Riley Gaines says Penn State abruptly canceled her Real Women's Day speaking event — university denies claims

Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines accused Pennsylvania State University of abruptly canceling her Real Women's Day speaking event scheduled for Tuesday.

On Monday, Gaines shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, stating that Penn State had canceled an on-campus speaking event. In the post, Gaines shared a video of the university's president, Neeli Bendapudi, declaring the school's commitment to the First Amendment.

"No way President of Penn State makes a whole video explaining why public institutions are legally obligated to let 'bigots' apparently like me on campus to speak then proceeds to CANCEL my speech tomorrow for real women's day (X/X)," Gaines wrote.

The Real Women's Day event was to be held on October 10, which can be spelled out in Roman numerals as XX. The date was chosen because women have two X chromosomes. Gaines has been an outspoken opponent of males competing in women’s sporting events.

"Have it your way," Gaines added. "See ya tomorrow with a soap box and megaphone, Penn State!"

The Penn State video featuring Bendapudi explained that the university must continue to host "controversial" speakers, despite pushback from students and faculty, because it is "bound by the First Amendment."

"I have no doubt that we will encounter speakers that many will consider controversial — either because their views are not widely held, or because a speaker espouses ideas that are actively hateful," Bendapudi stated.

The Penn State president noted that she agreed that some speech can be "not only offensive, but deeply hurtful" and declared she would "stand in unity with those who condemn such speakers and their rhetoric."

"You may ask, 'If so many individuals, including the president of the university, find these speakers so objectionable, why can't we just ban them from our campuses?'" Bendapudi continued. "Restricting the speech of one group or individual jeopardizes everyone's rights because the same laws or regulations used to silence bigots can be used to silence you."

Penn State's media relations division released a statement regarding Gaines' claim that the university abruptly canceled the event despite its declared commitment to free speech.

"As an institution of higher education, Penn State encourages free and open discussion as a way to strengthen our democracy and promote critical thinking and growth, and the university has a variety of speakers on its campuses," the university's statement read.

"No event featuring Riley Gaines has ever been canceled at Penn State," it claimed.

"Initially, Turning Point USA, the student group bringing Ms. Gaines to campus, sought indoor space, but did not meet the deadline for submitting the required reservation documents — an expectation upheld for any recognized student organization at Penn State," the university continued. "The group then shared alternative plans for an outdoor event to celebrate free speech, and as late as last week they had no confirmation that Ms. Gaines would attend the event, however they sent a confirmation early this morning."

According to Penn State, it was unaware that Gaines was slated to speak at the event until she shared the post on X Monday evening.

"Penn State staff are in contact with the student organization to take steps to create a safe environment for the event, consistent with university policies and the First Amendment," the university concluded.

Gaines denied the university’s claims.

“I mean do you need confirmation that I was scheduled a room on campus? The cancellation was done after scheduling through Leadership Institute (not campus affiliated group) after TPUSA didn't meet the deadline. Btw TPUSA DID initially meet the deadline, but the University wouldn't meet with them until the 30 days prior had passed. I'd be happy to share those communications as well,” Gaines posted on X.

“When they were told the person speaking was me, suddenly there were ‘staffing demands’ and ‘other competing events,’” she added.

Turning Point USA did not respond to a request for comment from TheBlaze by the time of publication.

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