Riley Gaines has been extremely vocal regarding the participation of trans athletes in female sports and has clearly opposed the idea. Recently on her social media account, Riley reacted to news of North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper vetoing the Fairness in Women's Sports Act.
In her recent tweet on Twitter, Riley Gaines stated that Governor Cooper of NC has vetoed the Fairness in Women's Sports Act. The Fairness in Women's Sport Act would prohibit transgender girls in North Carolina from playing in a school sports team that align with their gender identity, according to WCNC. But Governor Roy Cooper has vetoed this bill on Wednesday as per the aforementioned source.
In response to the news of the bill being vetoed, Riley Gaines wrote:
"Governor Cooper of NC vetoed the Fairness in Women's Sports Act today. Hey Gov, reminder that this happened to a girl in your state. She is partially paralyzed on her right side & her vision is still impaired. Its not me who has to go to sleep tonight knowing I'm enabling this"
The athlete, who was injured in the video posted by Riley Gaines is Payton McNabb. She is an high-school vollyeball player from North Carolina according to Marca. Back in April, Payton stated that she was injured when a transgender girl spiked a ball at her face during a high-school volleyball game in September as per the aforementioned source.
McNabb further claimed that she was still suffering from the effects of the injuries, which includes impaired vision, partial paralysis on the right side of her body, unremitting headaches, anxiety, and depression according to Marca. Riley Gaines has also mentioned the effects of Payton's injury in her recent tweet.
Riley's tweet regarding the bill being vetoed has garnered over 13k likes and it has been retweeted more than 3k times.
Riley Gaines has spoken about Payton McNabb in the past
Riley Gaines had recently expressed her displeasure after North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper had vetoed the Fairness in Women's Sports Act. She also added a video of Payton McNabb, a highschool volleyball player from North Carolina, being injured when a transgender girl spiked a ball at her face during a high-school volleyball match.
The former University of Kentucky swimmer has already spoken about Payton McNabb in the past. In a tweet posted by Riley on April 20, she wrote:
"Watch the clip of Payton McNabb getting spiked in the face by a male competing with the women. Then watch her testimony she gave today for the first time publicly. I was honored to stand alongside her in NC to continue the fight to protect women's sports."
Riley was also present when Payton spoke about her injuries. The former University of Kentucky swimmer has been often participating in debates regarding the participation of trans athletes in women's sports. Hence this wasn't the first time that Gaines has spoken about trans athletes in females.