Former collegiate swimmer Riley Goins of the Kentucky Wildcats, who has been a staunch supporter of fairness in women’s sports, praised a group of middle school girls who refused to compete against a transgender athlete last week.
Gaines appeared on Fox News Channel “America Report” The official joined West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey after announcing he would fight the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision to strike down the state’s “Save Women’s Sports Act.”
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Riley Gaines testifies during a House subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill on December 5, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Bridgeport, West Virginia, middle-school students walked into a circle for shot put and discus competitions and then walked out in protest of the transgender athlete competing against them, according to outkick
“I couldn’t be more proud of these girls,” said Gaines, an OutKick contributor who hosts “Benefits for Girls” The podcast told Sandra Smith. “Again, 13, 14 years old, they’re in middle school yet they’re forced to be the adult in the room advocating for their rights to quality opportunity, safety and privacy that were once ensured by title. were Sets an example.
“Couldn’t be more proud of these girls, couldn’t be more inspired. Ultimately, that’s what revives me. It reminds me what we’re fighting for. It’s girls like Amy Salerno and the other four girls who “Decided not to compete with a guy if I got the chance.”
Morrissey also praised the girls.
“We saw those five young girls step up last week, I think that should be replicated across the country,” she said. “But the stakes in this case on many of these issues could not be higher.”
Earlier, Morrissey accompanied Gaines for the formal signing of Independent Women’s Voice’s “Stand with Women” commitment. He then announced that he would take the state’s case over the Save Women’s Sports Act to the Supreme Court.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced he was taking his fight to the Supreme Court. (screenshot)
State law bars transgender girls from competing against biological girls in sports. But in a 2-1 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals got the law Violated Title IX – sued the American Civil Liberties Union, its West Virginia chapter, and Lambda Legal.
“We are vigorously defending the law and the law is appropriate,” Morrisey said. “It’s based on biology and it’s based on fairness.
“We are working to protect the integrity of women’s sports. We must protect our young women. Opportunities for women and girls are priceless and we must take advantage of every one of them. And whenever a biological male competes So he snatches an opportunity from a biological girl.
“It’s not unfair at all. Boys have a competitive advantage. They’re bigger. They’re faster. They’re stronger — whether or not they went through normal biological male puberty.”
At the press conference, Goins said, “Allowing men to compete in women’s sports is risky, it’s unfair and it’s discriminatory. And it must stop – that’s what AG Morrissey is fighting so strongly for.” Are.”
Riley Goins speaks at a news conference with West Virginia AG Patrick Morrisey. (screenshot)
West Virginia’s “Save Women’s Sports Act” was signed into law in 2021. It required student-athletes to compete and play against people of their own biological sex. The law was challenged on the grounds that it violated protections under the 14th Amendment and Title IX.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Goodwin ruled in January 2023 that the law did not violate Title IX protections. However, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2–1 to reinstate the preliminary injunction.
The Supreme Court ruled last April that a transgender girl who challenged the law can compete with biological girls on middle school girls’ sports teams. The Supreme Court judges declined to disturb the appeals court ruling that had made it possible for the girl to continue playing on her school’s track and cross-country teams. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented from the decision.
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West Virginia was one of at least 24 states with laws barring transgender women and girls from competing against the gender with which they identify.
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