Former college swimmer Riley Gaines called out Megan Rapinoe for speaking out against potential transgender sports bans.
Gaines has been a staunch advocate for banning biological males from competing in women’s athletics, resulting in accusations of transphobia by many critics. She most recently made headlines after she was ambushed by protestors at San Francisco State University, where she was scheduled to speak. She claimed she was assaulted and plans to pursue legal action, although police made no arrests and are not currently investigating the incident.
On Tuesday, Gaines decided to turn her attention to Rapinoe, one of the leaders of the US soccer team that won the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Rapinoe urged people on Twitter to “Call your Congressional rep today to say women’s sports need protection from unequal pay, sexual abuse & lack of resources, NOT from trans kids” on March 8.Gaines took exception to the month-old tweet.
“It’s worth noting that 1) you’re done with your athletic career and 2) because you aren’t sexually attracted to men, it’s unlikely you will ever have a daughter to defend,” Gaines said Tuesday morning, oddly suggesting Rapinoe could never have children. “To me, this looks like a classic case of virtue signaling because you have nothing to personally lose.”Immediately after, Gaines followed up with another tweet accusing Rapinoe of being capable of extreme measures to protect her roster spot.
“I can respect opinions that differ from my own and everyone is entitled to think/speak independently,” Gaines said, “but I can’t help but think Megan Rapinoe would genuinely shiv any male who tried to take her spot on the US Women’s National Team.”Rapinoe also made headlines when she and her partner, WNBA legend Sue Bird, were among a number of athletes that signed a letter opposing the proposed “Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act.” They claim it would “require banning transgender and intersex girls and women from participating in sports” to comply with Title IX.
Leave a Reply