Riley Gaines takes a dig at Venus and Serena Williams-"These women have stayed silent about a man stealing NCAA title from a deserving woman"

Riley Gaines has criticized tennis legends Serena Williams and Venus Williams for staying silent on transgender participation in women's sports. The former swimmer called out the two sisters after they criticized Harrison Butker at the 2024 ESPY Awards.

Butker, who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL, received widespread criticism for his remarks during a commencement speech at Benedictine College. He had stated (via Yahoo News):

'Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

Venus and Serena Williams, who hosted the 2024 ESPY Awards, took a dig at the Chiefs’ kicker. The tennis aces were urging the attendees to enjoy the women's sports like they would any other sport but sidelined Butker for his controversial statement.

"So, go ahead and enjoy women's sports like you would any other sports, because they are sports, " said Venus Williams

Serena Williams added:

"Except you, Harrison Butker. We don't need you."

However, anti-transgender activist and former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines called out Williams’ sisters for their silence on transgender participation in women's sports. She referenced the Lia Thomas incident from 2022 when the transgender swimmer won the NCAA title in the women's category at the 2022 Championships, which Gaines was also a part of.

"Just a reminder that these women have stayed SILENT about a 6'4" less-than-mediocre man stealing a NCAA title from a deserving woman. But God forbid a devout Catholic share a Catholic message to Catholic students at a Catholic university," Riley Gaines stated.

However, Gaines didn't seem to disagree with Serena Williams criticizing Harrison Butker.

Riley Gaines referenced Venus and Serena Williams’ loss to 203rd ranked male tennis player as an argument against transgender participation in women's sports

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Venus and Serena Williams’ took on the World No. 2023 Karsten Braasch at the 1998 Australian Open in an exhibition event, ‘The Battle of the Sexes’. Both of them lost the match, and during a hearing at the US Senate Judiciary Committee in 2023, Riley Gaines referenced the incident as an argument against transgender participation in women's sports.

"Both Serena and Venus lost to the 203rd ranked male tennis player, which, they are phenoms for women," Gaines said.

Gaines referenced the incident after Kelley Robinson, the Human Rights Campaign president claimed that men couldn't beat the multiple grand slam champions. She was arguing that transgender athletes, who were biologically male, didn't possess an advantage over women.