Riley Gaines reacts as Georgia House passes bill named after her in state where she shared NCAA podium with trans athlete

Riley Gaines recently expressed her thoughts about the state of Georgia passing an important bill in her name. Georgia's House of Representatives gave its assent recently to the Riley Gaines Act, which bans the participation of trans athletes in women's sports events.

Gaines took to her X account to express her thoughts about the anti-trans athlete bill being named in her honor. The 24-year-old social activist expressed her satisfaction as she wrote in the caption,

"Such an honor to have a bill named after me in the same state where I once had to share the podium at our NCAA Championships with a man. It’s also the state where Gaines v. NCAA has been filed."

For the unversed, Gaines had participated in the 2022 NCAA Swimming Championships, representing the University of Kentucky. She was tied for the fifth position in the 200-yard freestyle race with Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer. However, the authorities prioritized Thomas over her, forcing Gaines to launch a two-year-long campaign against the participation of trans athletes in women's sports. She also filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, along with 15 other athletes, in early 2024.

Riley Gaines had also supported the signing of the executive order issued by the current US administration led by President Donald Trump. Trump also acknowledged the efforts put in by the swimmer-turned-social activist towards the safety of women's sports.

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Riley Gaines shares her feelings on the Maine representative being censured

Riley Gaines shares her thought on the Maine representative [Image Source : Getty]

Previously, Riley Gaines had expressed her opinion on the criticism of a Maine representative. The Maine House of Representatives had barred the representative Laurel Libby from speaking over the issue of women's rights, after the state refused to abide by the executive order to ban trans athletes from women's sports, as signed by President Trump. Libby was prevented from the right to vote or speak in the assembly, until she apologized.

Gaines expressed her frustration at this situation, as she wrote on X,

""A female representative in Maine lost her ability to vote and speak on the house floor for defending girls and women. No, this didn't happen in Afghanistan. It happened in America."

Previously, Gaines had called out author Stephen King for mocking the Trump administration over the issue of women's sports and supporting the governor of Maine. She wrote,

"It's rare to see someone so proudly display their sexism and misogyny like Stephen King has done here."

Riley Gaines had previously called out the governor of Wisconsin for his bizarre order to replace the word 'mother' with gender neutral terms. She also took a jibe at actress Cynthia Nixon for her protests in favor of gender affirming care at a Manhattan hospital.