Simone Biles and Riley Gaines have been involved in a public online feud, with tensions escalating and Biles now appearing to have deleted her account on X, formerly known as Twitter. Newsweek has reached out to a representative for Biles via email, and to Gaines via an online contact form, outside of regular working hours for comment.
Why It Matters
Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history. The 28-year-old won her first title in 2013 and by 2015, had become the first woman to win three straight world all-around titles. To date, Biles has 11 Olympic medals, seven of which are gold. Gaines, 25 is a former swimmer at the University of Kentucky and host of Outkick’s Gaines for Girls podcast. She is a prominent conservative activist and is known for being an advocate against trans women in sport.
What To Know
The drama, which has become viral online, first began on June 6 when Gaines reposted a photo on X, formerly Twitter from the Minnesota State High School League’s account. The post read, “Meet Champlin Park, the Class AAAA Softball State Champion for 2025… Comments off lol. To be expected when your star player is a boy.” Multiple outlets have reported that the transgender athlete Marissa Rothenberger is a pitcher on the team.
Biles then responded to Gaines’ message on X, calling her “truly sick,” and a “straight up sore loser.” She added: “You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!”
In her post, Biles wrote “all of this campaigning because you lost a race,” which is in reference to Gaines’ 2022 race with the University of Pennsylvania athlete Lia Thomas, a trans woman. They tied for fifth place in a 200-yard freestyle race, and Gaines later testified in Congress about fairness in women’s sports. Gaines shared a series of posts in response to this. She wrote on X: “This is actually so disappointing. It’s not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces. You can uplift men stealing championships in women’s sports with YOUR platform. Men don’t belong in women’s sports and I say that with my full chest.”
Gaines later followed this up, responding to Biles’ remark about her body, writing: “And the subtle hint at “body-shaming” ???? Plzzzz I’m 5’5″.” In a further post, Gaines wrote: “All the horrific sexual abuse @Simone_Biles witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man’s feelings. You know how many gold medals you’d have if your “inclusive” dream came true? Zero.”
Biles was one of hundreds of women who came forward who to say they had been sexually abused by the former US Olympic gymnastics team doctor Larry Nasar, who used his position to sexually assault young athletes in what is the largest sexual abuse scandal in sporting history.
Nasar was first arrested and charged in 2016 with sexually assaulting at least 265 women, under the guise of medical treatment. He was sentenced to 60 years in federal prison in 2017, after he pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and evidence tampering. He received an additional 40 to 175 years in the Michigan Department of corrections, after he pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual assault. He was sentenced again in February of 2018 to an additional 40 to 125 years in Michigan State Prison, after he pleaded guilty to an additional three counts of sexual assault.
Biles has previously said that the abuse was “traumatizing.” Gaines was criticized for her post commenting about Biles’ experience, with some social media users describing it as “vile” and “astonishing,” though other social media users have continued to support her. Biles later apologized for her remarks about Gaines, and wrote: “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.” Gaines accepted Biles’ apology, for “the personal attacks including the ones where she body-shamed me.” Biles now appears to have deleted her account on X following the fallout. The reaction online has been mixed, with both Gaines and Biles being praised and criticized from different social media users who sit on different sides of the political spectrum.
What People Are Saying
Simone Biles previously wrote on X: “I believe sports organizations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition. We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful.”
