Gaines also said she and her teammates had to share a locker room with Thomas, who was fully disrobing in front of them. Gaines said that she ran out of the locker room to get an explanation, only to be told by an NCAA official, “We just got around this by making the locker rooms unisex.”
When Thomas’ teammates sent an email to the administration sharing how Thomas’ presence in their locker room made them uncomfortable, Gaines said that “their administration responded back was, ‘If you feel uncomfortable seeing male genitalia, here are some counseling resources that you should see.’”
The 23-year-old encouraged those listening to “stand firm and the truth above” everything else, telling church leaders that “it’s so much more powerful being here than being on Fox News, or doing any of the other things I do. Because, ultimately, you guys are the ones who can communicate this message best and make that change.”
Rolling Stone Criticizes TPUSA Faith for Allowing Registered Sex Offender Sell Christian Clothing Line in Exhibit Area
On Saturday (May 27), Rolling Stone criticized Kirk and the TPUSA Faith team for allowing registered sex offender, Shawn Bergstrand, to sell his Rightside Up Lifestyle Clothing apparel in their exhibit area, claiming that Bergstrand was one of TPUSA Faith’s corporate sponsors for their Pastors’ Summit.
In a testimony Berstrand gave in a promotional video, he said that God gave him a second chance at life after he lost “absolutely, completely everything.”
Kirk called Rolling Stone’s article a “joke” on Twitter and explained that he has never met Bergstrand.
“He was one of many exhibitors at our event. He’s not a ‘corporate sponsor,’ but rather a small business trying to market his company,” Kirk clarified. “I’m told from the team that coordinates exhibitors that he’s a nice person who did something wrong over a decade ago, and unlike Target, he repented and the experience led him to his faith.”
“Good for him,” Kirk said. “That’s the Gospel.”
Kirk concluded his tweet by pointing out that Bergstrand doesn’t hide what he did. “He tells his story on his own website, and the jerks at Rolling Stone took that public testimony and called it ‘exclusive,’ just to unfairly smear him and play gotcha with me and TPUSA Faith. Rolling Stone should be ashamed. Trash outlet that publishes trash hit pieces about an event they didn’t witness and know nothing about.”
, Turning Point USA Faith (TPUSA Faith) encouraged over a thousand pastors in Nashville, Tennessee, to boldly stand for conservative values in an ever-changing world.){kind=link}