JK Rowling
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J.K. Rowling Defends Riley Gaines After AOC’s Cheap Shot Over Trans Athlete Controversy

RNN Staff

J.K. Rowling is standing with former NCAA swimmer and OutKick host Riley Gaines after a high-profile attack from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who mocked Gaines’ athletic record in defense of trans-identifying swimmer Lia Thomas.

The latest round of political theater kicked off when Gaines posted a photo showing AOC, socialist NYC mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani, and Sen. Bernie Sanders at a campaign event. Gaines captioned it bluntly: “We are being destroyed from within.”

AOC fired back with a jab that many called petty and misogynistic, referencing the 2022 NCAA Championship where Gaines tied for fifth place with Thomas, a biological male competing in the women’s category.

“Maybe if you channeled all this anger into swimming faster you wouldn’t have come in fifth,” AOC wrote on X.

That comment sparked widespread backlash. OutKick supporters, members of Congress like Rep. Nancy Mace, and thousands of Americans who believe in women’s sports fairness came to Gaines’ defense. And now, author J.K. Rowling is joining them.

Rowling, who has long stood against radical gender ideology, clapped back at a left-wing commentator who claimed Gaines “owes her livelihood to trans athletes.”

“Riley Gaines doesn’t defend women’s rights for attention or money, any more than I do,” Rowling wrote. “We fight because it’s the only thing to do if you’re not a coward, a pick me or a living doormat.”

Gaines echoed that sentiment, replying: “Moral conviction is a foreign concept to some.”

Both women have become lightning rods in the cultural battle over biological reality and women’s rights. Rowling has weathered relentless backlash from progressive activists over her defense of female spaces and single-sex sports, yet remains one of the few celebrities unwilling to cave.

Gaines, meanwhile, has turned her own experience being forced to compete against a male into a full-time advocacy mission. She’s testified before Congress, launched nationwide campaigns, and become a leading voice in the fight to protect female athletes.

AOC’s attempt to belittle Gaines for not beating a man in a women’s swimming competition did little to bolster her case. If anything, it reminded the public why this issue resonates with so many: women are being sidelined, mocked, and erased — and the left calls it progress.

The battle over fairness in sports is far from over. But with women like Riley Gaines and J.K. Rowling refusing to back down, the other side may finally realize this fight won’t be won with smug tweets and identity politics.

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