award.

Riley Gaines advocates for the exclusion of trans athletes from women’s sports.

A few days ago, Riley Gaines lauded the Averroes High School girls basketball team that refrained from competing against the San Francisco Waldorf High School in California’s Bay Area due to the participation of a transgender athlete.

The girls’ high school basketball team, which mainly consisted of Muslim girls, not only refused to compete against the trans athlete but also denied using the same locker room.

Gaines took to X to inform the fans about the incident, initially brought to light by Women Are Real, and applauded the girls for taking a stand.

“Good on these girls. Don’t participate in the farce,” Gaines wrote

Days after praising the girls, Riley Gaines shared a picture of the team’s captain, the transgender player, and wrote a sarcastic remark.

“Picture of the male in question who also happens to be captain of the team. I don’t know what would give it away that he’s a boy. Couldn’t be his wing span, foot size, height, or muscular definition.”