Held-for-ransom SFSU speaker: Left wants to “silence” diverging viewpoints

This April, award-winning athlete Riley Gaines was ambushed and physically assaulted by a San Francisco State mob for daring to voice non-Woke opinions about women's sports. Gaines, speaking at the Silicon Valley's Liberty Forum, unpacks just how far progressive media and power holders go to mask political disagreement—and keep nonconformists in line.

But how could I reach the people who don't agree with me? How could I reach the people who need to hear what I'm saying? And so I began reaching out, just on my own, to CNN and MSNBC and a lot of the local stations to both Nashville and Lexington. And every single one of them got back to me and said, “Sorry, we're not going to give you a platform to spread your hate.” And this was hard for me to hear because they were reporting on the stories. They were talking about it. I just wanted to give them the perspective of someone who was on that pool deck. But they didn't want that. And so I knew media bias existed, but this was my first time in really acknowledging how they want us to be divided. They don't want unity. They're purposefully creating a division. (36:05–36:53)

[Other top-tier women's swimmers who share my views] were told, “You cannot take a stance because your school has already taken your stance for you.” They were told that “you will never get a job. You will never get into grad school. You will lose all your friends. You'll lose your scholarship and your playing time if you happen to speak out....” But that is the emotional blackmail that they use and that universities continue to use.

And let me tell you, it was effective for me. When they told me I would never get into grad school, that's what I had worked my entire college career for, is to get into dental school. I had scored in the top percentile of the DAT, which is the Dental Admissions Test. And let me tell you: This is a five-hour test of chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, biochemistry. And I scored in the top percentile. And they told me I wouldn't get into grad school if I spoke out. So it was effective. That is what the silencing looks like. (42:03–43:08)

And so I got a booth [at an NCAA conference]. And I had these little bracelets made talking about Title IX, protecting women's sports, and I passed out pamphlets. And every single coach and athletic director who walked by, I shared my story. And every single one of them, every single one, “Thank you for what you're doing. Keep going. Keep fighting. This is great.” And the first year or so, I thought, “This is awesome. We have the support. This is huge.” But then [legal and societal problems] continued. And I naturally became frustrated by this, and I began to wonder: Where is the discrepancy? If we're all on the same page, why are we catering to this minority?

And so I began asking, “That's great that you say you support this. Would you be willing to say so publicly, put your name to it?” “Oh, no. We can't have lawsuits. I'm the breadwinner for my family. I can't. I'm sorry.” [They] would very quickly turn and walk away, relieve themselves from the conversation.

Even the president of the NCAA, who's now stepped down, after the whole Lia Thomas debacle, he released a public statement, and I remember it word for word... “I unequivocally stand in my decision...” So that's what he says publicly. But privately, at the same convention, I see him. And I'm like, he's not getting away from me. And he looks at me and says, “Keep going. This is awesome what you're doing. Keep going.” And the irony of that, because he is the one we're fighting against. (46:24–48:04)

Watch the whole thing here.

Read about Stanford University’s attempted silencing of controversial speaker Kyle Duncan here.

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