Riley Gaines doubles down on paying golfers who boycott trans competitor: ‘It is legit’

A group of top conservative voices has banded together to offer athletes financial compensation for not competing against their transgender competitors.

“It is legit,” women’s activist and former NCAA All-American swimmer Riley Gaines said on “Varney & Co.” Thursday. “We have to incentivize not participating in the farce.”

Gaines and others, including OutKick founder Clay Travis, have agreed to cover any lost financial gains for women athletes competing against transgender golfer Hailey Davidson, to drop out of an upcoming tournament.

In her original post on X, Gaines said: “I will personally pay any expenses, sponsorships, and/or prize money lost.”

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“I’ve talked to so many of these girls before publicly making this statement, and every single one of these girls who’s had to compete against this male, they tell me: Riley, I can’t not compete because I have sponsorships and I have endorsements, and this is my job. If I don’t do this, I don’t have income,” the former college swimmer explained.

“You guys shouldn’t have to be scared,” the OutKick host continued. “And I think if we created… some sort of crowdfunding effort, I think we could raise the money easily.”

Davidson, who recently won the NXXT Women’s Classic in a playoff, responded to the criticism on her Instagram account, saying: “It’s crazy the amount of misinformed hatred I have received so far today… All of these people (think) I hit it 300 yards or even 280 yards. How about 250 on a good day.”

Davidson also leads the Epson Tour – a development tournament to advance to the LPGA Tour – with 1,320 points. Dating back to November, Davidson also has two second-place finishes and has finished in the top 10 in each of the five events she’s played.

The LPGA Tour removed its “female at birth” requirement in 2010. Davidson began hormone therapy treatments in 2015 and underwent gender reassignment surgery in 2021, Golfweek reported in May 2021. According to the outlet, Davidson last competed as a male at U.S. Open local qualifying in 2015 at Admiral’s Cove in Jupiter, Florida.

“If these girls boycott, it sends a powerful and effective message that we as women, as female athletes, we’re saying: no, enough is enough. We’re rolling up our sleeves,” Gaines said Thursday.

The former NCAA swimmer noted she’s considering extending this offer “for any sport,” for any woman athlete who forfeits a game or tournament in protest of competing against a biological male.

“I will happily pay that fee. Whatever that looks like in any sport,” Gaines said. “And I know it’s easier said than done, because when I was faced with this, I competed against Lia Thomas, I didn’t want to have to sacrifice all the work that I had put in. But I do think it’s necessary now.”

Last Wednesday, Davidson further thanked her supporters while navigating the criticism.

“Most importantly though, thank you to absolutely everyone who has supported me from my fellow competitors to all of you that I may or may not have had the chance to meet yet,” Davidson wrote. “Thank you all for helping me wade through any hate and making me feel loved.”

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FOX News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.