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Riley Gaines asks if Dems will call her a ‘transphobe’ when a woman dies at the hands of a trans athlete

December 10, 2023 | | Print Article

Riley Gaines, a former female college athlete who was forced to compete against biological men, wants to know what it’ll take for people to wake up.

In a column written this weekend for the Daily Mail, she basically asked what all it will take — perhaps a woman dying at the hands of a “transgender woman” athlete? — before far-leftists like Rep. Summer Lee wake up to the reality of the damage being done to women’s sports.

Lee is a rabid Democrat who last week called Riley a “transphobe” after she testified before Congress on behalf of women’s rights:

Gaines did not appreciate the smear.

“I was appalled,” she wrote in her column. “How dare a sitting member of Congress trash as hateful bigots those who had come to speak about their own experiences and stand up for women’s rights – despite the grave risk of death threats and physical violence.”

“How has it come to this? Why is it more politically expedient for those on the Left to prioritize the whims of the trans lobby – a tiny but vocal minority – over the rights of millions of women and girls in every arena from sports to safety in prisons, domestic violence shelters, changing rooms and health settings,” she added.

Part of the problem, she continued, is that “far too few” people are willing to take a stand on this issue because of the “daily harassment” that comes with it. Gaines knows all too well about this harassment because she’s faced it since she started speaking out.

“But I refuse to stay silent,” she wrote. “I’ve shelved plans to become a dentist and have instead committed myself to defending women for as long as it requires. Though why, you might fairly ask, should it take a 23-year-old woman to hold our leaders to account when so much is at stake?”

Good question.

Why also, she asked, did most of the world remain silent last week after two biological men took the top two spots in the Single Speed category at the Illinois State Cyclocross Championships, leaving the woman to take the bronze spot?

“Is this what the feminist movement fought for?” Gaines wondered. “Because two males atop a women’s podium seems to me like the perfect embodiment of the oppressive patriarchy that leftists love to scream about.”

“What hope is there for young sportswomen – like I once was – who have spent their whole lives training tirelessly, missing social events, eating carefully, paining for success within a tiny window of opportunity? How can their mothers and grandmothers look them in the eye and tell them truthfully that hard work pays off?” she added.

Continuing her column, Gaines recounted how she herself got involved in all this: “Many people will know my story by now, tying at the NCAA Championships last year with 6’4′ Thomas, who had swum three years prior on a men’s team. I was denied the trophy and told it was crucial that Thomas be seen holding it in front of the cameras. Despite achieving the exact same time, I had to go home empty handed.”

It was awfully unfair. But according to Gaines, it’s about more than just fairness.

“But this isn’t just about unfairness, it’s about a grave danger to women’s safety. In non-contact sports like swimming – as with much of cycling – competitors remain in their own lanes, posing little risk to each other. Perhaps that’s what makes it so easy for hardliners like Rep. Lee to sneer at my Congressional testimony. But what about contact sports?” she wrote.

“Already, the troubling headlines are trickling in. In 2021, footage of trans MMA fighter Alana McLaughlin holding Celine Provost in a chokehold, Provost’s blood smeared on the floor, shocked the world. In 2022, 18-year-old Payton McNabb suffered debilitating head and neck injuries after a trans student hit her in the face during a volleyball game in North Carolina,” she added.

FYI, McNabb is reportedly STILL recovering from her injuries.

In concluding her column, Gaines asked “when will it be enough?”

“How many female athletes must suffer at the hands of biological males? If injuries like McNabb’s won’t stop this forward march of insanity in its tracks, must we – God forbid – suffer a death for our cause to be heard?” she sincerely asked.

“All polling shows an overwhelming silent majority understands and sees this madness for what it is. My appeal to women everywhere is that silence now means complicity. It is time we all called out the misogynists,” she added.

Vivek Saxena
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