"This is child abuse & the parents belong in jail"- Riley Gaines slams judgment that allowed transgender player to play tennis with girls in Virginia

Riley Gaines has slammed the legal authorities for allowing a transgender athlete to play tennis with young girls in Virginia. Gaines, a self-proclaimed advocate for women's rights in sports, recently took to social media to criticize this decision.

According to a recent court judgment in Virginia, a seven-year-old tennis player would be allowed to compete with other female tennis players even though the player is transgender and not biologically female.

Riley Gaines has been critical of this decision from the word go. She took to her X account (formerly Twitter) to criticize this judgment. Her statement read,

"These parents put their SEVEN year old son on puberty blockers. They fradulently changed his birth certificate to female. Now, an Obama-appointed judge has ruled that he can play tennis with the girls.

This is child abuse & the parents belong in jail."

Riley Gaines has been a persistent advocate of women's rights in sports, and she has consistently protested against the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports. She has been hosting the podcast "Gaines for Girls" since 2023, which streams on Outkick and the Fox Nation channels.

Riley Gaines criticized the inclusion of boxers like Imane Khelif of Algeria and Lin Yu Ting of Taiwan by the boxing authorities at the Paris Olympics. Gaines dubbed the two boxers as transgender athletes and stated that they weren't qualified to participate in the Paris Olympics. She even hailed Angela Carini of Italy as a hero for abandoning her match against the Algerian boxer, who eventually won a gold medal in women's welterweight [66kg.] category.

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Riley Gaines' activism for women's sports

Riley Gaines swimming for the University of Kentucky at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships [Image Source: Getty]

Riley Gaines' journey as an activist for women's rights in sports began in 2022 at the NCAA Championships, when she represented the University of Kentucky in the 200-yard freestyle event. Gaines stood fifth overall in the finals. Before this event, she had won a silver medal at the 2021 championships as a part of the women's 4x200-yard freestyle relay event.

Riley Gaines shared the position with Lia Thomas, the first openly trans woman champion after 'she' won the 500-yard freestyle event. Gaines learned that the trophy for the fifth place would be given to Lia Thomas instead of her, even though Thomas is not biologically female. The 23-year-old swimmer felt that she had enough and quit competitive swimming to fight for women's rights in sports.

Riley Gaines has been campaigning against the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports since then. She gained partial success when she prevented the entry of athletes like Lia Thomas into swimming at the Paris Olympics. In March 2024, Riley Gaines was one of the sixteen female athletes who legally sued the National Collegiate Athletic Association [NCAA] over the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports.