Biles, Gaines Clash Over Transgender Athletes
Olympian’s past tweet resurfaces amid heated debate.
A social media firestorm erupted between Olympian Simone Biles adn conservative sports activist Riley Gaines over transgender athletes’ participation in sports, fueled by a resurfaced tweet from Biles herself.
Throwback Tweet Ignites Feud
Gaines, a vocal critic of transgender athletes in women’s sports, unearthed a 2017 tweet from simone Biles that seemingly aligned with Gaines’s views. The old post appeared to question men competing against women.
ahhhh good thing guys don't compete against girls or he'd take all the gold medals !!
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) October 7, 2017
Gaines retweeted Biles’s post, questioning how the gymnast reconciles her past views with her current stance. Biles had previously labeled Gaines a “sick bully”
for her anti-transgender stance.
The Spat Erupts
The online clash began when Biles directed a tweet at Gaines, referencing Gaines’s tie with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championship. Biles accused Gaines of campaigning due to losing a race.
Biles suggested that Gaines should uplift the trans community and find ways to make sports inclusive, possibly by creating a transgender category in all sports. She also added, “bully someone your own size, wich would ironically be a male.”
Gaines responded by calling Biles’s comments “disappointing”
and stating that it is indeed not her duty to figure out how to include transgender people in women’s sports.
Gaines Brings Up Nassar
The confrontation escalated when Gaines brought up Biles’s experience with Larry Nassar, the former Team USA gymnastics doctor convicted of sexual abuse. Gaines questioned how Biles could advocate for women being forced to strip naked in front of men to validate a man’s feelings, referencing policies related to transgender athletes.
Gaines further asserted that Biles would have “zero”
gold medals if her “inclusive”
dream came true.
