Simone Biles apologizes for heated exchange with Riley Gaines over trans athlete participation

Simone Biles, of the United States, poses during the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid, Spain, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, FILE)

Two-time Olympic all-around champion Simone Biles has apologized for getting personal in a heated online exchange with former collegiate swimmer turned anti-trans athlete activist Riley Gaines.

Biles, an 11-time Olympic medalist and the most decorated gymnast of all-time, initially responded to a post by Gaines on the social media platform X after Gaines called a player on a Minnesota high school softball team “a boy.” Biles wrote that Gaines was “truly sick” and a “straight up sore loser,” comments Biles later retracted.

Biles wrote that the current system in sports doesn’t adequately address the balance between competitive equity and inclusivity and the discussion of the topic can lead to “frustration and heated exchanges.”

“It didn’t help for me to get personal with Riley,” Biles wrote.

Biles clarified that her main objection was that Gaines opted to single out an underage athlete, when that athlete has no control over what Biles called a “flawed system.”

“I believe sports organizations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition,” Biles posted. “We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful.”

The Associated Press