• Latest
  • All
Teen swimmer stands up for women’s rights amid controversy at Illinois YMCA

Teen swimmer stands up for women’s rights amid controversy at Illinois YMCA

July 24, 2023
This Day in Conservative History: Pope John Paul II elected

This Day in Conservative History: Pope John Paul II elected

October 16, 2025
Turkish government labels Christians as “national security dangers”

Turkish government labels Christians as “national security dangers”

October 16, 2025
European conference calls for support and protections for motherhood

European conference calls for support and protections for motherhood

October 16, 2025
Alito scolds lower court for avoiding child gender transition cases

Alito scolds lower court for avoiding child gender transition cases

October 16, 2025
Republicans demand Netflix respond to outrage over transgender content

Republicans demand Netflix respond to outrage over transgender content

October 16, 2025
This Day in Conservative History: Baby Loss Awareness Day

This Day in Conservative History: Baby Loss Awareness Day

October 15, 2025
This image was originally posted to Flickr by Gage Skidmore at https://flickr.com/photos/22007612@N05/52250567681. It was reviewed on 30 July 2022 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-sa-2.0.

Josh Hawley advocating legislation banning federal funding of abortion and gender transitions

October 15, 2025
Colorado gives more than 500 people who suffered from eating disorders suicide drugs

Colorado gives more than 500 people who suffered from eating disorders suicide drugs

October 15, 2025
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Creator: Ted Eytan

Report shows falling number of youth who identify as transgender

October 15, 2025
Leftist put on bizarre nude display in ICE protest

Leftist put on bizarre nude display in ICE protest

October 15, 2025
  • About iFamNews
  • Contact

Navigation Button Subscribe

  • Subscribe
October 16, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
  • English
    • Italiano
    • Español
    • Français
    • Deutsch
    • Polski
    • српски
    • Русский
    • Hrvatski

Navigation Button Donate

  • Donate
International Family News Network (IFN)
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • Life
  • Family
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Science
  • Shows
  • Petitions
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
International Family News Network (IFN)
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • Life
  • Family
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Science
  • Shows
  • Petitions
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
International Family News Network (IFN)
No Result
View All Result

Teen swimmer stands up for women’s rights amid controversy at Illinois YMCA

IFN English by IFN English
July 24, 2023
in Foreground, Politics
688
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Teen swimmer stands up for women’s rights amid controversy at Illinois YMCA
Share on FacebookShare on WhatsAppShare on TelegramShare on TwitterShare on WeChat

A 16-year-old swimmer from Illinois, Abigail Wheeler, recently faced criticism for expressing concerns about the presence of biological males in the girls’ locker room at a Springfield YMCA. Rather than being hateful, Wheeler was advocating for the rights of women and their safety in their private spaces. Along with a teammate, she posted signs reading “Women’s Rights,” “Biological Women Only,” and “SafeSport,” intending to notify other girls about the presence of biological males in the locker room.

After sharing her actions with her coach, Wheeler was seemingly excluded from her swim team. However, the local YMCA chapter’s communications director argued that Wheeler left voluntarily, citing repeated false claims made since May. Wheeler disputed this assertion, firmly stating that she did not leave on her own accord but was essentially forced out of her team.

In a show of solidarity, Riley Gaines, an advocate for female athletes and a University of Kentucky swimming alumna, commended Wheeler on national television. Gaines lauded Wheeler’s courage for standing up for herself and her teammates at such a young age, pointing out her invaluable role as a vocal advocate for female athletes.

Wheeler’s father revealed to a podcast host that the controversy began in April, when his daughter noticed two biological males in the women’s locker room. Despite the family’s repeated efforts to challenge this policy and propose reasonable solutions such as private bathrooms for trans athletes, the YMCA and Wheeler’s coach did not take any action. This dismissal of their concerns led Wheeler to take a stand by putting up the aforementioned signs.

Additionally, Gaines drew attention to the fact that Wheeler’s sister, Kaitlynn, had faced a similar situation with trans athlete Lia Thomas. Kaitlynn, who is also a University of Kentucky swimming alumna and a former teammate of Gaines, expressed her support and admiration for her sister’s bravery. Gaines called out the hypocrisy of Wheeler’s coach, who ignored the genuine concerns of his female athletes despite having a daughter himself. She strongly argued that the situation requires a deeper conversation about the rights and safety of real female athletes.

Tags: gender ideologyLGBT ideologyLGBT+Transgenderism
IFN English

IFN English

Articles published by the English iFamNews editorial team.

Discussion about this post

Popular News

  • Leftist put on bizarre nude display in ICE protest

    Leftist put on bizarre nude display in ICE protest

    0 shares 354 VIEWS
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Report shows falling number of youth who identify as transgender

    0 shares 190 VIEWS
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Colorado gives more than 500 people who suffered from eating disorders suicide drugs

    0 shares 152 VIEWS
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trump administration cuts programs funding LGBT ideology

    0 shares 117 VIEWS
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Foster family faced punishment from Massachusetts for Christian faith

    0 shares 80 VIEWS
    Share 0 Tweet 0

IFN – International Family News Network

© 2022 IFN – International Family News - All Rights Reserved.

Quick Links

  • About iFamNews
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Subscribe

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • Life
  • Family
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Science
  • Shows
  • Petitions
  • Subscribe
  • Donate

  • en English
  • it Italiano
  • es Español
  • fr Français
  • de Deutsch
  • pl Polski
  • sr српски
  • ru Русский
  • hr Hrvatski
  • Login
  • Sign Up

© 2022 IFN – International Family News - All Rights Reserved.