Legendary Softball Coach Supports Her Players Attending Riley Gaines' Talk On Trans Athletes In Women's Sports

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Members of the Oklahoma Sooners softball team recently attended Riley Gaines' campus talk on transgender athletes in women's sports. Female athletes supporting a former NCAA swimmer who believes women's sports should be exclusive to females should not be remotely controversial or surprising. Still, a student reporter attempted to make a story out of nothing, but head coach Patty Gasso wasn't having it.

Oklahoma's chapter of Turning Point USA welcomed Gaines, the host of OutKick's ‘Gaines for Girls’ podcast, to campus last week for a speech and Q&A session about transgender athletes in women's sports. Advocacy groups and other individuals protested outside the building that Gaines hosted her talk, but that didn't keep members of Oklahoma's soccer, golf, track, rowing, or softball teams from attending the event.

Gaines posted pictures on her Instagram with student athletes after the event, including six members of the softball team she spoke with after her Q&A session wrapped up.

On Friday, two days after Gaines' talk on campus, an OU Daily Sports reporter brought up to coach Gasso in a post-game press conference setting that many members of the softball team attended the event.

While some coaches may have taken it upon themselves to share their own personal thoughts on the situation or the topic of trans athletes in women's sports - which is what the reporter was surely hoping for - Gasso answered the question in the right manner and simply explained that she supports her players.

"I did not hear (Gaines') comments, so I can't comment on something I didn't hear, but the fact that our team is there, it's their right whether they want to go or not," Gasso said. "I support them in whatever they choose."

Gaines has been and continues to be a leader in keeping women's sports about women. Her stance has never promoted an idea that trans athletes do not belong in sports altogether, but that women's sports should remain exclusive to biological females, which was what those in attendance took away from her speech at Oklahoma.

"Biologically, men just have an advantage over women, no matter what," Oklahoma rower Hayley Bergstrom told OU Daily. "So we would just like to keep that simple, but there is no problem against trans people in general."

"I believe that she is here to support (transgender people)," Oklahoma track athlete Chesni Scott told the outlet. "Like she said, she’s not anti, she’s pro women in sports."

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets, including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016, when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.