California Politician Attacks Riley Gaines With Misinformed, Factually-Incorrect Rant
Riley Gaines continues to be a champion for women and women's sports and her fight is starting to really bother people on the political left. Those politicians want biological men competing in women's sports in the name of "inclusivity." One such politician is a California Senator by the name of Scott Wiener.
Thanks to Gaines' work, 24 states have passed some form of "Fairness in Women's Sports" legislation over the past two years. Her story is well-known and OutKick recently honored her for Women's History Month.
Senator Scott Wiener represents District 11 in the California State Senate. Wiener has used Gaines' advocacy several times to try and push his own agenda, which includes life-altering gender-reassignment surgeries and hormone replacement therapy for minors.
California Senator Scott Weiner attacked Riley Gaines with a factually-incorrect rant, while trying to get biological men into women's sports.
(USA Today Network)
As part of this mission, Wiener argues that biological boys and men who declare themselves to be girls or women should be allowed to play women's sports.
He recently delivered a speech, during a California Senate hearing, attacking Riley Gaines and included many factually-incorrect statements. Apparently, facts aren't that important to Wiener. That shouldn't come as a huge surprise, given his political positions.
"There's one famous situation, a swimmer from Kentucky, who complained that a trans woman tied her – and because of a tiebreaker came in ahead of her," Wiener said. "What she neglected to mention is that they tied for sixth place because five cis-gendered women finished ahead … and that became a cause celeb."
These comments are both inaccurate and misinformed. First, Lia (formerly William) Thomas and Riley Gaines did not tie for sixth place. They tied for fifth place. That also means his claim that five cis-gendered women finished ahead is wrong. Yes, four women finished ahead of Gaines and Thomas, a male, in that particular event. Though, Thomas won a women's National Championship in the 500-yard freestyle during the 2022 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships.
Second, there was no "tiebreaker" that put Thomas ahead of Gaines. The NCAA awarded the fifth-place trophy to Thomas and told Gaines that "when photos are being taken, it's crucial that the trophy is in Lia's hands." The "tiebreaker" was that Thomas was a biological male, with male genitalia. He neglected to mention that.
Lia (formerly William) Thomas and Riley Gaines at the 2022 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships.
(Getty Images)
Also, Gaines doesn't hide the fact that they tied for fifth place. I've heard her speak on the subject many times. She always states the facts. Facts are important to Riley Gaines. They are not nearly as important to Wiener.
In the misinformed department, Wiener is trying to boil Gaines' advocacy down to a single moment. He's either missing the point or deliberately ignoring it. More than likely, it's the latter. One of the major issues around allowing boys and men in women's sports is privacy. Boys and men are invading the women's locker room. That's an important piece of Gaines' platform.
Again, Wiener neglects to mention this part of the issue. Gaines called out Wiener on X (formerly Twitter).
His reply was nothing short of exactly what you'd expect.
Commenters rightfully roasted him for this post.
The stupidity of some politicians never ceases to amaze me, but it still makes me very, very sad.