Riley Gaines calls Brittney Griner’s remarks on transgender athlete participation ‘heartbreaking’

Former NCAA star swimmer Riley Gaines took difficulty with Brittney Griner’s remarks about transgender athletes’ participation in sports activities.

The Phoenix Mercury star who made her first media look forward of the beginning of the 2023 WNBA season referred to as it “a criminal offense” to “separate somebody for any cause” when requested about state laws geared toward stopping transgender athletes from competing in opposition to these of the gender they determine as.

“Which NBA staff would have @brittneygriner since apparently the overwhelming, apparent variations between women and men ought to merely be neglected? Heartbreaking to see athletically profitable girls take this demeaning stance,” Gaines tweeted Sunday.

“And if we’re going to speak about crimes, Brittney…”

Griner made her feedback on Thursday.

“That ranks excessive on the checklist of issues I’ll be preventing for and talking up in opposition to,” Griner mentioned when requested by an ESPN reporter about advocating for transgender athletes. “Everybody deserves the best to play. Everybody deserves the best to come back right here, sit in these seats, and really feel secure. And never really feel like there’s the risk, or they’ll’t be who they’re, or prefer it’s simply all eyes on them.

“I believe it’s a criminal offense actually to separate somebody for any cause. So, I undoubtedly will probably be talking up in opposition to that laws and people legal guidelines which might be making an attempt to be handed, for certain.” 

On Wednesday, the Kansas State Excessive Faculty Actions Affiliation’s govt voted that excessive faculties and center faculties should see the primary start certificates of transgender athletes so as to resolve which groups they’ll play on.

The Safety of Girls and Women in Sports activities Act handed within the House final week, which goals at stopping organic males from competing in women’ and girls’s sports activities.

“At this time is a good day for America, for equity, for households, and most significantly for feminine athletes,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., mentioned. “House Republicans pledged earlier than the final election our dedication to America to girls and women in sports activities. At this time we stored that promise.”

President Biden has mentioned he would veto the invoice if it had been to reach on his desk.

Griner was arrested in February 2022 for bringing vape cartridges containing hash oil by way of a Moscow airport. She was convicted of the crime in what was described as a sham trial.

Russia launched her as a part of a prisoner swap with convicted arms vendor Viktor Bout.

Fox Information’ Joe Morgan contributed to this report.