Conservative activist Riley Gaines speaks at the University of Oklahoma, draws protest
- Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines spoke at the University of Oklahoma, sparking a protest against her stance on transgender athletes in sports.
- Oklahoma's political leaders, including Governor Kevin Stitt and Superintendent Ryan Walters, have expressed support for Gaines' views.
NORMAN — Conservative activist and former NCAA All-American swimmer Riley Gaines spoke at the University of Oklahoma Wednesday evening, drawing a crowd of hundreds of people to listen to her talk, as well as dozens more who demonstrated against her.
Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, is known for her opposition to trans women competing in women's sports.
Gaines' appearance at OU comes the day after conservative pundit Charlie Kirk visited Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. Kirk is the founder and president of Turning Point USA, which aims to encourage young adults to “rise up against the radical left," according to the group's website. The organization's chapter at OU hosted Gaines.
Gaines praised President Donald Trump's election and his efforts since taking office to block trans women from participating in women's sports. “People turned out to the polls to reject absurdity," she said.
Gaines came to prominence in 2022, after she tied for fifth place with Lia Thomas of the University of Pennsylvania in the 200-yard NCAA Division I freestyle championship. Thomas became the first transgender athlete to claim a national title that year when she won the women's 500-yard freestyle at the Division I championship meet.
Before the event started, Gaines posed for photos with attendees, including at least one Oklahoma politician: Jon Echols, a prominent former Republican state lawmaker who is running for attorney general. Several law enforcement officers stood in the room. Students in the crowd were warned not to disrupt her or face potential disciplinary action.
A couple dozen demonstrators gathered outside of Dale Hall, where the event was hosted, to speak out against Gaines' rhetoric. Cynthia Teague, a retired substitute teacher and academic librarian from Norman, said she attended the demonstration to show support for her friends who are trans.
“I’m really disturbed by the sort of panic that I've seen developing over the last couple of years — the suggestion that trans people are dangerous, that they’re harming society, that letting trans people participate in everyday life is somehow a risky thing that should be avoided,” she said. “In particular with sports, there are so few trans athletes at any kind of elite level, and participating in sports is something that I think trans teens, especially, ought to be able to do.”
In December, NCAA President Charlie Baker told a Senate panel that he was aware of fewer than 10 trans athletes among the 510,000 NCAA athletes in the U.S.
When Gaines was asked what she would say to people protesting her outside of the event, she said: "I wish they were here and came inside and chose to listen and chose to engage. … Ultimately, that is how we advance."
Near the end of the event, a questioner asked her if she was living up to her Christian values by mocking trans people. Gaines' replied: "The stand that I take is one that is out of love."
Riley Gaines' anti-trans sentiment sees positive feedback from Oklahoma's political leaders
Gaines' appearance attracted pushback days before it began. Signs promoting the event were vandalized in the days leading up to the event, according to the OU Daily, the university's student newspaper.
Other people welcomed her appearance. On social media, state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters said Oklahoma was excited to host Gaines and thanked her for coming to "God's country."
Both Walters and Gov. Kevin Stitt have been outspoken about their support for efforts to block athletes who are transgender from participating in athletic competitions for girls and women.
Gaines mentioned Stitt twice Wednesday night, saying he's become "a dear friend" of hers over the past few years. She did not mention Walters.
In 2023, Stitt issued an executive order that set gender definitions for state agencies and directed schools to provide "dedicated restrooms and locker facilities for boys and girls." Gaines attended the event and said, "Biological differences must be respected in the law to ensure female-only spaces have a future."
Stitt's order was signed during an event at the state Capitol featuring proponents of legislation known as the Women's Bill of Rights.
"It is sad that such basic truths must be spelled out to ensure equal protection, but I applaud Governor Stitt for taking decisive action today," Gaines said in 2023. "Establishing common language by way of the Women’s Bill of Rights is a way of saying enough is enough: Oklahoman women deserve equal opportunity, privacy, and safety, and this order will help deliver it.”
Gaines' visit to OU comes weeks after the dismissal of an appeal by the federal government of an injunction granted to Oklahoma over a new interpretation of Title IX. The interpretation, under the administration of former President Joe Biden, added gender identity as a protected class under the law.
In a lawsuit, Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond argued that interpretation was unconstitutional and ignored the language within Title IX, a law passed in 1972 that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any educational program that receives financial assistance from the federal government.
A federal judge agreed with Drummond, drawing an appeal from Miguel Cardona, Biden's education secretary. However, that appeal was dropped earlier in March under President Donald Trump's administration.
(This story was updated with new information and a photo gallery.)