We’ve reached the end of another week. But before we clock out for the weekend, we’re giving credit where it’s due. Simone Biles is the latest champion in our Winner of the Week series.
If to err is human and to forgive divine, what about the in-between, the apologizing and course-correcting? Let’s call it role-model behavior. Simone Biles, GOAT gymnast, recently had to issue a partial mea culpa after getting into it with conservative commentator Riley Gaines over the issue of trans kids in sports. Biles was standing up for the “kids” in “kids’ sports,” though her choice of words could have been better (they go low, we go high, etc.), but the whole episode is actually a great reminder of why having these conversations is so important. Whether it’s messing up someone’s pronouns or misunderstanding a complicated issue, sometimes we don’t get it right the first time. But as Biles shows us, you can listen, you can learn, and you can still use your platform to advocate for what’s right.
Here’s what happened: In 2022 Gaines tied for fifth place in a swim meet with Lia Thomas, who is trans. At the time, she seemed to take issue with some of the NCAA rules; over the next few years, however, Gaines became more and more radicalized and is now one of the leading faces of the anti-trans-women-in-sports movement as well as the MAGA movement.
On June 6, 2025, a high school softball team in Minnesota posted an innocuous-seeming team photo celebrating their championship win to X, and Gaines pointed out that comments had been turned off, speculating that this was because the “star player” was trans, though she used derogatory phrasing. Given that Gaines has 1.5 million followers on the platform, many if not most of whom likely follow her because of the issue of trans women in sports, this is inflammatory to say the least, and more than a few people pointed out that, whatever your view of trans athletes on the professional level, bringing this kind of attention to high school kids is deeply concerning.
Biles wasted no time making her own thoughts known, quoting Gaines’s post and writing, “…all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser.” She quickly followed it up with another post, writing “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male,” which is body-shaming at best and itself sort of transphobic at worst. People of all genders come in all shapes and sizes. Biles just happens to be a very short woman (four feet eight); Gaines is a medium-size woman (five feet five). What are we doing here?
From there, things got personal and icky. Gaines brought up Biles’s history of sexual assault at the hands of convicted predator Larry Nassar, as if there’s any comparison to be made between winning a trophy (?) and sexual abuse. Young trans girls wanting to play a sport or enter a locker room may pose a logistical issue that will take some working out, but it’s not at all the same or even in the same arena as a grown-ass sexual abuser like that’s just a bug nuts thing to say girl what.
Over the next few days, Gaines continued posting about Biles, but Biles stayed silent until June 10, when she returned to X to issue a lengthy statement apologizing for parts of what she’d previously said, writing, “I’ve always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport. The current system doesn’t adequately balance these important principles, which often leads to frustration and heated exchanges, and it didn’t help for me to get personal with Riley, which I apologize for. These are sensitive, complicated issues that I truly don’t have the answers or solutions to, but I believe it starts with empathy and respect. I was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women’s sports. My objection is to be singling out children for public scrutiny in ways that feel personal and harmful. Individual athletes—especially kids—should never be the focus of criticism of a flawed system they have no control over.”
