Simone Biles and Riley Gaines Feud: What We Know As Tension Escalates
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
Simone Biles and Riley Gaines have been involved in a public feud, and tension has escalated as MyKayla Skinner has inserted herself into the drama.
Newsweek reached out to Skinner's representative via email for comment on Wednesday.
The Context
Biles is a record-breaking Olympic gymnast who gained attention in 2011 at national competitions. She won her first world title in 2013, and by 2015, she became the first woman to win three-straight world all-around titles. To date, the 28-year-old has 11 Olympic medals, including seven gold.
Gaines, 25, is the host of Outkick's Gaines for Girls podcast. She's a former swimmer at the University of Kentucky and is an advocate against trans women in women's sports.
What To Know
The now-viral drama began on June 6 when Gaines reposted a photo on X, formerly Twitter, from the Minnesota State High School League's account.
"Meet Champlin Park, the Class AAAA Softball State Champion for 2025," the post read. In response, Gaines said: "Comments off lol. To be expected when your star player is a boy."
Multiple outlets reported that transgender athlete Marissa Rothenberger is a pitcher on the team.
At the time of publication, Gaines' post garnered 33.1 million views, 98,000 likes and over 5,900 comments.
(L) Simone Biles celebrates after finishing her routine during the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Vault Final on day eight of the Paris Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena on August 3, 2024 in Paris, France. (R)...
(L) Simone Biles celebrates after finishing her routine during the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Vault Final on day eight of the Paris Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena on August 3, 2024 in Paris, France. (R) Riley Gaines visits "The Megyn Kelly Show" at the SiriusXM Studios on May 20, 2024 in New York City. More;Biles reacted to Gaines' message on X, writing: "@Riley_Gaines_ You're truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser."
She added: "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!!!!!"
Her post had 54.1 million views, 263,000 likes and 73,000 comments.
Biles was referring to Gaines' 2022 race with the University of Pennsylvania athlete Lia Thomas, a trans woman. They tied for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle, and Gaines testified in Congress about fairness in women's sports.
"Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male @Riley_Gaines_," Biles hit back in a separate post.
"This is actually so disappointing," Gaines said in response. "It's not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces. You can uplift men stealing championships in women's sports with YOUR platform. Men don't belong in women's sports and I say that with my full chest."
"And the subtle hint at 'body-shaming'???? Plzzzz I'm 5'5," the conservative political activist said. Biles is 4-foot-8.
Biles later apologized for her remarks, telling her 1.9 million followers on X that she's "always believed competitive equity & inclusivity."
"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," she said. "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."
Gaines accepted Biles apology. "She's still the greatest female gymnast of all time," she said.
On June 13, Skinner—who was a former teammate of Biles at the Tokyo Olympics—weighed in on their social media exchange in a statement to One America News.
"As an athlete who has dedicated years to a sport, I've always believed that true competition should elevate us—not diminish others. That's why it's deeply troubling to see @Simone_Biles publicly label a fellow female athlete a 'sore loser'—simply for expressing valid concerns about fairness in women's sports."
Skinner later doubled down on her remarks about Biles in an interview with FOX News on June 16.
"Throughout my career, there's been many times where I have been belittled and bullied by Simone and have wanted to keep quiet for the other athletes," the 28-year-old alleged. "I stand by Riley and for the amazing way that she is helping athletes to fight for women."
Newsweek reached out to Biles' representative via email for comment on Wednesday.
What People Are Saying
The Biggest Loser star Jillian Michaels wrote on X: "@Simone_Biles While many appreciate your opinion maybe it's time to discuss the facts? If you are so confident have the courage to debate @Riley_Gaines_ on this topic. Litigate this honestly and with integrity. I want to provide this forum. While I agree with @Riley_Gaines_ unilaterally I am confident I can maintain a neutral stance to moderate this conversation."
ESPN anchor Sage Steele said on X: "Easy to say this @Simone_Biles when you only had to compete against fellow women. Every one of your Olympic medals came competing against fellow women. @Riley_Gaines_ was not only forced to compete against a man, but forced to share a locker room with a man. THAT is SICK. Shocked and disappointed that you'd attack another woman who has done nothing but uplift other women. If YOU think it makes sense to create a league for trans people, go for it! Use that huge platform of yours! But to attack Riley for what she has done for little girls who want to be the next Simone Biles is........sick."
Conservative political commentator Tomi Lahren reshared a USA Today opinion piece on X: "Her greatness? She literally made fun of Riley Gaines' appearance!!! Yall fake stream media hacks really know how to stand up for real women, don't you?! Disgusting!!"
Gymnast Sam Phillips wrote on X: "This whole fight between Riley and Simone is NULL & VOID because the basis of the right's attack is that she would lose medals in the men's gym category when in reality, she would actually STEAL GOLDS from LOTS of the best Male floor and vault workers. So their base is FLAWED... And yes....also Null and Void because Riley G.B. is in fact an evil spirited, loser mentality, unreliable, misinformed, hateful person."
What Happens Next
Biles has not yet responded to Skinner's bullying claims.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
LA28 to break longstanding tradition with corporate venue names at Games
For the first time in Olympic and Paralympic history, competition venues will carry corporate names during the Games, breaking from the long-standing 'clean venue' tradition. That policy, also enforced at other mega-events like the Fifa World Cup, requires stadiums and arenas to strip or cover all non-official sponsor branding, including naming rights signage. The aim is to protect the exclusivity of global partners who pay millions for official status. In past events, Arsenal's Emirates Stadium became 'Arsenal Stadium' for Uefa matches, and New Jersey's MetLife Stadium will be known as 'New York New Jersey Stadium' during the 2026 World Cup. Related: Trump announces he will chair White House taskforce for 2028 LA Olympics The shift follows years of debate inside the IOC. Former president Thomas Bach had signaled a move towards a 'clean field of play' rather than a blanket 'clean venue' policy, opening the door for more sponsor visibility around the Games. LA28 chair Casey Wasserman said naming rights are 'truly embedded' in the US sporting culture and that many venues are already commonly known by their sponsor names. LA28 announced Thursday that Comcast and Honda will be the first naming rights partners under an IOC-approved pilot program designed to generate additional revenue for the privately funded Los Angeles Games. Comcast Squash Center at Universal Studios will stage squash's Olympic debut. Honda Center in Anaheim, home to the NHL's Ducks, will host indoor volleyball while keeping its corporate name. Other permanent venues with existing naming deals, including SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome, Arena, BMO Stadium, Peacock Theater and Devon Park in Oklahoma City, could retain their titles if their sponsors purchase the rights. 'From the moment we submitted our bid, LA28 committed to reimagining what's possible for the Games,' Wasserman said. 'These groundbreaking partnerships with Comcast and Honda, along with additional partners to come, will not only generate critical revenue for LA28 but will introduce a new commercial model to benefit the entire Movement. We're grateful to the IOC for making this transformation possible.' Under the program, up to 19 temporary venues will also have naming rights available to worldwide and LA28 partners, with the first opportunities going to members of the Olympic Partner (TOP) program. TOP sponsors will have first choice on temporary venues, followed by LA28's highest-tier domestic sponsors. Any company outside that group would need to sign on as a founding partner to gain rights. Wasserman has estimated the total value could reach nine figures, depending on the venue and location. Historically, the 'clean venue' policies have meant significant losses for venue sponsors. Marketing analysts estimate that losing naming rights exposure at a World Cup can cost between $5m and $9m for early matches, rising to $80m for the final. For 2026, Fifa has told host cities to hand over full control of their stadiums for more than a month, with all non-sponsor logos removed or covered, even on equipment and roof signage. An IOC statement described the LA28 plan as a 'pilot' that will be 'assessed for relevancy for future hosts'. It said the approach 'takes into account market realities of venue naming and generates critical revenue to stage the Games' while maintaining the principles of clean venues on the field of play. The move underscores the growing commercialization of the Games as organizers seek new funding models. LA28 will be the first US Summer Olympics in more than 30 years and aims to rely entirely on private financing to meet its estimated $7.1bn budget. Outside the new naming rights program, standard clean venue rules will still apply. The Games run from 14 to 30 July, followed by the Paralympics from 15 to 27 August.
San Francisco Chronicle
28 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
LA Olympics to sell naming rights to some venues in game-changing deal for 2028
Organizers of the Los Angeles Olympics will sell naming rights for a handful of its venues in deals expected to bring multiple millions of dollars to the 2028 Games while breaking down the International Olympic Committee's long-sacrosanct policy of keeping brand names off its arenas and stadiums. The organizing committee announced the landmark deal Thursday, saying contracts were already in place with two of its founding partners — Honda, which already has naming rights for the arena in Anaheim that will host volleyball, and Comcast, which will have its name on the temporary venue hosting squash. LA28 chairman and CEO Casey Wasserman said revenue from the deals goes above what's in LA's current $6.9 billion budget. He portrayed the deal as the sort of paradigm-shifting arrangement that Los Angeles needs more than other host cities because, as is typical for American-hosted Olympics, the core cost of these games aren't backed by government funding. 'We're a private enterprise responsible for delivering these games,' Wasserman said in an interview with The Associated Press. 'It's my job to push. That doesn't mean we're going to win every time we push, but it's our job to always push because our context is pretty unique.' Wasserman said he also spent time explaining to IOC members how arena and stadium names are part of the lexicon in American sports. 'People know 'Crypto' as 'Crypto,' they don't know it as 'the gymnastics arena downtown,'" Wasserman said of the home of the Lakers, Arena, which will host gymnastics and boxing in 2028. Rights for up to 19 temporary venues could be available. The IOC's biggest sponsors — called TOP sponsors — will have first chance to get in on the deals. Wasserman said no venues will be renamed — so, for instance, if organizers don't reach a deal with SoFi (opening and closing ceremonies, swimming) or Intuit (basketball), no other sponsor can put its name on the arena. Not included in this new arrangement are the LA Coliseum, Rose Bowl and Dodger Stadium, some of the most iconic venues in a city that hosted the Olympics in 1932 and 1984. Organizers said IOC rules that forbid advertising on the field of play will still apply. The deal adds to a growing list of accommodations pushed through for Los Angeles, which is once again poised to reshape the Olympic brand, much the way it did in 1984. In 2017, the city was bidding for the 2024 Olympics against Paris, but agreed to instead host the 2028 Games. It was part of a then-unheard-of bid process that rescued the IOC from the reality that cities were becoming reluctant to absorb the cost and effort to bid for and host the Summer Games. Olympic watchers viewed the return of softball and baseball for 2028, along with the introduction of flag football (with help from the NFL) as changes that maybe only Los Angeles could've pulled off.
San Francisco Chronicle
28 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Today in Sports - Week Ahead, August 15
Aug. 15 1948 — Babe Didrikson Zaharias wins the U.S. Women's Open golf title over Betty Hicks. 1950 — Ezzard Charles knocks out Freddie Beshore in the 14th round to retain his world heavyweight title. 1965 — Dave Marr edges Jack Nicklaus and Billy Casper to take the PGA Championship. 1966 — Jose Torres retains his world light-heavyweight title with a unanimous decision over Eddie Cotton in Las Vegas. 1993 — Greg Norman lips his putt on the PGA Championship's second playoff hole, giving Paul Azinger the title and leaving Norman with an unprecedented career of Grand Slam playoff losses. Norman, despite winning his second British Open title a month earlier, has lost playoffs in three other majors — 1984 U.S. Open, 1987 Masters, 1989 British Open. 1993 — Damon Hill, son of the late Graham Hill, becomes the first father-son Formula One winners when he takes the Hungarian Grand Prix. 1995 — Monica Seles returns to the WTA Tour after a 28-month absence following her 1993 stabbing with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Kimberly Po at the Canadian Open. 1999 — Tiger Woods makes a par save on the 17th hole and holds on to win the PGA Championship by one stroke over 19-year-old Sergio Garcia. Woods, 23, becomes the youngest player to win two majors since Seve Ballesteros in 1980. 2004 — In Athens, Greece, the U.S. men's basketball team loses 92-73 to Puerto Rico, the third Olympic defeat for the Americans and first since adding pros. American teams had been 24-0 since the professional Olympic era began with the 1992 Dream Team. The U.S Olympic team's record was 109-2, entering the game. 2005 — Phil Mickelson delivers another dramatic finish in a major, flopping a chip out of deep rough to 2 feet for a birdie on the final hole and a one-shot victory in the PGA Championship. 2007 — Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy pleads guilty to felony charges for taking cash payoffs from gamblers and betting on games he officiated in a scandal that rocked the league and raised questions about the integrity of the sport. 2010 — Martin Kaymer wins the PGA Championship in a three-hole playoff against Bubba Watson. Dustin Johnson, with a one-shot lead playing the final hole at Whistling Straits, is penalized two strokes for grounding his club in a bunker on the last hole. The two-shot penalty sends him into a tie for fifth. 2012 — Felix Hernandez pitches the Seattle Mariners' first perfect game and the 23rd in baseball history, overpowering the Tampa Bay Rays in a brilliant 1-0 victory. It's the third perfect game in baseball this season. 2012 — The U.S. breaks a 75-year winless streak at Azteca Stadium with an 80th-minute goal by Michael Orozco Fiscal and Tim Howard's late sprawling saves in a 1-0 victory over Mexico. 2014 — Mo'Ne Davis, one of two girls at the Little League World Series, throws a two-hitter to help Philadelphia beat Nashville 4-0 in the opener for both teams. Davis, the first girl to appear for a U.S. team in South Williamsport since 2004, has eight strikeouts and no walks. _____ Aug. 16 1920 — Cleveland shortstop Ray Chapman is hit in the head with a pitch by New York's Carl Mays. Chapman suffers a fractured skull and dies the next day. It's the only field fatality in major league history. 1924 — Helen Wills Moody beats Molla Bjurstedt Mallory again, 6-1, 6-3, to win her second straight singles title at the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships. 1954 — The first Sports Illustrated magazine is issued with a 25-cent price tag. The scene on the cover was a game at Milwaukee's County Stadium. Eddie Mathews of Braves was swinging with Wes Westrum catching and Augie Donatelli umpiring. 1970 — Dave Stockton wins the PGA Championship by two strokes over Arnold Palmer and Bob Murphy at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. 1976 — Dave Stockton edges Raymond Floyd and Don January by one stroke to win his second PGA Championship. Stockton hits a par-saving 15-foot putt on the 72nd hole to finish with a 1-over 281 at Congressional Country Club (Blue Course) in Bethesda, Md. 1989 — Tom Drees pitches his third no-hitter of the season for Class AAA Vancouver, leading the Canadians over Las Vegas 5-0 in a seven-inning, first game of a doubleheader in the Pacific Coast League. Drees became the first pitcher in the PCL or the major leagues with three no-hitters in a year. 1992 — Nick Price holds off a comeback bid by Nick Faldo with a 1-under 70 in the final round and captures his first major title with a three-stroke victory in the PGA national championship. 1995 — Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie shatters Kenya's Moses Kiptanui's record in the 5,000 by nearly 11 seconds with a time of 12 minutes, 44.39 seconds at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich, Switzerland. 1998 — Jeff Gordon drives into the record book, becoming the seventh driver in modern NASCAR history to win four straight races as he comes from far back to take the Pepsi 400. 2003 — Cristiano Ronaldo (18) makes his debut for Manchester United and the Premier League in a 4–0 home victory over Bolton Wanderers. 2008 — In Beijing, Michael Phelps touches the wall a hundredth of a second ahead of Serbia's Milorad Cavic to win the 100-meter butterfly. The win gives Phelps his seventh gold medal of the Beijing Games, tying Mark Spitz's performance in the 1972 Munich Games. Usain Bolt of Jamaica runs the 100-meter dash in a stunning world-record time of 9.69 seconds for a blowout win that he starts celebrating a good 10 strides before the finish line. 2009 — Usain Bolt shatters the 100-meter world record at the World Championships in Berlin. Bolt finishes with a stunning time of 9.58 seconds, bettering his own record of 9.69 seconds set in last year's Beijing Olympics. 2009 — Y.E. Yang of South Korea becomes the first Asian player to win one of golf's majors with a three-stroke win over Tiger Woods at the PGA Championship. 2015 — Jason Day leads wire-to-wire in the final round at Whistling Straits to close out a record-setting PGA Championship and capture his first major title. The 27-year-old Australian finishes at 20-under 268 to beat Jordan Spieth by three shots. Day becomes the first player to finish at 20 under in a major. 2015 — Brooke Henderson wins the Cambia Portland Classic by eight strokes to become the third-youngest champion in LPGA Tour history at 17 years, 11 months, 6 days. 2018 — The Davis Cup gets a radical makeover beginning in 2019. The top team event in men's tennis will be decided with a season-ending, 18-team tournament at a neutral site. _____ Aug. 17 1933 — Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees plays his 1,308th straight game to break Everett Scott's record of 1,307. 1938 — Henry Armstrong wins the lightweight title with a 15-round decision over Lou Ambers and becomes the only boxer to hold world championship titles in three weight divisions simultaneously. Armstrong won the featherweight (126-pound) title by knocking out Petey Sarron in six rounds on Oct. 29, 1937. On May 31, 1938, he won the welterweight (147-pound) championship from Barney Ross by a decision. 1960 — Flash Elorde knocks out Harold Gomes at 1:20 in the first round to win the world junior lightweight title. 1969 — Ray Floyd beats Gary Player by one stroke to win the PGA championship. 1995 — John Roethlisberger wins the U.S. National Gymnastics Championships' all-around title in New Orleans, becoming the first gymnast in 28 years to win four titles. 1997 — Davis Love III shoots a 66 at Winged Foot to win the PGA Championship in Mamaroneck, N.Y., his first major title, by five strokes over Justin Leonard with a 72-hole total of 11-under 269. 2001 — Shingo Katayama shoots a 6-under 64, and David Toms shoots a 65 to share the second-round lead in the PGA Championship. Katayama and Toms at 9-under 131, tie the PGA record for 36 holes last set by Ernie Els at Riviera in 1995. 2005 — The NCAA purchases the rights to the preseason and postseason National Invitation Tournaments as part of a settlement ending a four-year legal fight between the two parties. The 40-team postseason NIT, which is a year older and was once the bigger event, will be run by the NCAA. 2008 — At the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Michael Phelps and three teammates win the 400-meter medley relay for Phelps' eighth gold medal, eclipsing Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at the 1972 Munich Games. Of his five individual races and three relays, Phelps sets world records in seven and an Olympic record in the eighth. 2008 — Jesus Sauceda of Matamoros, Mexico, pitches the fifth perfect game in Little League World Series history and the first in 29 years for a 12-0 win over Emilia, Italy. Sauceda also stars at the plate, going 3-for-3 with six RBIs, including a grand slam in the third. 2013 — Nick Davilla throws six touchdown passes and the Arizona Rattlers defeat the Philadelphia Soul 48-39 in the Arena Bowl. The Rattlers win the championship for the second straight year, beating the Soul in both championship games. 2014 — Inbee Park successfully defends her title in the LPGA Championship, beating Brittany Lincicome with a par on the first hole of a playoff to end the United States' major streak at three. 2014 — The Phoenix Mercury sets a WNBA record with their 29th win, beating the Seattle Storm 78-65 in the season finale. Phoenix (29-5) tops the previous mark set by Los Angeles (28-4 in both 2000 and 2001) and Seattle (28-6 in 2010). 2015 — The National Labor Relations Board dismisses a historic ruling that Northwestern University football players are school employees who are entitled to form what would be the nation's first union of college athletes. 2016 — Jamaica's Elaine Thompson completes the first 100-200 women's Olympic double since 1988. Thompson wins the 200 in 21.78 seconds to become the first woman since Marion Jones in 2000 to win both Olympic sprints. Jones' records have since been stripped, so Thompson goes in the record book along with Florence Griffith-Joyner, who starred in the 1988 Seoul Games. _____ Aug. 18 1923 — Helen Mills, 17, ends Molla Bjurstedt Mallory's domination of the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association championships and starts her own with a 6-2, 6-1 victory. 1958 — Floyd Patterson knocks out Roy Harris in the 13th round at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles to retain his world heavyweight title. 1964 — The International Olympic Committee bans South Africa from competing in the Summer Olympics because of its apartheid policies. 1982 — Pete Rose sets record with his 13,941st plate appearance. 1994 — South Africa is introduced for the first time in 36 years during the opening ceremonies of the 15th Commonwealth Games held in Victoria, British Columbia. South Africa had been banned from the Games since 1958 because of its apartheid policies. 1995 — Thirteen-year-old Dominique Moceanu becomes the youngest to win the National Gymnastics Championships senior women's all-around title in New Orleans. 2004 — Paul Hamm wins the men's gymnastics all-around Olympic gold medal by the closest margin ever in the event. Controversy follows after it was discovered a scoring error that may have cost Yang Tae-young of South Korea the men's all-around title. Yang, who finished with a bronze, is wrongly docked a tenth of a point on his second-to-last routine, the parallel bars. He finishes third, 0.049 points behind Hamm, who becomes the first American man to win gymnastics' biggest prize. 2008 — A day after winning an Olympic gold medal in Beijing, Rafael Nadal officially unseats Roger Federer to become the world's No. 1 tennis player when the ATP rankings are released. Federer had been atop the rankings for 235 weeks. 2013 — For the first time in Solheim Cup history, the Europeans leaves America with the trophy. Caroline Hedwall becomes the first player in the 23-year history of the event to win all five matches. She finishes with a 1-up victory over Michelle Wie and gives Europe the 14 points it needed to retain the cup. 2013 — Usain Bolt is perfect again with three gold medals. The Jamaican great becomes the most successful athlete in the 30-year history of the world championships. The 4x100-meter relay gold erases the memories of the 100 title he missed out on in South Korea two years ago because of a false start. Bolt, who already won the 100 and 200 meters, gets his second such sprint triple at the world championships, matching the two he achieved at the Olympics. 2016 — Jamaica's Usain Bolt completes an unprecedented third consecutive sweep of the 100 and 200-meter sprints, elevating his status as the most decorated male sprinter in Olympic history. He wins the 200-meter race with a time of 19.78 seconds to defeat Andre de Grasse of Canada. American Ashton Eaton defends his Olympic decathlon title, equaling the games record with a surge on the last lap of the 1,500 meters — the last event in the two-day competition. Helen Maroulis defeats Japan's Saori Yoshida 4-1 in the 53-kilogram freestyle final to win the first-ever gold medal for a United States women's wrestler. 2018 — Accelerate cruises to a record 12 1/2-length victory in the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar, becoming just the third horse to sweep all three of Southern California's major races for older horses in the same year. 2021 — Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman hit for the cycle for the second time in his career as they beat the Miami Marlins 11-9.
