Simone Biles clarifies criticism of Riley Gaines, says kids should never be focus
Simone Biles clarifies criticism of Riley Gaines, says kids should never be focus
Show Caption
Hide Caption
Trans teen publishes children's book about inclusivity
This transgender teen co-wrote 'A Kids Book About Being Inclusive' with the hopes of inspiring children everywhere.
Staff Video, USA TODAY
Simone Biles doesn't want anyone picking on kids.
The seven-time Olympic champion tried to add some clarity to her exchange last week with anti-transgender activist Riley Gaines, apologizing for her personal criticism but doubling down on her feelings about Gaines' attacks on kids.
"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," Biles wrote Tuesday.
OPINION: Simone Biles shows her greatness again in standing up for transgender community | Opinion
Gaines has made a career out of attacking the participation of transgender women athletes since tying Lia Thomas for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA championships in 2022. She routinely uses her platform to mock and demean transgender athletes, many of whom are minors.
On Friday, Gaines posted about the Champlin Park softball team, which won the Class 4A title in Minnesota. The team's star pitcher is reportedly transgender, and Gaines referred to her as "a dude" and said Champlin Park had "hijacked" the title.
That drew the ire of Biles, who called Gaines "sick" and a "sore loser."
"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!!" Biles wrote. "But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!
Biles then told Gaines to "bully someone your own size."
Since then, Gaines has repeatedly posted about Biles, often in personal terms. She even likened Biles' defense of transgender athletes to Larry Nassar's abuse. Nassar is the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State team physician who sexually abused Biles and hundreds of other girls and young women, often under the guise of medical treatment.
Biles didn't weigh in further on the participation of transgender athletes in Tuesday's post, saying instead that everyone wants "a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Young, Larson participate at NCAA outdoor championships
EUGENE, ORE. (KELO) — The NCAA outdoor track & field national championships take place over four days in Eugene, Ore., and two athletes who compete in South Dakota participated on day one. In the men's pole vault final, USD's Tre Young cleared 17 feet, 5.75 inches, which placed him tied for 18th in the competition. Aleksandr Solovev from Texas A&M won it by clearing 18 feet, 11.5 inches. SDSU's Cody Larson ran in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase semifinals, but he failed to finish the race. The national championships continue on Thursday as three USD women's competitors participate in the 400 meter run and pole vault. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Female athletes appeal landmark NCAA settlement, saying it violates federal antidiscrimination law
Eight female athletes filed an appeal Wednesday of a landmark NCAA antitrust settlement, arguing that women would not receive their fair share of $2.7 billion in back pay for athletes who were barred from making money off their name, image and likeness. US District Judge Claudia Wilken approved the settlement last week, clearing the way for direct payments from universities to athletes and the end of the NCAA's amateurism model. The athletes who appealed the settlement competed in soccer, volleyball and track. They are Kacie Breeding of Vanderbilt; Lexi Drumm, Emma Appleman, Emmie Wannemacher, Riley Hass, Savannah Baron and Elizabeth Arnold of the College of Charleston; and Kate Johnson of Virginia. They have standing to appeal because they previously filed objections to the proposed settlement. Advertisement College soccer player Lexi Drumm leaves federal court in Oakland, Calif. on April 7, 2025. AP Ashlyn Hare, one of the attorneys representing the athletes, said in a statement that the settlement violates Title IX, the federal law that bans sex-based discrimination in education. 'We support a settlement of the case, but not an inaccurate one that violates federal law. The calculation of past damages is based on an error that ignores Title IX and deprives female athletes of $1.1 billion,' Hare said. 'Paying out the money as proposed would be a massive error that would cause irreparable harm to women's sports.' Advertisement The law firm representing the plaintiffs in the settlement issued a statement saying the appeal would delay payments to hundreds of thousands of athletes by a minimum of several months. 'These attorneys are pursuing an appeal based on a Title IX issue that Judge Wilken already disposed of correctly, quickly and multiple times,' the statement said. The House settlement figures to financially benefit football and basketball stars at the biggest schools, who are likely to receive a big chunk of the $20.5 million per year that colleges are permitted to share with athletes over the next year. The NCAA logo at center court of The Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on March 18, 2015. AP Advertisement Some athletes in other sports that don't make money for their schools could lose their partial scholarships or see their roster spots cut. 'This is a football and basketball damages settlement with no real benefit to female athletes,' Hare said. 'Congress has expressly rejected efforts to exempt revenue-generating sports like football and basketball from Title IX's antidiscrimination mandate. The NCAA agreed with us. Our argument on appeal is the exact same argument the conferences and NCAA made prior to settling the case.' The appeal was filed by the law firm Hutchinson Black and Cook of Boulder, Colorado, and was first reported by Front Office Sports. It would be heard by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Zaltos, Mantzouranis go 1-2 in hammer to help Minnesota take lead in NCAA track championships
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Kostas Zaltos won the NCAA hammer throw and fellow Greek thrower Angelos Mantzouranis was second to help Minnesota take the Day 1 lead at the outdoor track and field championships Wednesday. Zaltos and Mantzouranis are the first teammates to go 1-2 in the NCAA hammer throw since Virginia Tech did it in 2011. Zaltos won with a throw of 256 feet, 2 inches in the fourth round to become the first Minnesota outdoor champion since 2018 and just the third since 1971. Mantzouranis, who finished third as a freshman last year, had a personal-best 252-6. New Mexico also went 1-2 in the 10,000 meters when freshman Ishmael Kipkurui beat defending champion Habtom Samuel with a time of 29 minutes, 7.70 seconds. Last year, Samuel became the first male in school history to win an NCAA outdoor 5,000 or 10,000 title. Minnesota sits atop the team standings with 23 points, with New Mexico and Florida tied for second at 18. Jason Swarens of Wisconsin landed a personal-best 69-8 on his final toss to win the shot put and deny Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan his fourth straight NCAA title. Swarens became the first Badger male to win a national title in the shot put and the first male thrower to win a NCAA title since Michael Lihrman won consecutive indoor weight throw titles in 2014 and '15. Aleksandr Solovev broke his own school record with a clearance of 18-11 1/2 to become the pole vault champion for Texas A&M. Florida senior Malcolm Clemons jumped a 26-4 1/2 on his first attempt and held on to win his first national title in the long jump. Miami's Devoux Deysel won the javelin with a throw of 268-2. The men's events continue Friday at Hayward Field. ___ AP sports:
