Who Is Riley Gaines?

My VIP for this week is Riley Gaines, former All-SEC swimmer. She made national headlines last week when campus police were forced to rescue her from a mob of transgender activists. Gaines went to San Francisco State University to deliver a speech and spent time behind a barricaded door for her safety. Chris Enloe reported on the story. 

During appearance on HBO’s “Real Time” on Friday, Rep. Katie Porter (D-California) accused Gaines of using her platform to seek attention. Porter said that she “strongly” disagrees with Gaines for advocating against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. She was immediately challenged by her host, Piers Morgan. When Morgan asked Porter what was wrong with what Gaines, Porter replied, “I think that what she has done is try to turn this – we talked about people becoming – using things to kind of get likes and get clicks. Morgan defended Gaines.

That’s not what she’s doing…. All I’ve seen her do is stand up for women’s rights to fairness and equality. She actually competed against Lia Thomas, and it was obviously unfair. Lia Thomas won one of the races in the NCA Championships by 50 seconds against a bunch of biological females who simply couldn’t keep up. That cannot be right. It cannot be fair.

Porter responded that Gaines was speaking only for herself, and Morgan corrected her. “I think she’s speaking for pretty much every female athlete in the world.”

Gaines most likely appreciated Morgan’s defense, but she could defend herself. “Hey @RepKatiePorter I’m not speaking up for myself. I’m done playing sports. I’m not fighting for me. I’m actually supposed to be in dental school this year. But I’ve changed my life plans because I see what’s at stake if someone doesn’t fight for the present and next generation.”

Like many other people including myself, Gaines does not understand why Porter and many other women fight against “sex-based protections.” Where are all the women who fought so fiercely for the rights of women in Title IX? Where are all the women who should be fighting for sex-based protections?