Herzog Foundation Hosts Riley Gaines for Inspiring Book Signing Event
The Herzog Foundation hosted a book signing event on Wednesday evening in Smithville, Missouri featuring Riley Gaines, one of America’s most influential voices in the fight to save female sports. The event drew nearly 300 attendees, including Missouri state representatives, parents, grandparents, young female athletes, and more.
Gaines, a former NCAA All-American swimmer from the University of Kentucky, has amassed a large following since highlighting the injustices of biological males competing in female sports. In 2022, Gaines had to share a national championship title with a biological male. She boldly spoke out on the NCAA’s mishandling of the competition despite pressures to stay quiet.
“I have people all the time tell me, ‘Thank you for your bravery. How do you find the courage?’ I respond back with, ‘Easily,’” Gaines said.”It’s easy to say what I’m saying. It’s not hard. Everyone knows it. It’s not saying anything profound or anything that makes me super wise. I promise you, I’m not. I’m saying that there are two sexes, and that you can’t change your sex, and that each sex is deserving of equal opportunity, privacy and safety.”
To many, this may sound like common sense, which is exactly why Gaines titled her new book, Swimming Against the Current: Fighting for Common Sense in a World That’s Lost its Mind. Gaines’ message of common sense certainly resonated with the Missouri crowd that came to hear her at the Herzog Foundation’s special book-signing event, as evidenced by the frequent interruptions of applause. Yet that same message has led to hostile receptions in some other places, including an event last year at San Francisco State University that was hijacked by protestors, leading to Gaines being “held hostage” in a room with a few police officers.
“They ended up holding me for ransom for about four or five hours, demanding that if I wanted to make it home to see my family safely again, I had to pay them money,” said Gaines.
Despite the outrageous threats and backlash, Gaines remains undeterred, traveling and delivering her message to packed audiences. The heartfelt words of support she receives, frequently from parents and grandparents of young girls, reaffirm her commitment to her cause. On her way to the Herzog Foundation’s book signing event, Gaines met a man traveling to meet his granddaughter for the first time. Overcome with emotion, he told her, “This is who you’re fighting for.”
“And that’s the reception that I’m met with a lot, which is moving,” said Gaines. “It makes everything worth it. It makes the arrows that you take absolutely worth it, 10 times out of 10.”
Read more about the Herzog Foundation’s book signing event with Riley Gaines at ReadLion.com.
About the Stanley M. Herzog Foundation
The Stanley M. Herzog Charitable Foundation is a charitable foundation dedicated to catalyzing and accelerating the development of quality Christ-centered K-12 education so that families and culture flourish.
Learn more at HerzogFoundation.com.