Riley Gaines voices support for a Trump Administration DOJ lawsuit against Maine's Department of Education over its policy of including transgender athletes in women's sports.
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00:00Please join us. Thank you. Thank you. Well, goodness gracious, it's an honor to be here
00:06to stand beside, of course, Secretary McMahon, Attorney General Bondi,
00:10these amazingly brave athletes, Representative Libby. But truthfully, I'm frustrated. I'm
00:18frustrated that we have to be here, that we as women have to stand before you all
00:22on national television demanding equal opportunities, demanding privacy in areas
00:29of undressing, demanding safety in our sports. Amazing to me that we are still here fighting
00:36this fight, that the Democratic Party has really doubled down, tripled down, quadrupled down on their
00:44ridiculous stance, but that's exactly what they've done. Let me tell you what sports has done in my
00:52life. Of course, in terms of athletic achievement, I very proudly finished my career as a 12-time
00:57NCAA All-American, a five-time SEC champion, actually the SEC record holder in the 200
01:03butterfly, making me one of the fastest Americans of all time, a two-time Olympic trial qualifier,
01:09SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year, SEC Community Service Leader of the Year. The list goes on,
01:14but again, just to really reiterate, it's a lifelong journey. It's how I met my husband.
01:19It's what gave me my lifelong friends. It taught me how to be a leader. It taught me how to set goals
01:25and work to achieve those goals. All things that, of course, I'm utilizing in my life now,
01:30beyond sports, that leadership in Maine, Governor Mills, Democratic leadership really across the
01:37nation, that's what they're denying girls and women of. I'm sure you guys saw the clips and the
01:44visuals that surfaced following President Trump's executive order signing of this EO,
01:51barring men from participating in women's sports within any educational program that receives federal
01:56funding. And it was the most amazing thing to be there. And you have all of these young girls,
02:01I'm talking five, six, seven, eight years old. They've got their jerseys on, their sports uniforms,
02:06their big bows and their hair that they wear on the soccer field. That visual means more to me than I
02:13could possibly put into words. And that is what is at stake here. That is who Governor Mills is fighting,
02:20not Donald Trump. It's those little girls. And I believe that's, that's sick. It's regressive is
02:26what it is. They do this under the guise of, of progress, indicating we are moving in the positive
02:31forward direction. No, what Governor Mills is doing, and again, Democratic governors across the nation
02:37is deeply regressive and utterly misogynistic. Over the past three years, I've had the opportunity to
02:45speak to countless girls in Maine and again, across the country, countless parents, coaches who all
02:51virtually say the same thing. Why wouldn't anyone protect my athlete? Why wouldn't anyone protect
02:58my daughter? Why wouldn't anyone protect me? I've talked to girls who have lost roster spots,
03:04of course, podium finishes. I've talked to girls who have been exploited and simultaneously exposed
03:11to naked men in intimate areas of undressing. I've talked to girls who have been severely injured
03:16in their sports due to a male player on the opposing team. For crying out loud, we have a female
03:22representative from Maine, Laura Libby, you just heard from her. She didn't tell you what happened
03:27to her. She lost her ability to vote and to speak on the House floor for defending girls and women for
03:33posting about what was happening in Maine. No, this type of oppression didn't happen in Afghanistan. No,
03:38this type of censorship didn't happen in England. It happened right here in America under democratic
03:45leadership. Again, this isn't progress. I would describe this as betrayal.
03:53Let this be a notice, these actions that we have seen put forward today by the Department of Justice,
03:59by the Department of Education to all other states who are not willing to comply with federal law,
04:05that federal law being Title IX, which is very clear in how it was originally implemented,
04:12or at least it should be. We never knew we had to define this word sex until these both elected and
04:18unelected bureaucrats started to go through the back door and reinterpret this word to mean what
04:22they want it to mean. Originally implemented in 1972, it was only 37 words, very brief, ultimately,
04:30of course, preventing sex-based discrimination. Let this be a notice, California, Minnesota, the likes
04:37thereof. If you do not comply with federal law, you do not get to reap the benefits of complying with
04:44federal law. Of course, one of those benefits being receiving federal funds. Women are protected
04:51and recognized under federal law. Again, that law being Title IX. The U.S. government under President
04:57Trump, including the Department of Justice, including the Department of Education, will not
05:02stand by and ignore when the federally protected rights of women and girls are being violated.
05:09Again, that encounter between Governor Mills and President Trump went viral for really all of the
05:16right reasons. I think she thought she had this mic drop moment when she said, I'll see you in court.
05:21Guess what? You will, because President Trump is a man of his promises. That was his campaign slogan.
05:28That's what we've seen delivered. Promises made, promises kept. This is another one.
05:34People, the American people, girls, women, boys, men, old, young, white, black, gay, straight, none of those
05:42identity factors matter. We want transparency and we want accountability. Again, we voted overwhelmingly in
05:48favor of that on November 5th and accountability is back in the White House. So I stand before you all
05:56today. Uh, and I thank you again, Secretary McMahon, Attorney General, uh, Bondi. I thank you on behalf of,
06:05of course, myself. Uh, but I think more importantly, my younger sister, um, of all the women and girls who have
06:14dreams like I did when I was young to achieve, to succeed in my sport and beyond. Uh, so thank you.
06:26Riley, thank you. And Zoe would now like.