Riley Gaines Reflects On Being Attacked At SFSU: ‘I Feared For My Life’ While The Administration Called It ‘Peaceful'

Riley Gaines joined 'Don't @ Me With Dan Dakich' on Wednesday to discuss her ongoing mission to keep biological men out of women's sports, also known as keeping women's sports fair. The former Kentucky swimmer also discussed recently being attacked at San Francisco State University and how she feared for her life in the moment.

Gaines was harassed and attacked while giving a speech on campus and claimed that she was hit by a man wearing a dress. The mob that surrounded her also was demanding money before letting her go to safety.

San Francisco State vice president for student affairs and enrollment Jamillah Moore released a statement shortly after Gaines was attacked applauding students for demonstrating "the value of free speech and the right to protest peacefully." (Related note: Moore proceeded to block Gaines on Twitter after the statement.)

Nothing about the protest appeared peaceful. In fact, it wasn't a protest, it was a direct attack on Gaines, who told Dakich she feared for her life in that moment.

"I feared for my life in that moment, yet she is going to call it peaceful? They were negotiating ransom if I wanted to make it home safely, and she's going to call it peaceful? We must have totally different definitions of peaceful," Gaines said.

"Being rushed, being physically and verbally assaulted, that is not peaceful by any means," Gaines continued.


Riley Gaines Knows Being Attacked Has Actually Made Her Voice Louder

While Gaines could easily look at the negative side of what was a horrifying moment for her, she's instead looking at the situation in a positive way knowing that this has only opened the eyes of others about how unhinged the protesters and their allies truly are.

"I think this backfired on the protesters. This only increased my social media following, it only increased people's eyes being open to seeing how unhinged these people can be in the disguise of being kind and inclusive. This was not done out of tolerance of love or tolerance or compassion, it was vengeful.

"They were yelling in the hallway 'trans rights are under attack, what do we do, we fight back.' That is not peaceful."

RELATED: ESPN HAS NOT COVERED RILEY GAINES ATTACK

Again, it's worth remembering Gaines was speaking about protecting women's rights and women's sports. In no way was it an anti-trans message, it was a message about keeping women's sports about biological women.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and all other happenings in the world of golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. 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.