Simone Biles slams ‘sore loser' Riley Gaines over attacks on trans athlete
Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast of all time with 11 Olympic and 30 world championship medals.
Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast of all time with 11 Olympic and 30 world championship medals. Photograph: Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Seven-time Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles has publicly condemned former competitive swimmer Riley Gaines for her repeated attacks on transgender athletes, calling Gaines 'sick' and a 'sore loser' in a strongly worded social media post.
The exchange erupted Friday night after Gaines mocked the Minnesota State High School League for turning off comments on a post celebrating Champlin Park High School's girls' softball team, which had just won the state championship. One of the team's players is a transgender girl.
Advertisement
'This championship was hijacked,' Gaines wrote on X, referring to the student-athlete as 'a boy' and ridiculing the league for disabling comments 'lol'.
Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time with 11 Olympic and 30 world championship medals, had seen enough. In a rare foray into online confrontation, she reposted Gaines' tweet and responded with a direct rebuke.
'You're truly sick,' Biles wrote. 'All of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser.'
The post referenced Gaines' performance at the 2022 NCAA championships, where she tied for fifth with Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer. Since then, Gaines has built a prominent public profile lobbying against the inclusion of transgender women in women's sports, becoming a fixture on right-wing media outlets and appearing alongside Donald Trump as he signed an executive order banning trans girls and women from competing in women's sports.
Advertisement
But Biles didn't stop there.
'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,' she wrote. 'Maybe a transgender category IN ALL SPORTS!! But instead… You bully them… One thing for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!'
In a follow-up post, Biles added: 'Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.'
Gaines quickly fired back, calling Biles' remarks 'so disappointing' and insisting: 'Men don't belong in women's sports and I say that with my full chest.'
A 12-time All-American swimmer at the University of Kentucky, Gaines has used her tie with Thomas as the basis for a national campaign opposing transgender inclusion in sports. She has frequently misgendered athletes in public forums and has drawn criticism from LGBTQ+ advocates and athletes alike for singling out individuals, often minors, by name on social media.
Advertisement
In the case of Champlin Park, Gaines made multiple posts about the transgender pitcher, even mentioning the player by name and referring to her with male pronouns, despite the team's vocal support for their teammate. The Rebels won the Class 4A title game 6-0.
'She's a great kid and a great teammate,' one coach told local media after the game. 'Her teammates love having her out there.'
Related: Now more than ever, cis female athletes must show solidarity with trans athletes | Johanna Mellis
The comments from Biles, who has long championed mental health awareness and survivor advocacy, drew swift backlash from conservative commentators, who accused the Olympic champion of hypocrisy and attention-seeking. Outkick, the right-leaning sports outlet where Gaines is a regular contributor, called her remarks 'self-contradicting'.
Advertisement
Gaines reposted several replies from fans who echoed her position, arguing that Biles was undermining women's sports and confusing the issue by suggesting a separate transgender category. 'It's not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces,' Gaines wrote in response.
Other conservative influencers piled on, questioning why Biles chose to weigh in and accusing her of 'siding with men' in women's athletics. 'If trans participation isn't a big deal, why propose a separate division?' one post read, summing up a recurring critique in her mentions.
Despite the backlash, Biles has not walked back her comments. Supporters praised her for using her platform to defend marginalized athletes and push back against what they view as a pattern of bullying and scapegoating by Gaines.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
12 minutes ago
- Forbes
AMA: Doctors And Patients Hurt By ‘Big Beautiful Bill'
The American Medical Association says legislation wending its way through the Republican-controlled ... More Congress would 'take us backward' as a country by cutting health benefits for poor and low-income Americans, the group's president said Friday, June 6. In this photo, the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg The American Medical Association says legislation wending its way through the Republican-controlled Congress would 'take us backward' as a country by cutting health benefits for poor and low-income Americans. Meeting for its annual policy-making House of Delegates this weekend in Chicago, the AMA is rallying physicians to thwart the legislation now before the U.S. Senate. Legislation known as the 'One Big Beautiful Bill Act' that narrowly passed the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives two weeks ago 'would reduce federal Medicaid spending by $793 billion and that the Medicaid provisions would increase the number of uninsured people by 7.8 million,' a KFF analysis shows. 'We have to turn our anger into action,' AMA President Bruce A. Scott, M.D. said in a speech to AMA delegates Friday. 'I know our patience is being tested by this new administration and Congress.' The AMA said it has launched a 'grassroots campaign targeted at the Senate' in hopes of making changes to the legislation. The AMA is the nation's largest physician group with more than 200,000 members. 'The same House bill that brings us closer to finally tying future Medicare payments to the rising costs of running a practice, also takes us backwards by limiting access to care for millions of lower-income Americans,' Scott said. 'Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act are literal lifelines for children and families for whom subsidized health coverage is their only real option. We must do all we can to protect this safety net and continue to educate lawmakers on how best to target waste and fraud in the system without making it tougher for vulnerable populations to access care.' Scott, an otolaryngologist from Kentucky, said the Medicare physician payment system is broken and Congress hasn't addressed – as an increasing number of states have – prior authorization, the process of health insurers reviewing hospital admissions and medications. Prior authorization delays needed treatment and puts patient health in jeopardy, doctors say. 'I'm angry because the dysfunction in health care today goes hand in hand with years of dysfunction in Congress,' Scott added. 'I'm angry because physicians are bearing the brunt of a failed Medicare payment system. And while our pay has been cut by more than 33 percent in 25 years, we see hospitals and even health insurance companies receiving annual pay increases.' Meanwhile, the AMA says cuts to physician payments are pushing more physicians away from private practice and exacerbating the nation's doctor shortage. A recent analysis by AMN Healthcare shows only two in five physicians are now in doctor-owned private practices. And Americans in most U.S. cities face waits of at least one month before they can see certain specialists. 'Congress needs to know there is no 'care' in Medicare if there are no doctors," Scott said.
Fox Sports
12 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
O Canada: Finals matchup between Olympic teammates Gilgeous-Alexander and Nembhard getting attention
Associated Press OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The NBA Finals. East vs. West. Indiana vs. Oklahoma City. Canada vs. ... Canada? It sure seemed like it at times in Game 1 of the series, anyway — and odds are, there will be more of those moments throughout the rest of this matchup between the Pacers and Thunder. There are four Canadians in the series, and two of them — NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the Thunder and Andrew Nembhard for the Pacers — went head-to-head plenty in Game 1. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points; Nembhard scored eight of his 14 in the fourth and was on the floor for the entirety of Indiana's 32-16 run that ended the game and turned a 15-point deficit into a one-point win. 'He's a competitor. He's a winner,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'Plays the game the right way on both ends of the floor. Really good player. Yeah, he's a winner for sure. No doubt.' They have been playing alongside each other since they were kids and were teammates on Canada's national team at the Paris Olympics in 2024. And they saw plenty of each other on both ends of the floor in Game 1, plus weren't afraid to mix it up with a little extra push here or choice words there. Nothing over the line, but enough to remind the other that it's all business right now. 'Nothing more than two guys wanting to win,' Gilgeous-Alexander said. 'No malicious intent behind it, just wanting to win.' Oklahoma City's Lu Dort and Indiana's Bennedict Mathurin are the other two Canadians in the finals. The four Canadian players combined for 72 points in Game 1; that's the most ever in any finals game by players from any individual country other than the U.S. That smashed the previous mark for points from Canadians in a finals game; it was 34, all from Jamal Murray, for Denver in Game 3 against Miami in 2023. 'It's amazing for our country,' Nembhard said. It's not just Gilgeous-Alexander who has long-time familiarity with Nembhard. Thunder forward Chet Holmgren played with Nembhard at Gonzaga as well. 'Obviously, he's my guy, great dude,' Holmgren said. 'I have a lot of compliments for him as a basketball player and a person. But we're playing against him right now, so I'm going to hold on to all those.' Pacers coach Rick Carlisle knows the Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Nembhard matchup might be viewed by some as a game within the game. He said Nembhard 'loves the challenge' of matching wits with Gilgeous-Alexander. 'I mean, you don't stop players today,' Carlisle said. 'You try to make it hard. He played with Shai on the Olympic team and so they have familiarity. They are both from Canada and they both have played a lot with and against each other over the years. But this is the ultimate challenge, a guy like him who is the MVP.' ___ AP NBA: recommended
New York Times
18 minutes ago
- New York Times
Immigration Agents Clash Again With Protesters in Los Angeles County
Protesters and immigration officials clashed again in Los Angeles County on Saturday as agents conducted raids at a Home Depot, local officials said, just a day after dramatic standoffs at similar workplace raids elsewhere in the area. In Paramount, Calif., about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, protesters squared off with federal immigration agents after at least two immigration raids took place on Saturday, including one at the Home Depot and another at a nearby meatpacking facility. Video of the protests showed agents using what appeared to be flash-bang grenades to disperse the protesters. Immigrant rights advocates said that the agents, who were wearing riot gear, had also used some type of tear gas to break up the crowds. José Luis Solache Jr., a state assembly member, said on social media that he was among those who were hit with tear gas. The standoff followed a series of immigration raids that swept through Los Angeles on Friday, which resulted in chaos outside a federal building downtown where people detained in the raids were being processed. The streets swelled with protesters, and buildings and vehicles were vandalized with spray paint. Some people threw objects at federal agents, who then responded with flash-bang grenades. Just on Friday, agents arrested more than 120 people, federal officials said. But processing those arrests were delayed because of the protests. On Saturday, Trump administration officials blasted the city's response to the Friday operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, criticizing Los Angeles officials for not helping the federal agents, as well as blaming Democrats for the unrest. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
