Harassing a woman doesn't make you the martyr" - Riley Gaines reacts to protestors upon her return to SFSU

Riley Gaines recently made a visit to the San Francisco State University on Tuesday, a year after she was held for ransom at the same place. As the former NCAA swimmer delivered her speech during the recent visit, a protestor, who was attending the event started shouting, passing demeaning remarks.

He was later escorted out of the room by the police. Ahead of the “The Fight is Far From Over” event on Tuesday, Gaines came across about 40 students who hailed slogans against her outside Seven Hills Conference Center’s Nob Hill Room.

During the recent speech, the former competitive swimmer, who advocates for the protection of Title IX, and women’s rights and safety, also reflected on the 2023 incident at the SFSU's campus, where she was surrounded by a group of protestors and held for ransom. She shared a video of the protestor who recently disrupted her speech, where he was seen hailing remarks like “Get out of here, go home loser b***h," and "I’m not moving, you can carry me out.”

Gaines took a jab while referring to the protestor as "stupid" rather than "martyr."

"Newsflash: a man harassing a woman doesn't make you the martyr you think it does; it just makes you stupid."

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"Wanted to make it home to see my family safely again" - When Riley Gaines opened up about the assault she faced during her advocacy journey

Riley Gaines at a news conference in Washington, DC. (Photo by Getty Images)

Riley Gaines once opened up about the frequent retaliation she faces while protesting against the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports. She then also highlighted the SFSU campus incident.

"I can go on a whole rant about things that I personally experienced in terms of backlash," said the former swimmer. "You know I've drinks poured on me. I've had glass bottles thrown at me. I've been spit on. I've been assaulted and held to ransom for four hours where these protestors demanded that if I wanted to make it home to see my family safely again I had to pay them money.

"The list goes on...death threats, people showing up to my house, drones flying above my house," Gaines said.

Riley Gaines started protesting against the participation of transgender athletes in women's sports after the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championships where she competed against the transgender swimmer Lia Thomas. While both the athletes tied for fifth place in an event, only Thomas was awarded the trophy and Gaines was asked to pose with the sixth-place trophy, which did not sit well with her.