In a surprising turn of events, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles publicly apologized to former swimmer and conservative activist Riley Gaines following a heated online exchange about transgender athletes in women’s sports. The dispute, which began over a Minnesota high school softball team’s inclusion of a transgender pitcher, escalated quickly, drawing attention from both supporters and critics alike.
The Spark That Ignited the Debate
The controversy ignited when Riley Gaines criticized a Minnesota high school softball team that won a championship with a transgender pitcher. Gaines, known for her outspoken opposition to transgender women competing in women’s sports, took to social media to voice her concerns. Simone Biles, a vocal advocate for inclusivity and fairness in sports, responded by defending the transgender athlete and suggesting that a separate category for transgender athletes could be a potential solution.
The Exchange Escalates
What began as a discussion about inclusivity soon turned personal. Biles accused Gaines of bullying and called her a “sore loser,” while Gaines dismissed Biles’s comments as disappointing. The exchange quickly gained traction online, with supporters of both athletes weighing in on the matter.
Biles Issues an Apology
Amid the backlash, Simone Biles took to social media to clarify her stance. She emphasized her belief in both inclusivity and competitive fairness in sports and apologized for making the dispute personal. Biles stressed the importance of empathy and respect in navigating sensitive issues and condemned the targeting of individual athletes, particularly minors.
Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles issued an apology for getting “personal” with former college swimmer Riley Gaines following their explosive online spat over transgender athletes in women’s sports. The record-smashing gymnast said in a statement on X that she believes in competitive equality and inclusivity, but that the “current system doesn’t adequately balance” the two, leading to “heated exchanges,” such as her war of words with Gaines.
“I wanted to follow up from my last tweets. I’ve always believe competitive equality & 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,” Biles wrote.
The seven-time gold medalist noted she doesn’t “have the answers or solutions” to these issues, but believes “it starts with empathy and respect.” The two got into a heated dispute last week when 25-year-old Gaines, best known for advocating against transgender athletes in women’s sports, started posting on social media about a high school softball team in Minnesota that has a transgender pitcher. Gaines commented on the team’s social media comments being turned off, writing, “To be expected when your star player is a boy.”
A fired-up Biles, 28, charged back: “You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race.” Gaines tied for fifth place with transgender woman Lia Thomas in the 200m freestyle swimming at the 2022 NCAA Championships. “Straight up sore loser,” Biles continued. “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!!!!!” “Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male,” Biles added in a second post.
Gaines quickly shot back, writing: “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 has been actively campaigning for policies that restrict transgender women from competing in female sports categories since tying with Thomas in 2022.
Biles concluded her post by saying that she believes 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,” Biles concluded. In her own post, Gaines accepted Biles’ apology and stated, “I welcome you to the fight to support fair sports and a future for female athletes. Little girls deserve the same shot to achieve that you had.”
