After a Tennessee librarian was fired for sparking a disruption at an event by women’s sports activist Riley Gaines and actor Kirk Cameron, Gaines told The Post it’s all about politics and liberal activism.
Sumner County, Tennessee, library director Allan Morales was axed in a 4-3 vote by the library’s board, after he and his staff allegedly created a ruckus at the February 25 reading for kids.
“They were talking very loudly. They were slamming doors. Then all of a sudden they started blaring music and dropping books,” Gaines recalled.
“I don’t want to assume anything about anyone, but it seems like they were politically motivated and disagreed with our beliefs,” the 22-year-old told the Post. “There’s truthfully no other reason I can think of.”
Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer, has risen to national attention for speaking out against trans female athletes competing in women’s sports. She previously swam against controversial trans athlete Lia Thomas and recently told The Post: “We are not moving forward. This is actually quite the opposite. We’re going back 50 years in time to before Title IX.”
She believes her views likely inspired the library staff’s disruption.
Gaines said the library staff was “disrespectful and obnoxious” to her.
The incident took place in Gaines’ hometown in the Nashville suburbs. When former “Growing Pains” star Cameron — who now writes children’s books with conservative and biblical messaging — was passing through her area on a book tour, Gaines enthusiastically accepted his invitation to join a reading at the local library
Before the event even took place, librarian Morales reportedly attempted to get the venue moved and told the book’s publisher that he was “concerned that you are bringing a movement to my library and all of the other things that come along with that.
“That’s not going to happen,” he allegedly warned in emails obtained by The Tennesssean.
Cameron and Gaines teamed up to promote his children’s book “As You Grow.” FOX News
But Gaines and Cameron, along with “Duck Dynasty” reality TV star Missy Robertson, went ahead with the event, attracting lines of parents and children who waited in the rain to see them.
Gaines said a group of about five library staffers allegedly took it upon themselves to do anything they could to disrupt a promotional video that she and Cameron were recording before the event.
She claims Morales told them, “You have no right to be here. We don’t want you here,” before staff allegedly did everything they could to disrupt their video.
The athlete claimed the women working in the library were ”just intentionally being disrespectful and obnoxious to disrupt what we were doing.”
The former NCAA athlete said she was “heartbroken” people in her own community would treat her rudely. AP
She added, “I’ve never in my life seen older women act so immaturely.”
Morales did not return requests for comment.
The Tennessee native was shocked to see this sort of behavior in her hometown.
“We are a very conservative area,” she said. “I was just so heartbroken after living here my whole life. It just didn’t feel like an accurate representation of my community.”
Cameron and Gaines were reportedly told by staff that they had “no right” to be in the library. FOX News
But Gaines says that Morales’s interim replacement has since smoothed things over and personally apologized for the disruption.
“Everyone else in my hometown has been so incredibly supportive,” Gaines told the Post. “They understand that … advocating for protecting women’s sport is not rooted in hate. It’s not rooted in any sort of phobia towards a marginalized group. It’s rooted in love and a passion for women’s sports.”
As for Cameron’s new book, “As You Grow,” she added: “It’s a children’s book that teaches the values of faith and family and freedom and really all of the things that America was founded on, which is something you don’t see a lot of anymore.
Gaines, seen here swimming for the University of Kentucky, is already facing backlash for an upcoming speaking engagement at the University of Pittsburgh. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
“It just communicates a good message to children about virtues and standing firm in the truth of faith.”
But, as Gaines puts the library incident behind her, she’s bracing for yet more disruption.
On Monday she will be speaking at the University of Pittsburgh — and she said there’s already a petition, circulating with thousands of signatures, to cancel her event.
The school recently allocated a reported $26,000 to host transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney on campus.
“They just paid to have Dylan come, but they want to cancel my event,” Gaines said. “They have signs all around their campus saying I’m a domestic terrorist, I’m a fascist, I’m calling for a genocide of trans individuals — which, of course, is not true.”
Riley Gaines harassed by librarians over politics
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