(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) A transgender teenager was booed at the end of a victorious race during Oregon’s high-school state finals earlier this week, NBC News reported.
The Libs of TikTok posted a video to Twitter with footage that showed McDaniel High School sophomore Aayden Gallagher getting voraciously booed by a number of people in the bleachers at the completion of the women’s 200-meter dash.
Booing could also reportedly be heard during the medal ceremony, as Gallagher received the first-place award.
The moment caught the eye of Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who has refused to cooperate with transgenders in women’s sports.
Gaines penned a sarcastic social-media post, calling Gallagher’s victory “another proud moment for women’s sports!”
“Aayden Gallagher (male) just placed 1st in the Oregon state championship in the women’s 200m after placing 2nd in the 400m. Just listen to the audible BOOS. People are over this…& it’s about time,” she wrote.
Another proud moment for women's sports!
Aayden Gallagher (male) just placed 1st in the Oregon state championship in the women's 200m after placing 2nd in the 400m.
Just listen to the audible BOOS. People are over this…& it's about time. pic.twitter.com/HfJqF4AkzO
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) May 18, 2024
In response to such skepticism, Cyd Zeigler, the founder of pro-LGBT sports site Outsports, claimed that anyone who opposed Gallagher’s participation was “disgusting” and engaged in irresponsible rhetoric.
“[T]his is the kind of stuff that causes kids to hurt themselves,” Zielger claimed, concluding that “the criticism is misdirected.”
Deflecting criticism by turning the offender into the victim has been a frequent tactic deployed by transgender activists, although there is no evidence that being booed for cheating in an athletic competition has resulted in any physical self-harm to transgender minors in the past.
Activists have also claimed that the examples of transgender athletes dominating female competitors have been amplified by critics in conservative media and that most transgender sports participants are still mediocre athletes.
Nonetheless, a growing number of transgender participants have won women’s championships over the past several years.
In West Virginia, for example, five female athletes refused to compete against Becky Pepper-Jackson, a transgender shot-putter who had defeated girls in track events more than 700 times over the past three years, Legal Insurrection reported.
Gaines herself became an outspoken activist after competing against Lia Thomas, who made headlines for winning several awards in collegiate swimming and eventually receiving the title “NCAA Woman of the Year” in 2022.
