In response to the recent controversy surrounding swimmer and “Save Women’s Sports” activist Riley Gaines at San Francisco State University (SFSU), the school’s athletic director, Stephanie Shrieve-Hawkins, has said that it is a “common mistake to believe people might have a competitive advantage due to their physical abilities.”
Shrieve-Hawkins has over 20 years of “experience” in collegiate athletics, according to her faculty page.
Gaines, who was physically assaulted and essentially held hostage by an unruly crowd of trans activists during her appearance at SFSU, has become the center of debate on campus.
SFSU Vice President for Student Affairs Jamillah Moore stoked the fire by ridiculously thanking activists for “peacefully” participating in the anti-Gaines protest in a memo, even calling them “brave.”
Karina Zamora, the president of the SFSU student government made things even worse by blaming Gaines for her assault and the aggressive trans activists, accusing her of using “hateful rhetoric.”
Zamora also criticized campus police for their “confrontational behavior.”
Shrieve-Hawkins argues that “some athletes can see competition as an enhancer of negative thoughts against trans people, making some forget about other issues like inclusivity,” according to Golden Gate Xpress.
She believes that society’s competitive nature is the root of the problem, saying, “You wouldn’t see this with dancers or any other thing that’s physical. It’s just with this athletics [perspective], we live in this society that’s so competitive.”
She also pointed out that transgender male-to-female athletes are the primary focus of the debate, arguing that this is indicative of gender bias.
Shrieve-Hawkins asked, “So what does that say about women, that women aren’t strong?”
SFSU Athletics’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statement reads, in part:
“Organizations are enhanced by achieving greater diversity. We strive to embrace diversity in it all its forms: culture, identity, life experience, background, abilities, status, and perspectives. Further, we aim to center the voices of those who are marginalized and underrepresented due to structural, systemic, and institutionalized racism and heteropatriarchy that continue to exist in the world of athletics.”
Although the DEI statement does not explicitly mention transgender athletes, Shrieve-Hawkins said that might change soon to promote clarity and inclusivity.
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Shrieve-Hawkins has been with SFSU since 2018 and holds degrees in kinesiology and child development.
Her private Twitter profile lists her pronouns as “she/her” and includes “Black Lives Matter.”