Riley Gaines, the former University of Kentucky swimmer who was forced to compete against Lia Thomas, a biological male who identifies as a woman, has become a vocal advocate for protecting women’s sports, and she took to social media on Thursday to comment on a video sweeping the nation.
In the clip, a male middle school student portraying himself as a female is seen brutally attacking a female student much smaller than him from behind — the incident reportedly took place at Hazelbrook Middle School in Tualatin, Oregon.
“Trans male attacks female student in Oregon high school. This was certainly planned given multiple people were filming,” Gaines tweeted — she noted in a follow-up tweet that it was a middle school. “All involved should be suspended and he should be charged with assault as a male. Identify as you wish, but you can’t hide from your innate sex characteristics.”
***correction. This wasn’t a high school. This is at Hazlebrook MIDDLE School in the Tigard Tualatin School District in Oregon
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) September 28, 2023
School officials said the incident is under criminal investigation, according to The Oregonian. Citing a public information officer for the Tualatin Police Department, the newspaper reported that the attacker was arrested and is facing assault charges.
As word of the assault spread, in part due to Gaines’ sharing the footage, the Tigard-Tualatin School Board released a joint statement essentially defending transgender students.
“Students and adults contributed to the sharing of this recording that exposed minors who were directly and indirectly involved without consent,” the board said in the statement. “In addition, the sharing of this incident has spread across the country and beyond, inspiring false information and a focus and discourse on sexual identity. These acts have contributed to the trauma individuals and families are already experiencing.”
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
This bothers me because I have grandchildren in public schools and I’d like to know if incidents of violence are being reported around the United States. Knowledge is power.
— Samantha Tango (@LStargazer54) September 28, 2023
I cannot even stomach this…
Advertisement for homeschooling.
This poor girl
— Lucy Riles (@LucyRiles) September 28, 2023
Oregon–figures.
— Claire {⭐️} (@cjdtwit) September 29, 2023
Disgusting that it appears no one tried to intercede ….. plenty of time for cell phone videos though
— Stephen Tatur (@statu287) September 28, 2023
I’m old. In my day if this happened, dude would have gone to jail for assault and expelled from school. We had LAW AND ORDER back then – remember? Bring it back!
— Paleo Life (@PaleoGina) September 28, 2023
That wasn’t very “lady-like” of “Her”
— Matt Gilbert #RIPDoriMonson (@mattgilblezy) September 28, 2023
God help me if that was my kid
— The Political Pom (@ThePoliticalPom) September 28, 2023
The most violent and dangerous group of men in America.
— Vic DeGrammont (@votedegrammont) September 28, 2023
This insanity has to be stopped – the authorities, both in the school and in all layers of government, who encourage it, need to be removed.
— Paul Marks (@paulvmarks) September 29, 2023
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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