Riley Gaines hit out at Brittney Griner on Twitter
Riley Gaines has lashed out at a fellow athlete who said it would be a "crime" to ban biological males from women's sports.
The US collegiate swimming champion spoke up after Olympic basketball gold medallist Brittney Griner said she would fight plans to make the practice illegal.
House Republicans recently stepped up their attack on male athletes who identify as female competing in women's events with the announcement of the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
Calling the policy an attempt to “protect basic fairness”, the bill would prohibit transgender women from competing on women’s sports teams in schools and universities that receive public funding.
Griner, who came out as a lesbian in 2013, was asked during a meeting with journalists for her response to bill.
"That ranks high on the list of things I'll be fighting for and speaking up against," she said.
"Everyone deserves the right to play. Everyone deserves the right to come here, sit in these seats, and feel safe. And not feel like there's the threat, or they can't be who they are, or like it's just all eyes on them.
"I think it's a crime to separate someone for any reason. So I will be speaking up against that legislation and those laws that are trying to be passed, for sure."
Brittney Griner was detained at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and later charged with possession of cannabis (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)
Gaines, who is well-known for her outspoken position on trans athletes competing in women's sports, responded to Griner's comments on Twitter.
"Which NBA team would have @brittneygriner since apparently the overwhelming, obvious differences between men and women should simply be overlooked?", she wrote. "Heartbreaking to see athletically successful women take this demeaning stance.
"And if we're going to talk about crimes, Brittney…"
Griner was jailed for nine years in Russia in 2022 after being arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport when officials found hash oil in her luggage. She was released in December as part of a US-Russia prisoner exchange deal.
Speaking to Fox News, Gaines said: "Hearing Griner advocate for male inclusion in women’s sports, in women’s spaces, is just disingenuous.
"To me, knowing these women are done playing, or are on the verge of being done playing, they have nothing to lose.
"They would rather be kind and inclusive and virtue-signal, but in reality it’s not inclusive to allow men into our sports. It’s exclusive.
“I consider myself a modern-day feminist which means I acknowledge women deserve respect, equal opportunities and to have our rights upheld.
“Sex-protective rights are crucial. They should not be taken away by someone who simply hopes to be happy and claim the identity of a woman which you cannot just claim.”
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