“I didn't lose to the 6-foot-4 male cosplaying as a woman”- Riley Gaines defends her Nebraska speech on trans athletes in women’s sports
Swimmer Riley Gaines recently fired back at a social media user who trolled the 23-year-old after she delivered a speech at Nebraska.
On Sunday, Gaines spoke to 1,000 people at an event about the issue of transgender women athletes entering sports categories made for women athletes.
During the speech, she shared her experience of competing against transgender athletes and losing due to unfair competition rules.
Gaines referred to her competition with Lia Thomas, a transgender woman at the University of Kentucky in the 2022 NCAA Championships. Both the swimmers were tied for fifth place in the 200-meter freestyle. She felt that it was unfair for women athletes to compete against trans women athletes who were biologically male.
However, when she complained about the issue, she received no support. That’s how Riley Gaines decided to protest vocally about the participation of trans athletes in women's sports.
Learning about her speech, one of the Twitter users shared Riley Gaines’s speech covered by Lincoln Journal Star and wrote:
"It can be hard, when we're young, to not win a trophy sometimes. But we grow up and realize it’s not the end of the world and we don't need to turn that loss into our entire personality."
The swimmer did not step away from giving it back to the troller. She reshared the troller’s tweet and wrote:
"And by the way, I didn't lose to the 6'4" male cosplaying as a woman We tied the "sore loser" argument doesn't work here but good try. Back to the drawing board of how you can make excuses to continue denying females' worth and value."
Riley Gaines criticizes the government for its gender equality message
Ever since Riley Gaines' disappointing experience at the 2022 NCAA Championships, she has been fighting for states in the country to adapt to the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act Bill.
While many states have accepted the bill, in April 2022, the Biden government made headlines for planning to veto it.
Recently, a video of Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on Twitter delivering a speech on gender equality and promoting democracy and freedom in the country. She also added:
"People are tired and frustrated and at times, sacred. Scared that we risk losing their rights we fought so hard to win. Do we stand or do we fight? This is about the rights of women. This is about the future of our nation."
However, the vice president’s speech did appeal the swimmer. She immediately shared the video and expressed her opinion, stating:
"Scared of losing the rights we fought so hard to win" this is satire, right? Bc I know you cant possibly be referencing women when you're actively taking away our rights to privacy, safety, and equal opportunity. Sports, prisons, domestic violence shelters, sororities..."