Transgender swimmer Meghan Cortez-Fields from Ramapo College of New Jersey recently faced criticism from Riley Gaines. This happened after Cortez-Fields set another school record at the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Championships.
Meghan Cortez-Fields is a senior at Ramapo College in Mahwah, New Jersey. Prior to this year, she competed on the men’s swim team at Ramapo for three years.
In November, Cortez-Fields and Ramapo College found themselves at the center of controversy after she broke a school record in the 100-yard butterfly. During day two of the NJAC Championships, Cortez-Fields set a new record in the 200-yard individual medley. She ended up clocking in at 2:08.20 and surpassed the previous record of 2:10.10 set by Brenda Arthur in 2016.
Riley Gaines is a prominent figure in the debate over transgender athletes’ rights. She took to her social media to comment on Cortez-Fields’ performance.
Gaines criticized the event by stating: “Male swimmer from Ramapo College sets another school record in women’s event. Now tell me again the strides of women have made when society applauds a man for pushing us off our own podium… Title IX literally means nothing at this point.”
Title IX is a federal law that protects individuals from discrimination based on sex in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding. According to the NCAA’s transgender student-athlete participation policy (which has been in place since 2010) Cortez-Fields’ participation in women’s sports adheres to current regulations.
Lisa Ambrose is the Ramapo College’s director of communications and public relations. She emphasized in November that the NCAA enforces strict measures for transgender athletes.
She stated: “There are strict measures that the NCAA makes trans athletes go through. You have to meet certain criteria to show that you’re able to, as a trans athlete, compete with women. We are an affiliate member of the NCAA. We are in compliance. We have done everything the NCAA says needs to be done regarding trans athletes competing on the team.”
After Cortez-Fields broke the record in November, Ramapo College’s athletics department celebrated her achievement on social media. However, they had to remove the post due to a barrage of negative and insulting comments.
Now there’s a big fuss about an interview in which she claims to have refused the movement dedicated to maintaining fairness in female sports …
“I’m just a random girl from Texas who swims at a school in Jersey,” Cortez said in a 90-minute interview. “I’m OK with that. And I think everyone else should be OK with that, too.”
“I’m just living my life,” Cortez said. “Why do you care about this small D3 school in Jersey? Why is this important to you? I don’t think people truly care that I am setting records or that I am succeeding in my life. They just want to be angry.”
“I am a great scapegoat for why everything is wrong in the world.”
“I’m not a narrative,” she said. “I’m a person who lives a life, and this is my life. I’m not going to let people take control of it.”
“God made me incomplete for a reason,” she said. “I wouldn’t have been able to (do this) if he didn’t put certain people in my life — I would have never been here to experience any of these opportunities. I feel like Jesus is using me like he used others to tell a greater story, and I’m very honored and grateful to be able to experience that.”
