Riley Gaines reacts to ‘phenom' Simone Biles deleting X after feud over transgender athletes
Decorated Olympian gymnast Simone Biles deactivated her X account weeks after her feud with former swimmer and women's sports activist Riley Gaines over a transgender high school softball player spiraled out of control.
The 28-year-old's other social media accounts are still active, including her Instagram, which has 12.4 million followers.
After noticing Biles' retreat, Gaines, 25, said it was 'sad to see such a phenom go down like this. '
3 Olympian Simone Biles deleted her X account following her feud over transgender athletics with swimmer Riley Gaines.
X / simone_biles
'-has an incredibly unpopular and morally indefensible take, gets rightfully ridiculed for it, issues a groveling public apology after unrelenting backlash, deletes account to pretend it never happened,' the former NCAA swimmer for the University of Kentucky wrote on X.
In early June, Marissa Rothenberger, a transgender athlete, pitched a shutout to give Minnesota's Champlin Park High School a state championship.
The State High School League posted a team photo on social media after the big win — with comments turned off.
'To be expected when your star player is a boy,' Gaines, who competed against transgender University of Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas in 2022, said.
Biles fired back at Gaines' critique.
3 Simone Biles during the Women's Team Final on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 27, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan.
Getty Images
'All of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up 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!! But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!' Biles wrote.
Biles later apologized for the insults lobbed at Gaines, who is now a conservative commentator and activist for protecting women's sports.
3 Riley Gaines speaks at a news conference following the House of Representatives vote on H.R. 28 – 'Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act' at the US Capitol on Jan. 14, 2025.
Getty Images
'I wanted to follow up from my last tweets. 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,' Biles wrote.
'We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful,' she insisted.
But the damage had already been done — and other sports celebrities weighed in, including ex-NASCAR driver Danica Patrick and Biles' former teammate MyKayla Skinner, who accused her of bullying.
The exact reason why Biles deleted her X and not her other social media accounts is unclear.
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