Riley Gaines, a former NCAA champion swimmer who was «barricaded» in a San Francisco State University classroom amid a violent scene involving pro-transgender protesters, responded to a memo from the president of the Associated Students chapter, Karina Zamora, addressing the incident.
Zamora said in the memo that Gaines’ event, sponsored by Turning Point USA, «promoted discriminatory rhetoric toward trans athletes.» Zamora apologized to the students who encountered the police presence despite the chaos that ensued.
“I, as the president of Associated Students, condemn and oppose the hateful rhetoric and promotion of violence spread by TPUSA and Riley Gaines, as well as confrontational behavior at the behest of campus administration,” the memo read.
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Swimmer Riley Gaines is barricaded in a room at San Francisco State University after she says she was assaulted while speaking at a college event hosted by a popular conservative organization. (Riley Gaines via Twitter/Getty Images)
«As the president of Associated Students and on behalf of the organization, I call on President Lynn Mahoney and her administration to take responsibility and host a community forum to hear how damaging these tactics have been to our student body. I call on campus administrators to work with our students and community to review and modify current policies and practices to elevate student voices and protect our student body, including transparency by sharing publicly with the AS Board of Trustees how The university plans to move forward with a plausible plan of action.»
The memo did not mention an apology to Gaines. But the former NCAA swim star responded to the memo on her Twitter account.
«‘Police presence was excessive and unnecessary.'» … «‘Violence Propagated by Riley Gaines'».
«All for sharing my lived experience of competing against a man and why it’s harmful to not have sex-protected sports… We can at least agree that SFSU needs to be held accountable.»
Associated Students serves as the student government at SFSU.
Gaines barricaded herself in a college room Thursday night after she said she was physically assaulted after a speech to students about saving women’s sports at a Turning Point USA and Leadership Institute event on campus.
Louis Barker, Riley’s husband, said he had brief conversations with her while she was locked in the room for nearly three hours.
RILEY GAINES EXPLOITS SF STATE COLLEGE MEMBER WHO CALLED PROTESTS AT HEART OF INCIDENT ‘PEACEFUL’
«She told me that a guy in a dress hit her several times. She was shaking. It made me so angry. It makes me sick to feel so helpless about it,» Barker said. She «was under police protection and yet she was beaten by a man in clothes.»
Gaines shared footage she took showing her being rushed from the scene by police officers amid an onslaught of verbal attacks from surrounding critics.
«Prisoners are in charge of the asylum at SFSU…I was ambushed and physically beaten twice by a male,» Gaines wrote in the tweet. «This is proof that women need safe spaces from sex. Even more, it assures me that I’m doing something right. When they want you quiet, speak up.»
Images shared on social media by Golden Gate Xpress, the school’s student-run newspaper, showed a small protest erupting before Gaines’ arrival at the school Thursday night.
Other footage from the outlet showed the protest growing in size, eventually becoming so chaotic that police escorted Gaines out of the room and down a hallway and locked him in a separate room.
As she was being moved to a safer location, protesters were captured on video chanting various phrases including «go the fuck home» and «trans women are women» while placing transgender flags on the school’s walls.
Former University of Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines speaks during a rally on January 12, 2023, outside the NCAA Convention in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
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The outlet also shared images showing some TPUSA staff being held and escorted out of the venue amid the protests. Chris Trudell, the assistant dean of students, was reportedly seen trying to de-escalate the situation.
Fox News’ Kyle Morris contributed to this report.