Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky 12-time All-American swimming star who has consistently challenged the idea that men should compete in women’s sports, laced into U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe for slamming H.R. 734, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
In March, Rapinoe tweeted, “Today, politicians in DC are claiming to ‘protect women’s sports’ by pushing a trans & intersex sports ban. Call your Congressional rep today to say women’s sports need protection from unequal pay, sexual abuse & lack of resources, NOT from trans kids.” She followed by signing a letter published Monday that condemns the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
Gaines accused Rapinoe of “virtue signaling,” on Twitter adding, “I can respect opinions that differ from my own and everyone is entitled to think/speak independently, but I can’t help but think Megan Rapinoe would genuinely shiv any male who tried to take her spot on the US Women’s National Team,” according to Fox News. Gaines has deleted the tweets.
H.R. 734, which would ban transgender-identifying males from competing in female sports, states that “sex shall be recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth.” In a letter to House legislators considering the bill, 40 athletes, including Rapinoe, wrote, “Our deepest hope is that transgender and intersex kids will never have to feel the isolation, exclusion and othering that H.R. 734 is seeking to enshrine into law.”
The Biden administration is seeking to strike down bans on transgender-identifying athletes, claiming they would violate Title IX.
Last week, Gaines was mobbed by transgender activists when she visited San Francisco State University to advocate for the rights of female athletes. Video on social media showed Gaines being hustled to safety by police officers as a mob of radical transgender activists followed her, shouting “Trans rights are human rights!”
“I’m OK currently, but an hour and a half later, I’m still barricaded in a room with ambushers on the outside yelling and threatening violence,” Gaines said at the time. “As police escorted me out of the event space to my current location, I was hit, physically, twice by what I presume was a male individual. This only assures me I’m doing the right thing.”
In late March, Gaines ripped ESPN for their “Celebrating Women’s History Month” segment in which they lauded Lia Thomas, a biological male, for becoming “the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I Championship by winning the 500 Freestyle.”
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Gaines tweeted, “Lia Thomas is not a brave, courageous woman who EARNED a national title. He is an arrogant, cheat who STOLE a national title from a hardworking, deserving woman. … The @ncaa is responsible. If I was a woman working at ESPN, I would walk out. You’re spineless @espn #boycottESPN.”
Lia Thomas is not a brave, courageous woman who EARNED a national title. He is an arrogant, cheat who STOLE a national title from a hardworking, deserving woman. The @ncaa is responsible.
If I was a woman working at ESPN, I would walk out. You're spineless @espn #boycottESPN https://t.co/DF3n5RWsmV
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) March 26, 2023
Related: Female Swimmer Shreds ESPN For Promoting Trans Swimmer In ‘Celebrating Women’s History Month’