Simone Biles has issued a public apology to Riley Gaines for comparing her to a man in a bitter personal attack over her stance on trans athletes.
After Gaines, a former swimmer turned conservative commentator, criticized a Minnesota softball team with a trans pitcher last Friday, Biles called her ‘truly sick’ and told her to ‘bully someone your own size, which would ironically be male’.
On Tuesday, Biles wrote 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.
‘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.
‘I was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women’s sports. My objection is to be singling out children for public scrutiny in ways that feel personal and harmful.
SImone Biles has publicly apologized for her personal taunts aimed at Riley Gaines on X
Biles and Gaines have been caught in a war of words over transgender athletes
‘Individual athletes—especially kids—should never be the focus of criticism of a flawed system they have no control over.
‘I believe sports organizations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition. We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful.’
Biles also shared her apology on Instagram, captioning an image of her statement with three silver hearts.
The 28-year-old, a seven-time Olympic gold medal winner was slammed for her comments at the time, with many female athletes adamant that it is unfair for trans competitors to line up alongside them.
Biles taunted Gaines over a race where she finished fifth, behind trans athlete Lia Thomas, in her first post last week, saying: ‘You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser.
‘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!!!!!’
She then replied again to Gaines, saying: ‘Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.’
Gaines caught Biles’ eye by mocking the Minnesota state softball champions, who won their competition with a trans picture.
She retweeted a picture of a team celebration on X, writing: ‘Comments off lol. To be expected when your star player is a boy.’
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