Athletes opposed to transgender participation in women's sports to host event at library

Female athletes Bethany Hamilton and Riley Gaines — both known for their public opposition to transgender athletes in women's sports — are visiting The Library Center on Friday afternoon for a shared story hour.

Hamilton, a professional surfer who lost her left arm in a shark attack in 2003, and Gaines, a former competitive swimmer, are hosting Brave Books Story Hour at The Library Center at 4 p.m. Friday. Hamilton and Gaines will read from their books, "Surfing Past Fear" and "Happy No Snakes Day," respectively, during the event that is free and open to the public. Promotional materials announcing the event note that it is not sponsored by the Springfield-Greene County Library District.

Both "Surfing Past Fear" and "Happy No Snakes Days" are published by BRAVE Books, a Christian and conservative children's book publisher that was established in 2021 by ophthalmologist and author Trent Talbot.

Per the BRAVE Books website, "Surfing Past Fear" is about Olivia the otter, who breaks her arm one summer. Olivia is worried that her arm will hinder her ability to continue surfing but with the help of her friends, Olivia learns to face her fears and get back on the board. "Happy No Snakes Day" follows team BRAVE, a recurring series of characters in BRAVE Books, as they "learn what it means to stand for truth."

Each book comes with workshops and games, stickers, and a map of "Freedom Island," a fictional island on which many BRAVE Books stories are set.

Who are Bethany Hamilton and Riley Gaines?

While Hamilton has been in and out of the media spotlight over the years, Gaines gained widespread attention more recently for her comments on transgender athletes.

In 2022, Gaines was a senior student-athlete involved on the swimming and diving team at the University of Kentucky. While competing in the 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship, Gaines tied for fifth place with University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas, the first transgender woman to compete in the NCAA women’s division, according to GLAAD. Since then, Gaines has used her platform to advocate against transgender athletes' participation in women's sports.

Early last year, Hamilton, a mother of four, announced that she would not compete in future World Surf League events if transgender women were allowed to compete in women's categories. This came after the WSL adopted a new policy that allowed transgender athletes to compete in various events, as published by the International Surfing Association in 2021.

Hamilton continues to use her social media platform to speak out against the trans community. On Monday, she posted to X, formerly Twitter, "Male-bodied athletes should not be competing in female sports. Period."

LGBTQ activists plan protest

When local LGBTQ activists and wives Brittany and Heather Dyer learned about the Brave Books Story Hour on Wednesday, they felt a fire ignite within them, Brittany Dyer said. In response, the two have planned a protest to take place during the story hour. Brittany Dyer is a member of The GLO Center executive board and has volunteered with PROMO, one of Missouri's largest LGBTQ advocacy organization.

The Dyers are encouraging folks to come sit quietly during the story hour, wearing LGBTQ-inclusive clothing. Brittany Dyer said she doesn't want to get loud; she just wants to take up space.

"When I see someone who has actively engaged with hate speech on a national level coming to our community to read a book that is also based in bigoted hate to our children, it's hard to sit back and not try to take up some space in that room," Dyer told the News-Leader on Wednesday.

More information about the protest is available via the Facebook Event Page, "Protest AGAINST Anti Trans Book Reading." As of Wednesday, 32 Facebook users indicated they were interested in attending and seven indicated they will attend.

While speaking with the News-Leader, Dyer clarified that she does not wish to ban books like "Surfing Past Fear" and "Happy No Snakes Day." That would be hypocritical, she said.

"As much as I wish this book ('Happy No Snakes Day') did not exist, we would not ban it," she added. "There's a huge difference between books being available for people to check out and having someone read to our community and speak to our community that actively engages in hate speech."

Library responds to concerned comments

In addition to planning the protest, the Dyers encouraged folks who are upset by the Brave Books Story Hour to email the Springfield-Greene County Library District with their concerns.

The News-Leader contacted the library district on Wednesday but has yet to receive a response. The Dyers provided the following comment a friend of theirs received from the library district Wednesday:

"Thank you for sharing your concerns on this matter. This is not a library program, this group is using our meeting space and per our meeting room policy, permission to use library meeting rooms does not constitute or imply endorsement or sponsorship by the library district, and meeting room users are expected to fully comply with all applicable provisions of laws.

"As long as groups follow our meeting room policies, they are allowed use of those public spaces. However, due to the concerns you have expressed, I have forwarded this to our Interim Executive Director Jim Schmidt to ensure that community concerns are being heard by our highest authority."

Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretacrossphoto. Story idea? Email her at gcross@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Bethany Hamilton, Riley Gaines to host Springfield library story hour