Anti-trans campaigner Riley Gaines has been very active since respected NCAA women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley voiced approval for trans athletes before her team won the national championship game.
Staley – coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks – criticized a conservative reporter who asked her whether she supports trans women participating in women's sports, accusing the reporter of trying to cause a distraction before the big game.
“Now, plenty of people are going to fill my timeline and be a distraction to me on one of the most significant days of our game, and I’m fine with that, I truly am,” Staley said after clearly expressing her support for trans women athletes.
Far right content creator: "Do you think that trans women should be able to play women's sports?"
Dawn Staley, coach of SC's women's basketball team, doesn't hold back: "Yes… and people are going to flood my timeline… and I'm ok with that."
Wow!pic.twitter.com/XxLDwDZUdB
— Erin Reed (@ErinInTheMorn) April 6, 2024
As Staley expected, the right is outraged over her comments. Gaines – who has made a career out of the fact that she tied for fifth place with a trans woman during an NCAA swimming event – appeared on Fox News to say Staley is either “completely incompetent or a sellout” despite her outstanding coaching record.
“I don’t believe she truly believes what she said,” Gaines argued, adding that Staley seemed to hesitate while speaking to reporters and suggesting that the fact that she took a drink of water while speaking “spoke volumes.”
Gaines then went on to explain that men’s and women’s basketball are played differently, unmistakably implying her belief that trans women are not authentic women.
“I think she knew she had to be politically correct… But the reality is she knows that men’s basketball is a completely different sport from women’s basketball… She didn’t have the courage to stand with women. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her, and she blew it.”
In a follow-up post on X, Gaines said she stands by her words “3000%” and continued to praise herself, stating, “I hit the nail on the head.”
“Personally, I think she’s a sellout. I also think she’s a very good coach. 109-3 over three seasons is extraordinary. She can be both at the same time. Neither is mutually exclusive.”
And I stand by that 3000%
Personally, I think she's a sellout. I also think she's a dang good coach. 109-3 over three seasons is unheard of. She can be both at the same time. Neither is mutually exclusive
Thanks for posting the clip. Watching it back, I hit the nail on the head https://t.co/TBUXTc6I7g
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 9, 2024
Gaines has been campaigning against the rights of trans athletes since she tied for fifth place with trans University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas in the women’s 200m freestyle final at the National Collegiate Athletics Association swimming and diving championships. She has claimed she was denied some form of victory by having to share fifth place with a trans woman.
