Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines is taking aim at women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe for her position on transgender athletes.
On Tuesday, Gaines resurfaced a March tweet from Rapinoe that read, “Today, politicians in DC are claiming to ‘protect women’s sports’ by pushing a trans [and] intersex sports ban. Call your Congressional rep today to say women’s sports need protection from unequal pay, sexual abuse [and] lack of resources, NOT from trans kids.”
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. #LetKidsPlay
— Megan Rapinoe (@mPinoe) March 8, 2023
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Gaines, who has been an advocate against transgender athletes competing on sports teams that do not correspond to their biological sex, responded, “It’s worth noting that 1) you’re done with your athletic career and 2) because you aren’t sexually attracted to men, it’s unlikely you will ever have a daughter to defend.”
“To me, this looks like a classic case of virtue signaling because you have nothing to personally lose,” she added.
She went on, “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.”
I can respect opinions that differ from my own and everyone is entitled to think/speak
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 11, 2023
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.
Last week, Gaines said she was “ambushed and physically hit twice by a man” while she was at San Francisco State University for an event.
A video showed demonstrators following her down a hallway and chanting “trans rights are human rights.”
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Eli Bremer, Gaines’ agent, said in a statement, “Tonight, Riley Gaines spoke at San Francisco State University to share her personal story of competing against a biological male athlete, Lia Thomas, at the Women’s NCAA Swimming Championships last year.”
Bremer also told Fox News the former college swimmer was “violently accosted, shouted at, physically assaulted, and barricaded in a room by protestors. It is stunning that in America in 2023, it is acceptable for biological male students to violently assault a woman for standing up for women’s rights.”
After the incident, San Francisco State University’s Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Jamillah Moore said in an email to the college, “Thank you to our students who participated peacefully in Thursday evening’s event. It took tremendous bravery to stand in a challenging space. I am proud of the moments where we listened and asked insightful questions.”
“I am also proud of the moments when our students demonstrated the value of free speech and the right to protest peacefully. These issues do not go away, and these values are very much at our core,” she added.
Gaines tweeted in response, “I’m sorry did this just say PEACEFUL…. I was assaulted. I was extorted and held for random. (sic) The protestors demanded I pay them if I wanted to make it home safely. I missed my flight home because I was barricaded in a classroom…”
She continued, “We must have different definitions of peaceful.”
I have no problem with "peaceful" protest. I actually welcome it. I was grateful to see a diverse crowd in the room during my speech which I expressed multiple times. We had great dialogue and listened to each other. But that ambush was the opposite of peaceful
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 9, 2023
Gaines later shared she was blocked on Twitter by Moore and wrote, “I guess it’s easier for her to ignore me than to denounce violence against women. She won’t be able to ignore my lawsuit.”
