Swimming champion Riley Gaines responded to Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) over the weekend after Porter called out Gaines during a panel discussion and effectively accused her of just trying to get attention.
The segment quickly went viral, with British political commentator Piers Morgan later criticizing Porter’s remarks during the discussion on HBO’s “Real Time” with host Bill Maher.
“Hey @RepKatiePorter I’m not speaking up for myself…I’m done playing sports,” Gaines noted on Twitter. “I’m not fighting for me. I’m actually supposed to be in dental school this year. But I’ve changed my life plans because I see what’s at stake if someone doesn’t fight for the present and next generation.”
“Why is it always women fighting against sex-based protections?” Gaines added. “That will forever be beyond me.”
Why is it always women fighting against sex-based protections? That will forever be beyond me
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) April 15, 2023
The panel discussion came in the wake of an incident where Gaines was confronted by radical transgender activists while advocating for the rights of female athletes during a visit to San Francisco State University. During the segment, Porter said she “strongly” disagreed with Gaines, prompting further questioning from Morgan.
“I think that it should be up to sporting bodies to make the decisions about who is actually—” Porter began before Morgan cut her off.
“But what has she said that is actually wrong?” Morgan fired back.
“I think that what she has done is tried to turn this, we talked about people becoming, using things to kind of get likes and get clicks,” Porter claimed.
“That’s not what she’s doing,” Morgan said definatly. “All I’ve seen her do is stand up for women’s rights, for fairness and equality.
“She actually competed against Lia Thomas, and it was obviously unfair. Lia Thomas won one of the races in the NCAA championships by 50 seconds against a bunch of biological females who simply couldn’t keep up. That cannot be right. It cannot be fair,” he added to audience applause.
Then Porter said that she thought Gaines was only speaking up for herself, but Morgan responded: “I think she’s speaking for pretty much every female athlete in the world.”
