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'She would shiv a male who took her spot': Riley Gaines calls Megan Rapinoe 'faux feminist' for opposing Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act

Riley Gaines, who was attacked by trans activists last week, inferred that Megan Rapinoe was a hypocrite in supporting trans women

BY ARUNAVA CHAKRABARTY

UPDATED APR 12, 2023

Riley Gaines slammed Megan Rapinoe for sending a letter to the House of Representatives, opposing the Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act (Twitter/@Riley_Gaines_ and Theo Wargo/Getty Images)

TALLAHASSEE: After Megan Rapinoe recently opposed the Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act, Riley Gaines has suggested former USWNT player "would genuinely shiv any male who tried to take her spot" on the roster, before labeling her a "faux feminist". Greg Steube, a Republican Congressman for Florida, who first proposed the bill, seeks to ensure genetic men compete against one another and not against women which has been the case with many, including transgender woman Lia Thomas.

As expected, Rapinoe lies in opposition to the proposed amendment to Title IX which presently states, "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." Gaines, who has been a frontline supporter of women's sports, gave a reply via quote tweet Tuesday morning, April 11, 2023, to Rapinoe's March 8 post.

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It suggested that the proposed bill was disingenuously "claiming to protect women's sports' by pushing a trans & intersex ban."

Riley Gaines calls Rapinoe a hypocrite

The former University of Kentucky swimmer who was attacked by trans activists last week inferred Rapinoe was a hypocrite in supporting trans women. "It's worth noting that 1) you are done playing sports competitively and 2) because you aren't sexually attracted to men, you will never have a daughter to defend. To me, this simply looks like virtue signaling because you have nothing to personally lose," Gaines wrote on Twitter. "I can respect opinions that differ from my own and everyone is entitled to think/speak independently, 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."

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. To me, this looks like a classic case of virtue signaling because you have nothing to personally lose. https://t.co/tq0wxo91TN
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 11, 2023

Rapinoe and other female athletes co-signed letter sent to House of Representatives

According to SI, Rapinoe, alongside several other female athletes, co-signed a letter sent to House of Representatives lawmakers Monday, April 10, 2023. "We believe that gender equity in sport is critical, which is why we urge policymakers to turn their attention and effort to the causes women athletes have been fighting for decades, including equal pay, an end to abuse and mistreatment, uneven implementation of Title IX, and a lack of access and equity for girls of color and girls with disabilities, to name only a few," the letter read. "Our deepest hope is that transgender and intersex kids will never have to feel the isolation, exclusion and othering that H.R. 734 is seeking to enshrine into law," it further read.

U.S. President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Megan Rapinoe, soccer player and advocate for gender pay equality, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House July 7, 2022 in Washington, DC. President Biden awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to 17 recipients. The award honors individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors. — President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Megan Rapinoe in the East Room of the White House on July 7, 2022, in Washington, DC (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Biological men would be prohibited from participating in girls' or women's sports under HR 734, otherwise known as the Protection of Girls and Women in Sports Act. Rapinoe's position on the matter is particularly concerning due to the rise of trans women such as Thomas illustrating a superior physical ability to that of biological women. The former University of Pennsylvania men's swimmer became the first transgender person to win an NCAA swimming title. Rapinoe was part of the then-world champion USA Women's National Team who lost 5-2 to the U15 MLS academy team, FC Dallas in 2015.

Rapinoe still plays professionally for WSL side OL Reign and has long been a supporter of women's sports. "What we know is how successful women's sports have been in the face of discrimination, in the face of lack of investment in every level in comparison to men," Rapinoe said back in 2021, according to Daily Mail. "Men have run the world for all these years, maybe they should just take a few hundred years off and we can just take it for a few hundred years and we’ll see where we are," she told The Guardian in 2019.