Riley Gaines Applauds females for not Competing Against transgender Athletes while West Virginia Appeals the Statute to the Supreme Court

Riley Gaines, a longtime advocate for equity in women’s sports and former collegiate swimmer for the Kentucky Wildcats, gave props to a group of middle school girls this week for refusing to compete against a transgender athlete.

Gaines and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey made an appearance on Fox News Channel’s “America Reports” following Morrisey’s announcement that he will appeal the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to overturn the state’s “Save Women’s Sports Act.”

On December 5, 2023, Riley Gaines gives a testimony before a House subcommittee hearing held on Capitol Hill. (Getty Images/Drew Angerer))

According to OutKick, the middle school students from Bridgeport, West Virginia, entered the circle for the shot put and discus events before exiting to show their disapproval of the transgender athlete who was competing against them.

Gaines, an OutKick contributor and host of the “Gaines for Girls” podcast, told Sandra Smith, “I could not be more proud of these girls.” Once more, at the ages of 13 and 14, they are in middle school, but they are the ones who must take the lead as the adults in the room in order to defend their own rights to excellent opportunities, safety, and privacy—rights that were formerly guaranteed by Title IX but are, understandably, in jeopardy—as well as by West Virginia law. But now that the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled, everything is in jeopardy, setting a disastrous precedent.

“These girls have inspired and made me feel so proud.” That’s ultimately what gives me energy. It serves as a reminder of our goals. Emmy Salerno and the other four girls are examples of girls who, when given the chance, choose not to compete against a boy.”

Morrisey gave the girls further praise.

“What we saw last week with those five young girls stepping up, I think that should be replicated across the country,” he stated. “But the stakes in this case on a lot of these issues, they couldn’t be any higher.”

Morrisey had earlier accompanied Gaines to the official signing of Independent Women’s Voice’s “Stand With Women” pledge. Then he declared that he would appeal the state’s case before the Supreme Court over the Save Women’s Sports Act.

It was against state legislation for transgender girls to play sports against biological girls. However, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union, and its West Virginia chapter in finding that the law violated Title IX in a 2-1 decision.

“We’re vigorously defending the law and that law is reasonable,” Morrisey stated. It is founded on both fairness and biology.

“We’re trying to protect women’s sports’ integrity. Our young women need to be protected. We must seize each and every one of the rare opportunities that exist for women and girls. Additionally, a biological guy deprives a biological girl of an opportunity each time he competes.

That is not only unjust. There’s a competitive advantage for boys. They have more size. They move more quickly. Whether or whether they experienced the normal biological male puberty, they are stronger.”

Gaines said, “Letting men compete in women’s sports is dangerous, unfair, and discriminatory,” during the press conference. And it has to end, which is precisely what Attorney Morrisey has been battling so valiantly for.”

In 2021, the “Save Women’s Sports Act” was ratified in West Virginia. Student athletes had to play and compete against others who were the same gender as them. The 14th Amendment and Title IX rights were cited as grounds for challenging the law.

In January 2023, U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin issued a ruling stating that Title IX rights were not breached by the bill. Nevertheless, a preliminary injunction was reinstated by a 2-1 decision from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In April of last year, the Supreme Court decided that the middle school’s girls’ sports teams may let the transgender teenager who had challenged the ban to play among biological girls. The girl could have continued to compete for her school’s track and cross-country teams if the justices of the Supreme Court had not interfered with an order from an appeals court. Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, two justices, dissented from the ruling.

At least twenty-four states, including West Virginia, had passed legislation prohibiting transgender women and girls from competing in the gender they identify with.