Riley Gaines speaks to Cal Poly’s Turning Point USA chapter on Oct. 10. Madison White

John Washington is a journalism senior and opinion columnist for Mustang News. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.

In 2022, collegiate swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender NCAA Division I national champion when she won the 500-yard freestyle. Riley Gaines, who tied with Thomas for fifth in another event at those championships, made her own headlines by speaking out against sharing a changing room with Thomas. She then parlayed that attention into a podcast deal, a budding career as a lobbyist and now a national college tour.

On Oct. 10, that tour stopped by Cal Poly, where Gaines headlined a Turning Point USA meeting. She was speaking on the self-declared “Real Women’s Day” about how trans women should not be allowed to play sports with other women.

Like many we have seen in recent years, Gaines’ fight is fully manufactured. This is not a real issue. Trans women make up a fractional percentage of sports. Only about 40 NCAA athletes out of more than half a million total are transgender, according to Athlete Ally’s Director of Research. In addition, the NCAA rules regarding trans-athlete participation have been in place since 2010 and have been updated accordingly in the name of fairness.

The politicians who have worked up an appetite for this issue are only doing so on an anti-trans basis. They will continue to disguise it as fighting for their daughters’ rights. In reality, they know this fear-mongering will earn them votes. They have probably even started to believe it themselves.

At the Turning Point USA meeting, Mustang News quoted Gaines saying her activism was not “hateful” or “opinionated.”

It feels silly to validate such comments by responding, but those unfamiliar with why she is famous should know this is a complete grift.

It is fully rooted in hate. She is too careful to say she hates trans people explicitly, but she has no problem calling them harmful and dangerous. She also never fails to separate trans women from “real women.”

She only decided to care about keeping trans women out of sports when she realized she could turn her lack of an NCAA title into a monetary opportunity.

Gaines’ initial complaints about sharing a changing room garnered enough attention to transition into lobbying state representatives, appearing in political campaign advertisements, speaking at a Trump rally, and her current gig – leading a lawsuit against the NCAA.

The focus is no longer on changing rooms. It’s on trans athletes in general.

One person who signed onto that lawsuit was Brooke Slusser, a San Jose State volleyball player who was upset after recently discovering her teammate of more than two years, Blaire Fleming, is a trans woman. In joining the lawsuit, she outed Fleming’s transgender status to the world, opening her up to national scrutiny.

Since then, four teams have forfeited their games against San Jose State this season because of Fleming’s presence. The University of Wyoming forfeited its match after state lawmakers applied pressure, ignoring the team’s collective decision to go ahead with the game, according to the Cowboy State Daily.

This event from Cal Poly’s Turning Point USA chapter was likely meant to replicate the stir they caused last December when protests ensued outside of an event they hosted with anti-trans speakers Chris Elston and Chloe Cole. This year, though, one club member said, “I’m a little sad that there weren’t protests; the other two events have had protests, so I was kind of disappointed.”

Some of this group are curious people, I’m sure. But the loud majority want to provoke and demonize. They want to attack a group and see what kind of reaction they can get. They don’t actually care deeply about the safety of girls. I’d wager most of them have never met a trans person.

For most trans people, adolescence is impossibly isolating. Playing a sport is one of the few available social outlets for kids and teens who are already part of such a marginalized group.

As people like Riley Gaines continue to try and shut trans people out of sports, their options for seeking community and accomplishment will continue to shrink. And for a population whose self-harm and suicide rates are already significantly higher than the general population, the harm done to transgender people will be unforgivable in my eyes.

Trans people belong in sports.