Simone Biles’ husband Jonathan Owens has thrown his support behind his wife amid her feud with Riley Gaines over transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Biles and Gaines have been in a bitter feud over the topic since Friday, when the latter remarked about a photo containing a transgender high school softball player.
The legendary Olympic gymnast’s response was long and harsh, comparing Riley’s appearance to that of a male, forcing her to pull back on those comments in a subsequent apology.
Owens’ first public comments since the feud began was not an additional statement. The Chicago Bears player opted for a subtle route to support his wife.
On Tuesday, he posted a screenshot of Biles’ apology to his Instagram story with three silver hearts to show his support for her.
The defender staying in line with his wife amid controversy is consistent with her actions when roles were reversed.
Simone Biles ‘ NFL husband Jonathan Owens has finally broken his cover to support his wife
Biles and Gaines have been in a bitter feud over transgender athletes in women’s sports
The defender’s first public comments since the feud began was not an additional statement
Fans attacked Owens after he admitted to not knowing who Biles was before they met on celebrity dating app Raya in 2020.
Criticism continued last summer after he was seen wearing his partner’s gold medal from the 2024 Summer Olympics.
In a post celebrating his wife, the NFL player posed next to her with the gold around his neck and wrote: ‘Witnessing history every time you step on the mat – Congrats baby on becoming the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history!!!! Just wow!!!! 8 of them!!!!! So thankful I was there to see it’.
Several users blasted Owens for his ‘odd’ behavior on the night, while content creator Kiera Breaugh even told him to ‘take it off’ in a video which racked up 2.5 million views on TikTok.
However, Biles took to the comments section to hit out at Breaugh and other users for criticizing her husband, branding them ‘so f****ng miserable’.
‘Crazy thing is, I put my medal on every single one of my family members and took pictures,’ she wrote. ‘So don’t ever make assumptions. Like y’all are so f****ng miserable. leave us alone’.
It is yet to be seen whether Biles feud with Gaines is over, as it has contained a few twists and turns.
SImone Biles has publicly apologized for her personal taunts aimed at Riley Gaines on X
The OIympian broke her four-day silence after her first attack on Gaines by writing on X: ‘I wanted to follow up from my last tweets. I’ve always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport.
‘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.’
Gaines replied: ‘I accept Simone’s apology for the personal attacks including the ones where she body-shamed me. I know she knows what this feels like. She’s still the greatest female gymnast of all time. A couple of things. Sports ARE inclusive by nature. Anyone can and everyone SHOULD play…’
In a lengthy apology, Biles also admitted she didn’t have the answers on how to include trans athletes in sports in a way that keeps everyone happy – seemingly acknowledging how polarizing her criticism of Gaines had been.
