Riley Gaines endorses Ron DeSantis for president

Women's sports advocate Riley Gaines on Friday endorsed Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis for president in 2024.

Gaines made the remarks during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Balance" during which she told host Eric Bolling that her decision to back the Florida governor stemmed largely from his record of protecting women's sports from male participation. Gaines previously competed against trans swimmer Lia Thomas.

"I really understand the threat that we Americans are under just based off my own experience and being forced to compete and change in the locker room with a male, as well as being physically attacked by a mob for simply saying that's unfair," she said.

DeSantis in June 2021 signed legislation requiring that athletes participate on sports teams consistently with their biological sex, saying "[w]e won’t be cowed. In Florida, girls are going to play girls sports, and boys are going to play boys sports. That's the reality."

Gaines told Bolling of DeSantis that "[h]e’s really taken on this political establishment, the woke corporations, the media, and he’s won and we know this based off his success in Florida alone."

The women's sports advocate will appear alongside the governor at a South Carolina event on Friday discussing the issue of male participation in women's sports.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.