Female swimmer Riley Gaines received encouraging messages in her fight to protect women’s sports.
On Thursday, Gaines posted messages on her Twitter page of fans in California thanking her for her efforts. They also expressed their frustrations over transgender athletes taking over women’s sports.
“Just a few of the many messages Ive (sic) received from the girls + their parents in CA whose sport (T&F) is being infiltrated with mediocre men. They feel helpless. How can you read these and think what’s happening is okay?” she wrote in the caption.
She referred to the inclusion as “discrimination against women and bullying at its finest.”
Just a few of the many messages Ive received from the girls + their parents in CA whose sport (T&F) is being infiltrated with mediocre men. They feel helpless. How can you read these and think what's happening is okay? Its discrimination against women and bullying at its finest. pic.twitter.com/pF8iUECtpx
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 25, 2023
On May 20, Sonoma Academy student Athena Ryan, a biological male, competed against female high school students in the varsity girls 1,600-meter run finals and won second place. As a result, Ryan advanced to the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) State Track & Field Championships the following week, according to Fox News.
Gaines has been very vocal against biological men competing in women’s sports.
On April 30, she slammed WNBA star Brittney Griner on Twitter over her comments that it is “a crime” to ban anyone from participating in women’s sports.
“Which NBA team would have [Brittney Griner] since apparently the overwhelming, obvious differences between men and women should simply be overlooked? Heartbreaking to see athletically successful women take this demeaning stance. And if we’re going to talk about crimes, Brittney…,” Gaines wrote in response.
On March 26, Gaines scorched ESPN on Twitter after it featured Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer, in a special for Women’s History Month.
“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 [National Collegiate Athletic Association] is responsible,” she wrote in the caption accompanying ESPN’s video.
