Olympian Simone Biles faces fierce backlash after clash with Riley Gaines over trans athletes debate
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Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles received harsh backlash on social media after the gymnastics star sparred with former 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer Riley Gaines over the debate surrounding transgender athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports.
Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer and current OutKick contributor and host of the “Gaines for Girls” podcast, took to X on Friday to call out the Minnesota State High School League for posting a picture of the new state champions, Champlin Park High School.
The school has made headlines because its dominant performance on the way to the title game was led by junior pitcher Marissa Rothenberger, a transgender athlete competing on the team.
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In response to Gaines’ criticism of the post, Biles posted a message calling Gaines “truly sick” over her stance on trans athletes. She even launched a personal attack at Gaines.
“You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser,” Biles said, referencing Gaines competing against former UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships.
“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!!!!!”
The post went viral on social media, with Biles adding in another post, “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”
But Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history – a feat she accomplished at the Paris Olympics, faced fierce backlash for her comments on social media.
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Many on social media also pointed out Biles’ call for open categories in all sports.
In 2022, World Aquatics, the international governing body for swimming, updated its eligibility policy to effectively ban transgender athletes from competing in women’s events. The following year, the organization launched and debuted an open category at the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup in Berlin.
The organization later confirmed that upon the close of registration, no entries had been received for the open category.
Biles is an 11-time Olympic medalist. She holds 30 world championship medals, including a record 23 gold. She has not responded on social media following her initial posts aimed at Gaines.
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