Professor appears to take shot at Riley Gaines in message to students before Penn State event

As Riley Gaines prepared to speak at Penn State University, it is becoming apparent some faculty at the university did not want her there.

Gaines said Monday night her speech was “canceled.”

But in a statement to Fox News Digital, Penn State clarified that “no event featuring Riley Gaines has ever been canceled at Penn State.”

The former NCAA swimmer is, in fact, slated to speak at a Real Women’s Day event on campus, but one professor has a plan for students to protest the event.

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Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines spoke to Congress about being held for ransom at San Francisco State University. (Homeland Security Subcommittee via YouTube)

In an email obtained by Fox News Digital, a professor wrote to her students that the university is having a “Dignity Day” event. The professor’s email states that it is a two-hour “community-wide celebration of dignity” beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Gaines’ event is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. With the two events coinciding, the professor said Dignity Day can “counter the hateful messages espoused by” Gaines.

“This seems like a good way to counter the hateful messages espoused by Ms. Gaines while not providing more attention and exposure to such messages,” the professor wrote.

The school did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it agrees with the professor’s suggestion that Gaines’ statements are the equivalent to hate speech.

Gaines posted a video in which Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi explained that, as a public university, the school is “bound by the First Amendment” to allow speakers “that many will consider controversial, either because their views are not widely held or because a speaker espouses ideas that are actively hateful.”

Riley Gaines speaks before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a presidential candidate, at the Greenville Convention Center June 2, 2023. (McKenzie Lange/Staff/USA Today Network)

RILEY GAINES SLAMS NCAA FOR ALLOWING LIA THOMAS TO COMPETE AT CHAMPIONSHIPS IN EMOTIONAL TESTIMONY

The school told Fox News Digital that Turning Point USA, the student organization bringing 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 school also said that “as late as last week, they had no confirmation that Ms. Gaines would attend the event, however they sent a confirmation early this morning.

Riley Gaines, a 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer, gained prominence for speaking out when she was forced to compete against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in 2022.  (REUTERS/Go Nakamura)

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“University  leaders learned Monday evening via social media that Gaines is coming to the University Park campus Oct. 10. 

“Penn State staff have been working with the student organization to see to it that they can host a safe event under university policies and within their First Amendment rights.”