Some girls would be afraid to object to sharing a locker room with a biological male over fear of being labeled a transphobe, but not Abbigail Wheeler.
The 16-year-old athlete is speaking out about privacy and safety concerns after she says she was kicked off her swim team and banned from the YMCA in Springfield, Illinois, for raising alarm about an adult male changing in the women’s locker room.
“I was uncomfortable with biological men being allowed to undress in the same space as me and my underage teammates,” she said at a Thursday press conference near the YMCA building. “Not only were my feelings discredited, but I was removed from my swim team.”
She added that “I am here in hopes that my story will reach parents, future parents, coaches, churches and members of the YMCA.”
Certainly word is spreading. Those who rallied around Abbigail and the Wheeler family were other female swimmers, the Independent Women’s Forum, and Republican state legislators with the Illinois Freedom Caucus, who scolded YMCA officials.
“The adults in charge at the YMCA should have been on her side, and they should have erred on the side of truth, logic and common sense. They should have protected the girls and the young women in the locker room,” said Republican state Rep. Chris Miller. “Yet they decided to align themselves with the radical left’s political agenda ahead of the safety and security of those young girls.”
His wife, Rep. Mary Miller, Illinois Republican, called Thursday on the YMCA to reverse its decision and apologize to Miss Wheeler and her family, who live in her congressional district.
“YMCA leadership should prioritize the safety and the privacy of young girls instead of prioritizing a left-wing radical political ideology that is allowing adult men to expose themselves in front of our young girls,” Ms. Miller said in a speech on the House floor.
The YMCA has denied that Miss Wheeler was forced off the team or banned from the facility, saying that she left both the team and the YMCA on her own, while emphasizing that state law bars discrimination based on gender identity.
“In addition, transgender members are protected under Illinois state law that says they may use the restroom/locker of the gender in which they identify,” said the June 2 statement posted on WAND-TV in Decatur. “The law also states that it is discriminatory to require anyone to use specific private changing rooms.”
Lou Bart, YMCA of Springfield communications director, said Thursday that the “accusation that the swimmer was removed from the Y and prevented from participating on the Y swim team is false. The swimmer’s family informed the YMCA through email that they would be leaving the YMCA and their swimmer would no longer participate on the swim team.”
He said the YMCA offers “multiple options for private changing spaces and restrooms for all members.”
Miss Wheeler clarified that she did not see the person without clothes nor with exposed genitalia, contrary to some reports. The YMCA said that statements about “a child at the YMCA being exposed by an adult male [are] false.”
“Any report of this nature would have been documented and reported to authorities for investigation,” said the YMCA statement. “The YMCA takes the protection of children very seriously.”
16-year-old Abbigail Wheeler was kicked off her swim team and banned from the YMCA in Springfield, IL for objecting to changing with biological men in the locker room
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 13, 2023
A HUGE crowd showed up to the @ILFreedomCaucus‘ press conference with Abbigail outside the YMCA where it… pic.twitter.com/3doSmWvNzD
Interestingly, Miss Wheeler is not the first member of her family to find herself in a women’s locker room with an adult male who identifies as female.
Her older sister Kaitlynn Wheeler competed for the University of Kentucky at the 2022 NCAA Division I swimming championships, where the University of Pennsylvania’s Lia Thomas became the first male-born athlete to win an NCAA Division I women’s title.
Kaitlynn Wheeler, whose teammates included Riley Gaines, called her sister’s situation “infuriating and disheartening.”
“My family has been impacted by this twice now on two completely separate, non-related instances,” said Kaitlynn Wheeler. “I know that we’re not the first, nor will we be the last, if something isn’t done.”
Abbigail said she was in the locker room on April 27 when she noticed a man on a changing bench, which made her “scared and upset.” She notified a YMCA official and her coach, who told her “there was nothing he could do.”
“When I asked my coach how long they knew that biological men were changing in the women’s locker room, I was laughed at, and was told that transgenders have been around a long time,” she said. “I replied, that is not what I asked, and restated the question.”
She and a fellow teammate decided to warn other girls and women by hanging up signs in the locker room with the messages, “Women’s Rights,” “Biological Women Only,” and “Safe Sport.”
The next day at practice, she said, the coach and a YMCA official “pulled the girls’ team aside telling us hateful messages were hung in the women’s locker room. They said these signs were considered hate speech, discriminatory and disrespectful.”
Abbigail and her teammate took responsibility for the signs and argued that the policy of allowing males who identify as females into the women’s locker room was inconsistent with the YMCA’s Christian values.
“He [the coach] responded to me by saying it would no longer be appropriate for us to practice with the team, and the YMCA would be in contact with our families, and we were sent home,” Abbigail said.
Also speaking at the press conference was former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Paula Scanlan, who urged the YMCA to reconsider its policy, saying that “males have no place in women’s locker rooms among females, especially minors.”
She also read a statement from Riley Gaines, a spokesperson for the Independent Women’s Forum, who asked why women “are being made to feel guilty for not wanting to undress in front of while simultaneously being exposed to a naked male?”
“Why are we called transphobic for simply wanting fairness and equal opportunity in our sports?” said the Gaines statement. “People always wonder why more women, especially the female athletes directly impacted by these issues, aren’t speaking up. This is why. They don’t want to be labeled a bigot.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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