Swimmer Riley Gaines ‘ambushed,’ ‘physically hit’. The attack happened after Gaines spoke last night to students at a turning point USA event.
Riley Gaines is a female competitive swimmer on the University of Kentucky team. Gaines believes the integrity of single-sex sports should be protected. Because of this, she recently spoke out after tying with Lia Thomas, a biological male, at the NCAA Championships.
Not long after, the former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines was reportedly assaulted during an attempt to speak at San Francisco State University. The attack followed another successful effort to shout down a speaker with opposing views on campus. Gaines was rushed from the event and kept in a secure room for nearly three hours, according to her account on Twitter.
What actually happened to the athlete? Was she tortured or kidnapped? Here’s everything you need to know about Riley Gaines’s attack.
What happened to Riley Gaines?
The former University of Kentucky (and All-American) swimmer was at the university to discuss her views on why women’s sports should be reserved for those who are biologically women. She believes that the effort to allow transgender athletes to compete is destroying the progress made in female sports since the start of Title IX. Like the author J.K. Rowling, Gaines has found herself under constant threat and attacked as a Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist (TERF).
On Twitter, Gaines objected that “[t]he prisoners are running the asylum at SFSU…I was ambushed and physically hit twice by a man. This is proof that women need sex-protected spaces. Still only further assures me I’m doing something right. When they want you silent, speak louder.”
She videotaped herself being rushed by police officers to a safe location. Her husband, Louis Barker, is quoted as saying:
“She told me she was hit multiple times by a guy in a dress. I was shaking. It made me that mad. It makes me sick to feel so helpless about it. She was under police protection and was still hit by a man wearing a dress.”
The incident is all too familiar today. These activists have every right to protest. These are issues that go to the core identity of people on both sides. However, protesters do not have a right to disrupt a class or speech.
What is notable about this incident is that it appears that the shout-down occurred just outside of the room. We have seen this tactic before. Indeed, at George Washington, I once debated law professor John Yoo, who is one of the authors of the controversial “torture memos” during the Bush Administration. We had disrupters opposed to Yoo in the debate who were removed. However, we had a large number of protesters who shouted down Yoo from just outside of the room and made it difficult for many to hear him. To its credit, the law school went outside and asked the protesters to move away from the windows and give some distance from the event. It was done without incident and the event continued.
That was clearly not done here. The university has to guarantee the safety of speakers as well as their ability to be heard. The protesters should not have been allowed to shout down the speaker from the hallway outside of the room in my view.
The Golden Gate Xpress, the school’s student-run newspaper, showed videotapes of how the protest grew in size and eventually became so large that the police removed Gaines for her own protection. A speaker should never have to fear for her physical safety in discussing contemporary issues on campus.
There is no indication of an arrest in the case, which is also curious. If Gaines was struck, it occurred while she was being escorted by officers.
As for the successful cancellation of the event, there remains the question of how the university will respond and whether it will hold any groups or individuals responsible for the disruption of this event. Equally important is the university addressing questions about its own actions before the cancellation of this event.
SFSU Responds to Alleged Assault on Riley Gaines . . . By Praising the Protesters
SFSU has issued a statement that was conspicuous in its failure to condemn the mob or promise accountability for these actions.
SFSU issued a statement that seemed to express sympathy for the protesters and expressed concern for those who were exposed to her views.
After beginning by expressing concern for the transgender community, the statement of Jamillah Moore, Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management, repeatedly commends students for their protest and says “Thank you to our students who participated peacefully in Thursday evening’s event. It took tremendous bravery to stand in a challenging space.” At no point does SFSU express concern for Gaines or the students who arranged for the event? At no point does SFSU promise to hold students responsible for shouting down the speaker or endangering her.
Here is the statement:
Dear SF State community, Today, San Francisco State finds itself again at the center of a national discussion regarding freedom of speech and expression. Let me begin by saying clearly: the trans community is welcome and belongs at San Francisco State University. Further, our community fiercely believes in unity, connection, care and compassion, and we value different ideas, even when they are not our own. SF State is regularly noted as one of the most diverse campuses in the United States—this is what makes us Gators, and this is what makes us great. Diversity promotes critical discussions, new understandings and enriches the academic experience. But we may also find ourselves exposed to divergent views and even views we find personally abhorrent. These encounters have sometimes led to discord, anger, confrontation and fear. We must meet this moment and unite with a shared value of learning.
Thank you to our students who participated peacefully in Thursday evening’s event. It took tremendous bravery to stand in a challenging space. I am proud of the moments where we listened and asked insightful questions. I am also proud of the moments when our students demonstrated the value of free speech and the right to protest peacefully. These issues do not go away, and these values are very much at our core.
This feels difficult because it is difficult. As you reflect, process, and begin to heal, please remember that there are people, resources and services available and ready to receive our Gator community, including faculty, staff members, coaches and mentors who are here to support you.
Campus resources are also available:
- Equity and Community Inclusion
- Counseling and Psychological Services
- Dean of Students Office
The well-being of the SF State campus community remains our priority.
Sincerely,
Jamillah Moore, Ed.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management