Riley Gaines pays tribute to Iowa principal who died due to injuries suffered in high school shooting
Riley Gaines recently shared her condolences for the Iowa principal, Dan Marburger, who acted bravely and risked his life to save students during a mass shooting at Perry High School. He succumbed to his injuries after battling 10 days in the hospital.
The shooting, which happened on January 4, was started by a trans youth named Dylan Butler. The attack saw sixth grader Ahmir Jolliff losing his life due to three gunshot wounds, while three staff members, including Marburger, and four students were injured.
Gaines, on her X (formerly known as Twitter), posted her deepest condolences after Marburger lost his life, stating:
“Dan Marburger is a hero. God bless him, his family, the victims, and those he acted so courageously to save. May he rest in peace 🕊️🤍”
Riley Gaines acknowledged Marburger's bravery by calling him a hero who died while trying to save others. She ended her statement by hoping that he finds eternal peace. Gaines responded to the tweet by Collin Rugg which read:
“JUST IN: Perry High School shooting victim, Principal Dan Marburger, has died after a 10 day battle after getting shot by a student with "he/they" pronouns. According to Gov. Kim Reynolds, Marburger put himself in harm's way to protect students.”
In a post, Marburger’s daughter Claire addressed her father as a gentle giant and said that he was an amazing Dad and a great human being. She also stated:
“He does anything for us kids, including driving 7 hrs round trip on school nights to catch my college games in Decorah. Stayed long enough to slip me a $20 tell me I played well, give me a hug, and head out.”
Marburger served Perry High School for over 20 years and played a significant role in the students' lives, helping them during their challenging days. In 2003, he provided support to his students in 2003 when a car accident by a 16-year-old sophomore killed a middle school student.
In 2005, he supported the community when a 19-year-old former basketball player died of cancer (reported by The Des Moines Register).
Riley Gaines expresses displeasure against USA Climbing for their delay in implementing transgender policy
Recently, Riley Gaines shared her disapproval of USA Climbing's postponement of the introduction of a new transgender policy. USA Climbing has decided to delay the implementation to reduce administrative complexities for all athletes. In the meantime, it has asked the athletes to compete in the category under the gender they identify with.
However, former USA collegiate swimmer Gaines wasn't satisfied with the statement and said:
“What an embarrassing statement. Allowing men to compete with women is neither fair nor inclusive. @USAClimbing doesn't believe women deserve equal opportunities. Keep the pressure on them."
Gaines felt that the statement was embarrassing and unfair to female athletes. She also stated that the organization didn’t believe that women deserve equal opportunities. She also claimed that the organization didn't support equal opportunities for women.