Following her remarks about transgender athletes playing in women’s sports, Riley Gaines shocked the world. Lia Thomas, a rival opponent who is transgender and biologically male, was recently the target of her criticism.
Gaines and Thomas competed in the NCAA Swimming Championship in 2023. Since transgender guys are now permitted to use the women’s restrooms, Riley has been working to change this because, in her opinion, it makes other women uncomfortable.
Please tag them so it can t be ignored! Again, the silence is deafening.
Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 8, 2023
Each day for the next week I m going to call on well-known female athletes to take a stance on this issue because silence is complicity we need their voices.
Day 2: @RondaRousey how do you feel about males competing against women?
Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 9, 2023
Each day for the next week I m going to call on well-known female athletes to take a stance on this issue because silence is complicity we need their voices.
Day 3: @CaitlinClark22 @Reese10Angel how do you feel about males competing against women?
Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 10, 2023
The All-American swimmer has been attempting to encourage well-known athletes to address the subject.She said through Twitter that she will be asking well-known female athletes to speak out about this issue every day for the next week because “silence is complicity” and “we need their voices.”
She has so far singled out Ronda Rousey, a former UFC and Strikeforce Bantamweight champion, Venus and Serena Williams, both past tennis champions, and the Williams sisters. She also got in touch with the LSU Tigers’ Angel Reese, the current NCAA basketball champion, and the Iowa Hawkeyes’ Caitlin Clark, the runner-up in the competition.
Who is Riley Gaines?
Riley Gaines swiftly gained popularity in the swimming world in 2019 and was a key member of the University of Kentucky swim squad. She has received numerous awards and has been named an All-American twelve times. Riley was chosen for the 2019 All-SEC Freshman team. She was chosen for the second team the next year and the first team of the All-SEC in 2021. Gaines finished seventh in the 200-meter freestyle competition and second in the 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay.
Thank you, @Riley_Gaines_, for standing up to protect women s sports.
We need more fighters like you! pic.twitter.com/PytFpqzrD7
Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) May 1, 2023
In 2023, she earned her degree from Kentucky, and she intended to pursue a potential career in dentistry. However, the recent atrocities committed amongst female and transgender athletes temporarily threw her career off course.
Riley Gaines was attacked by transgender activists
In the 2023 NCAA Championship, Riley Gaines and Lia Thomas tied for sixth place. While she was prohibited, the latter was permitted to carry the prize for photographs. Gaines vehemently opposes allowing transgender athletes who identify as biological guys to compete in the women’s division. She brought up the recent reform that made locker rooms unisex, which legally permits men to enter as well as allowing transathletes to use them.
Riley asserted that despite narrowly making the qualifying positions, transgender athletes may dominate the women’s division. Which in Thomas’ instance was accurate under some circumstances. Gaines, however, asserted that transgender and LGBTQ+ activists attacked her while she was visiting San Francisco State University. She claims that they harassed and physically abused her.