Riley Gaines slams WNBA for ‘self-imploding’ with controversial transgender recognition

Former swimmer and now conservative activist Riley Gaines slammed the WNBA for the recent recognition of transgender people. On Tuesday, Gaines shared a screenshot from a post made on the WNBA's X account the previous day.

The picture contained a graphic with the WNBA logo and a template celebrating Trans Day of Visibility. The former swimmer criticized the women's basketball league for recognizing the event in her post's caption.

"I've never seen an organization more committed to self-imploding than the WNBA," Gaines wrote.

In their original post, the WNBA recognizes transgender people, praises their community and expresses support for them in the caption.

"We honor the strength, courage and resilience of transgender people and the transgender community."

"We see you, we stand with you and we will continue to support you. 🩵🩷"

Riley Gaines was a national-level athlete with an illustrious career in swimming. She was a 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer for the University of Kentucky and her rise to prominence in 2022 is credited to her opposition to trans women competing in women's sports, a belief she emphasized after tying Lia Thomas for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA Division I.

Thomas, representing the University of Pennsylvania, clinched the national title that year, which reinforced Gaines' stance and propelled her activism.

"What does the W stand for": Fans react to Riley Gaines slamming the WNBA for transgender recognition

The fans online flooded the comments section of Riley Gaines's post after she called out the WNBA for recognising transgender visibility day. They shared similar sentiments with Raines, with one fan sarcastically asking the meaning of "W" in the women's basketball league's name.

"Remind me what does the W stand for in WNBA? I just can’t remember for the life of me…"

Other fans joined the venting train and expressed their thoughts on the league's post on X.

"Will not watch one game this year. The WNBA can fall into the Abyss never to be seen again," one fan said.

"They’re canceling themselves…" another fan said.

"Let them sink like the titanic," another fan said.

One fan called the WNBA a charity league that the NBA uses to promote woke sentiments.

"You are missing it. It doesn't matter what they do and they know it. The WNBA is a charity league that's funded by the NBA. Which is why they use the WNBA to push things like this. Going to boycott something nobody watches anyways?" the fan commented.

"They can't implode because they aren't a real business that actually profits. The NBA will foot the bill for them," another fan said.

So far the league has ignored Riley Gaines' and the fans' criticism by refraining to make a statement on the uproar.