Riley Gaines says 'transphobe' accusations carry 'literally no weight'
Riley Gaines has been fighting for fairness in girls' and women's sports ever since she competed against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in college.
Gaines has become a main voice of the movement, speaking at events throughout the nation. On Friday, she appeared at UC Davis.
She was met with dozens of protestors, though, similar to her prior appearances, who deemed that she was transphobic because of her views.
Gaines, though, says that notion could not be further from the truth.
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"It just cracks me up. To anyone who calls me a ‘transphobe’ — that word has literally no weight, no meaning, when you throw it around for my message here. There’s man, there’s woman, you can’t change your sex. If that makes me a transphobe, so be it," she said, via the Fresno Bee.
Gaines has said in the past that she understands that people may feel misgendered and fully supports those who want to live based on their identity as long as sports remain fair.
She also cited her Christian faith as to why those born male should not compete in female sports.
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"I would be remiss if I didn’t mention as a Christian myself, I entirely see this as spiritual warfare," she said.
Gaines said an "overwhelming majority" of female athletes share her ideology.
"I don’t claim to speak for every single female athlete on that pool deck. But I do claim to speak for the overwhelming majority of us, because I can wholeheartedly attest to the tears that I saw from the girls who . . . missed out on being named All-American (athletes) by one place.
"And, of course, the tears from the moms in the stands watching as their daughters were being obliterated in the sport that they once loved. And I can wholeheartedly attest to the extreme discomfort in the locker room when you turn around, and there’s a 6’4, 22-year-old man fully intact exposing male genitalia inches away from where you were simultaneously undressing."
Twenty-three states have placed restrictions on transgender females participating in girls' and women's sports.