Elon Musk shares Riley Gaines' concerns as California judge bans school district from imposing policy notifying parents about kids changing pronouns

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Sep 15, 2024 13:46 GMT

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Riley Gaines has found support from Elon Musk over her recent interview with Fox News. The former NCAA swimmer had criticized the recent judgment of a Californian judge over a school district's policy.

According to recent reports, a California judge has prevented a school district from imposing a policy that would require schools to notify parents should their children decide to change their pronouns. This decision drew criticism from Gaines, who in an interview with Fox News, expressed her concerns.

In a video shared on Fox News' official X(formerly Twitter), Gaines said,

"They don't believe that these are your kids. They believe that these are the government's kids" (0:12).

Elon Musk re-shared the video on his X account, and wrote,

"The Dems want to take your kids"

This is not the first time that the two have had shared concerns on an issue. Gaines and Musk have been among the most vocal critics of the Paris Olympics. The former swimmer criticized the organizers of the Paris Olympics in particular for the opening ceremony conducted along the Seine. She joined Elon Musk and several others in criticizing the inclusion of boxers Lin Yu Ting and Imane Khelif at the Paris Olympics.

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Riley Gaines on the impact of the California judgment

Riley Gaines speaking with Megyn Kelly on 'The Megyn Kelly Show' [Image Source: Getty]

In the interview with Fox News, former swimmer Riley Gaines shared her view on the impact the judgment by the California judge against the school district would have. She also discussed her opinion about why this decision was harmful for American parents.

Gaines said,

"Who knows their children best? But what our government is telling you by implementing laws and rulings just like this is that they know your children better than you do. They don't believe that these are your kids. They believe that these are the government's kids.

"Whether it's the state level, local level, even at the federal level, these are all policies that you could expect to be implemented under a Harris-Walz administration."

Gaines has been a national-level swimmer, who came into the limelight with her campaign against Lia Thomas who is the first known transgender swimmer to participate at an NCAA championship. After World Aquatics banned Lia Thomas from participating in subsequent events including the Paris Olympics, Riley Gaines has called for preventing transgender athletes from participating in women's sports.

Thomas later appealed against the decision but lost.

Gaines meanwhile has said she worked with FIDE [the world governing body for chess] following the chess organization banning transgender athletes from participating in women's chess.

In March 2024, along with 15 other female student-athletes, Gaines launched a case against the NCAA over the participation of transgender athletes in women's sports.