Transphobic bully Riley Gaines doesn't deserve an apology from Simone Biles

Yahoo

a day ago

Over the last few days, those involved in the debate over trans participation in sports have experienced a lot of whiplash.
Former swimmer, famous internet bully, and sore loser Riley Gaines (who tied for fifth with trans athlete Lia Thomas in one college race and wasn't given the fifth place medal at the ceremony) once again used her online platform to harass a teen girl on June 6.
Gaines shared a picture on X of the Minnesota Class AAAA Softball State Champions for 2025, which includes one trans girl, and captioned, "To be expected when your star player is a boy."
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In response, Simone Biles, an international sports superstar and the most decorated gymnast of all time, called Gaines "truly sick" and a "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!!" Biles wrote. "But instead… You bully them… One thing's for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!"
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Gaines fired back, saying her "take is the least controversial take on the planet" and claiming that Biles was "being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls' dreams."
"This is actually so disappointing," she wrote. "It's not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces."
I wholeheartedly agree. As a woman and a lesbian, I love spaces that are exclusively for women. Unfortunately for Gaines, there are no men involved in the argument around trans girls competing in sports.
Fortunately for Gaines, she has a rabid group of social media-obsessed followers who were quick to pounce on Biles. These people have nothing better to do than harass a young Black woman who is standing up for literal children.
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Eventually, Biles was pressured into apologizing for getting "personal with Riley" and said that "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. I was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women's sports. 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. 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."
Unsurprisingly, people on the political right are calling Biles "angry," a "bully," and saying she has "fallen from grace." This is typical rhetoric brought up whenever a Black woman speaks out about something or is passionate.
In reality, the only bully here is Riley Gaines.
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In her arguments against Biles, Gaines brought up convicted sexual predator Larry Nassar, a cis man. "All the horrific sexual abuse @Simone_Biles witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man's feelings," Gaines wrote. "You know how many gold medals you'd have if your 'inclusive' dream came true? Zero."
In 2021, Biles and several other decorated gymnasts bravely testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the sexual abuse that they, and hundreds of other women and girls, faced at the hands of Nassar, who was a doctor for USA Gymnastics. Biles is unfortunate enough to know the harsh reality of what abuse from men feels like, and she knows it is not comparable to letting teen trans girls compete in girls' sports.
Trying to use Nassar's sexual abuse of Biles against her wasn't the only low blow Gaines attempted. Gaines also called out Biles for "body shaming her" in a tweet where Biles told her to "bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male." She replied by saying she's 5'5".
If Biles were forced to compete against Gaines in a swimming race, the 5'5" Gaines would have a genetic advantage over the 4'8" Biles. Gaines has more human growth hormone in her body, a drug banned by most sports organizations. By her own rules, does this make Gaines a man?
It is also hilariously ironic that Gaines is trying to call out Biles for "body shaming" her when Gaines has made a career out of body-shaming women. She says that Biles' comments come "at the expense of young girls' dreams," but what about young trans girls, young intersex girls, and young girls with hormone imbalances?
I know Gaines would say they aren't "real" girls, but she doesn't get to decide. She's not an expert in biology or gender, and she certainly doesn't get to have any say over the life of a teenage girl who lives in a different state from her and has no relation to her.
The biological reality of the situation is that Gaines is a bully who loves to target vulnerable teenage girls who happen to be trans because she knows she has a large crowd behind her.
In the end, apologizing to people like Gaines isn't going to open them up to listening or discussing the issue; it's only going to empower them. Gaines clearly doesn't have an issue with going low. Taking the high road isn't going to elevate Gaines. It only makes it so that she has tools and abilities that decent people like Biles don't have.
In other words, because Gaines is willing to be such a nasty and hateful bully, she has an inherent advantage over other women. If she wants her values to remain consistent, it may be time for her to step away from competing against women on this issue.
Mey Rude is a staff writer for Out.
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