Simone Biles apologizes for 'personal' comments during online feud with Riley Gaines
Simone Biles, left, has apologized to Riley Gaines after making 'personal' comments during their public feud over transgender athletes competing in women's sports. (Evan Agostini / Invision / Associated Press; Alex Brandon / Associated Press)
Superstar U.S. gymnast Simone Biles has apologized to Riley Gaines after calling the outspoken former NCAA swimmer "truly sick" and a "sore loser" in recent days during their public argument concerning transgender athletes competing in women's sports.
"I've always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport," Biles wrote Tuesday morning on X. "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."
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Gaines was a two-time All-Southeastern Conference swimmer at Kentucky. At the 2022 NCAA national championships, Gaines and Pennsylvania's Lia Thomas, a transgender woman, tied for fifth place in the 200 freestyle finals, but only Thomas got to pose on the podium with the fifth-place trophy.
At the same meet, Thomas won the 500 freestyle to become the first out transgender woman to claim a Division I title. But in February and in response to an executive order by President Trump, the NCAA changed its policy to limit competition in women's sports to athletes who were assigned female at birth.
Read more: California sues Justice Dept. over demand that school districts ban trans athletes
Gaines has become a leading voice for preventing transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. She and more than a dozen other former college swimmers filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, claiming that the organization had violated their Title IX rights by allowing Thomas to compete in the 2022 championships,
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Last week, Gaines reposted an X post from the Minnesota State High School League that congratulated the Champlin Park High softball team — which made national news because its star pitcher is transgender — for winning the 4A state championship.
"Comments off lol," Gaines wrote about the league's post. "To be expected when your star player is a boy."
Biles reposted Gaines' post the same day and didn't hold back in expressing her views on the matter.
"@Riley_Gaines_ You're truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race," Biles wrote. "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!!
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"But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!"
Read more: Two transgender athletes navigate teen life on front lines of raging national debate
Biles added in a separate post, "bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male."
Days later, the 11-time Olympic medalist returned to X, seemingly with a cooler head, to apologize for getting "personal" in her response to Gaines and attempt to explain her feelings again.
"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," Biles wrote. "I was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women's sports. My objection is to ... singling out children for public scrutiny in ways that feel personal and harmful.
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"Individual athletes — especially kids — should never be the focus of criticism of a flawed system they have no control over. 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."
Gaines responded on X with a post in which she accepted "Simone's apology for the personal attacks including the ones where she body-shamed me" but stated that "you can't have any empathy and compassion for the girls if you're ignoring when young men are harming or abusing them."
"I agree with you that the blame is on the lawmakers and leaders at the top," Gaines added. "Precisely why I'm suing the NCAA and support candidates who vow to stand with women. ... 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."
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