Riley Gaines 'surrounded and physically assaulted'

Riley Gaines 'surrounded and physically assaulted' after Saving Women's Sports speech at San Francisco StateShow more

Riley Gaines was locked in a room on the third floor of the university building for nearly three hours after the protest began.

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines was banned from the gym at San Francisco State University Thursday night after being physically assaulted after speaking to students about saving women's sports during the Turning Point USA event in Leadership Institute on campus.

Louis Barker, Riley's husband, said he had a brief conversation with her while she was locked in the room for nearly three hours. "She told me that a man in a suit hit her several times. I was shaking. It drove me crazy. It makes me sick to feel so helpless about it,” Barker said. "He was under police protection and was assaulted by a man in a shirt."

On Twitter, Gaines shared a video of himself being chased away by police from the scene amid verbal attacks from the crowd surrounding him.

"Inmates run SFSU Asylum... I was shot and stabbed twice by a man," Gaines tweeted. "It's proof that women need a chance to be safe from sex. It makes me realize that I'm doing the right thing. When they want you to shut up, speak up."

As Gaines spoke to the students, many of whom voiced opposition to his views, other footage from the event showed a drowning swimmer addressed by a group of pro-trans protesters. who are more aware of the noise outside the building.

"Tonight, Riley Gaines took the stage at San Francisco State University to share her personal story of competing against a male athlete, Leah Thomas, at the NCAA Women's Swimming Championships last year," who Gaines' work Eli Bremer told Fox News Digital that. long words. "Last year, he focused on speaking at the university to educate his peers about his experience and the impact of the growing number of men playing women's sports and the integrity of Title IX. He has been asked about the country and the ways that are not good about it. opinion on many occasions, and he supports different opinions and debates about this issue. Instead of a thoughtful discussion tonight at SFSU, Riley was violently called, yelled at, physically assaulted and barred from the room by protesters. It is amazing that in America in 2023 it is acceptable for men's college students to watch men violently attack a woman in defense of her. women's rights. "That won't stop Riley from fearlessly teaching people about the dangers of men taking life in women's sports. She will continue to speak out against religious radicals who not understanding the difference between men and women."

Footage shared on social media by Golden Gate Xpress, the school's student newspaper, showed a small protest unfolding before Gaines arrived on campus Thursday evening. Other footage from outside showed the protest - eventually becoming so chaotic that police took Gaines out of the house and down a hallway and locked him in a separate room.

After being taken to safety, protesters were captured on video chanting chants such as "go f--k home" and "trans women are women" while holding transgender flags and the school. The outlet shared footage showing some TPUSA workers being arrested and led away from the scene amid the protest. Chris Trudell, the vice dean of students was reportedly seen trying to defuse the situation. In a statement to Fox News, a spokesperson for TPUSA said the protest against Gaines' speech was "organized by SFSU's Queer and Trans Resource Center."

A spokesman said protesters protesting outside the venue "quickly fled after the event ended".

Gaines, a 12-time all-American swimmer, became a national when she challenged trans swimmer Lia Thomas to compete in the women's event. Many athletes, such as former Olympian Nancy Hogshead-Makar, have warned that healthy men have a different advantage than healthy women when competing.