Anti-trans activist Riley Gaines says Penn State canceled her speech. PSU denies the claim

Former All-American swimmer Riley Gaines, an outspoken critic of including transgender women in female sports, recently blasted Penn State on social media for canceling her on-campus speech and violating her First Amendment rights — an announcement that apparently caught the university by surprise because it said that never happened.

“No event featuring Riley Gaines has ever been canceled at Penn State,” the university said in a written statement.

After Gaines’ allegations spread on several right-wing news sites, Penn State issued a written statement to explain the hosting student organization “did not meet the deadline for submitting the required reservation documents.” (Penn State repeatedly declined to say when the deadline was.) University leaders said they did not know until Monday night that Gaines planned to speak Tuesday at University Park, and they did not hear from the organization until Tuesday morning.

According to Penn State, the organization did not have confirmation as late as last week that Gaines would attend the event.

The recognized student organization, Turning Point USA at Penn State, did not immediately respond to a CDT message seeking comment. Gaines said via X, formerly known as Twitter, that she did not wholly believe Penn State.

A public relations official with Gaines sent the CDT some 20 pages of an email chain between Gaines’ team and Penn State, purporting to show confirmation of the event. However, at several points, Penn State officials referred to the event’s status as a “tentative confirmation.” A university spokesperson later clarified to the CDT that Gaines’ team received confirmation of a reservation request, not a confirmation of the booking.

Gaines, a recent 23-year-old graduate from the University of Kentucky, gained prominence for speaking against the inclusion of trans women in women’s sports. In 2022, she swam against open trans swimmer Lia Thomas from UPenn and has spoken about her unease in sharing a locker room. (The two tied for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle at nationals.)

Gaines has spoken at a Donald Trump rally, endorsed anti-trans legislation and has started The Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute, which seeks to “create courageous leaders to protect women in America.”

The university said Tuesday that staff were in contact with the student organization “to take steps to create a safe environment for the event,” and Gaines was seen speaking from a megaphone late Tuesday afternoon from the lawn of the HUB-Robeson Center.

Centre LGBT+ posted that its trans affirming space in its center at 204 E. Calder Way, Suite 304, will be open between 4-7 p.m. Tuesday.