Riley Gaines
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
And I actually appreciate his honesty.
This is when his face changed.
I could tell he didn't even believe what he was about to say.
But this official looked at me and said, Riley, I am so sorry, but we have been advised as an organization that when photos are being taken, it's crucial that the trophy is in Leah's hands.
Again, you can pose with this one, but you have to give yours back.
Leah takes the trophy home.
You go home empty handed.
We can eventually mail you one.
So it was kind of it was like that moment when.
I felt guilty at that point.
I felt guilty for participating in the farce.
I felt guilty for even getting in the water at this point.
And so it kind of hit me.
I won't say I was necessarily cowering because I didn't feel like that to me.
I wasn't necessarily scared to approach the topic.
I just thought someone else would.