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‘She would genuinely shiv someone’: Gaines says Rapinoe would have stabbed a trans woman if they had tried to take her spot

April 19, 2023 | | Print Article

Swimmer-turned-activist Riley Gaines tore into soccer player Megan Rapinoe for failing to speak out against transgenders competing in women’s sports and alleged that if one had tried to take her spot on her team she would have violently defended it.

(Video Credit: Piers Morgan Uncensored)

Gaines was a medaled swimmer at the University of Kentucky. According to the school’s website, she left in 2022 as “‘one of the most decorated swimmers in program history.” She was a 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer and a five-time SEC champion.

All of that came to a screeching halt when Gaines was forced to compete against transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas in the NCAA championships in March 2022. Thomas was part of the men’s competition until 2019. Gaines sadly departed the team after that, claiming that it “felt like I was going into the race with my hands tied behind my back.” In a tied competition against Thomas, her team decided to give the medal to the transgender and that was the straw that broke the swimmer’s back.

Now, Gaines has become an activist for women’s sports. She campaigns against allowing trans women to compete with biological women, asserting that it is not a level playing field and is destroying women’s competition. She sat down with host Piers Morgan on Tuesday to discuss her efforts.

Morgan asked Gaines about Rapinoe, who last June asserted she had no issue with trans women in sports.

“Show me the evidence that trans women are taking everyone’s scholarships,” Rapinoe demanded. “I’m sorry, it’s just not happening. So we need to start from inclusion, period. And as things arise, I have confidence that we can figure it out.”

Gaines called Rapinoe a “faux feminist” last week. Then she intimated that Rapinoe and long-time women’s rights proponent Billie Jean King were hypocrites for not advocating for the ban of biological men in women’s sports.

“If you’ve ever seen Megan Rapinoe play she’s a very tough, aggressive player,” Rapinoe said during the interview. “So I can’t tell you what she would have done, but I can tell you exactly what I think she would have done. I think she would genuinely shiv someone if a male tried to take her spot.”

Gaines went on to assert that Rapinoe, 37, had “nothing to lose” by welcoming trans women into women’s sports, mistakenly claiming that the soccer player has retired. Currently, Rapinoe is playing for Seattle-based OL Reign.

“She’s done playing, she has nothing to lose, she doesn’t have a daughter to defend – so what’s to lose by virtue signaling?” Gaines remarked. “In reality, it’s not kind to ask a girl to share a locker room with fully-equipped male parts. Not inclusive to ask a woman to smile and step aside, so a man can take her spot and honors.”

The conversation then shifted to Lia Thomas and Title IX.

“Lia Thomas was quoted saying, you know, ‘It breaks my heart to see trans kids lose out on opportunities,'” Gaines recounted. “Replace that with the word woman – does it still break Thomas’s heart to see women lose out on opportunities?”

“Because that’s exactly what’s happening. From my experience competing against Lia Thomas at the national championships, I watched first-hand women lose out on opportunities. I watched women not become All-Americans, missing that eighth and 16th place by one place because they were displaced by a male,” she accused.

“This, of course, goes against everything that Title IX was created to protect and now we have the Biden administration, the people in the White House, who are actively working to rewrite Title IX,” Gaines railed.

Title IX contends, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”

HBO host Bill Maher also discussed Gaines’ activism on Friday which she referred to when speaking with Morgan. On that show, Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) accused Gaines of defending women simply to get “clicks.”

“Just like you mentioned, it’s ironic. It’s always women fighting against women’s sex-protected spaces and rights. It blows my mind, but I so appreciate both you and Bill standing up for myself because you hit the nail on the head. I’m speaking for every female athlete, not just myself. I’m done competing. This isn’t about me,” she stated.

“But I know what’s at stake if someone doesn’t use their voice. I have a younger sister. I just got married. I can only hope one day that I have a daughter and I can’t imagine being in this position and not fighting for them,” Gaines continued.

“But also I’m fighting for the present female athletes – Lia Thomas’s teammates even, who have had their voices suppressed. They see what happens to me when I go to San Francisco State and they don’t want to put themselves in a position where speaking out would garner that for them,” she explained. “So, it’s a lot bigger than just myself and to see Rep. Katie Porter even say that it just clearly shows she knows nothing about what I’ve been doing this past year. Nothing has been for personal advancement.”

“Nothing has been for monetary value for me. I was supposed to be in dental school this year. So, by no means did I even feel equipped to do what I’m doing. This is not about me, and hearing her say that showed her true ignorance,” Gaines asserted.

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