Simone Biles has been criticized for ‘playing the woke card’ and ‘destroying her brand’ after she apologized for making her trans feud with Riley Gaines personal.
After Gaines, a former swimmer turned conservative commentator for OutKick, criticized a Minnesota softball team with a trans pitcher last Friday, Biles called her ‘truly sick’ before getting personal and telling her to ‘bully someone your own size, which would ironically be male’.
Gaines, for her part, later referenced the horrific sexual abuse that Biles and other gymnasts suffered at the hands of pedophile doctor Larry Nassar.
On Tuesday, though, Biles U-turned on her initial remarks, as she apologized for her insult toward Gaines and acknowledged that they were discussing ‘sensitive, complicated issues.’
And while her apology was accepted by Gaines, a pair of conservative commentators slammed Biles for changing her stance.
‘Simone Biles’s bending the knee is such a win for sanity,’ said former Fox and NBC anchor Megyn Kelly on X. ‘She misread the room. The nat’l sentiment.
Simone Biles apologized to Riley Gaines on Tuesday for making things personal in their feud
Megyn Kelly and Clay Travis both slammed Biles following her apology on Tuesday
Gaines has consistently campaigned against trans athletes competing in women’s sports
‘She tried to play the woke card on @Riley_Gaines_ & neither Riley nor the nation (all of us on X) were having it. She chose more nastiness. And then she was forced to cry ‘uncle.’
OutKick founder Clay Travis added: ‘After getting smoked for multiple days, Simone Biles posts a jumbled mess of a PR statement. Embarrassing. She has destroyed her brand with two tweets.’
Earlier in the day, the OIympic gymnast broke her four-day silence 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 on the platform: ‘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 satisfies everyone.
‘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,’ Biles said. ‘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.
‘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.
Biles tore into Gaines on social media for her stance on trans athletes, calling her ‘truly sick’
Her husband Jonathan Owens, an NFL player for the Chicago Bears, also shared the statement on his own Instagram.
The 28-year-old Biles, a seven-time Olympic gold medal winner, was widely criticized for her initial comments, which also saw her taunt Gaines as a ‘sore loser.’
The former college swimmer competed against trans swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 National Championships, with the pair tying for fifth at the 200 Freestyle finals/
And Biles said last week to Gaines: ‘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!!!!!’
Gaines, whose campaigning has won praise from Donald Trump and saw her welcomed to the White House in February, initially attracted the scorn of Biles when she criticized a Minnesota high school with a trans athlete.
Champlin Park recently won a state title with a dominant trans pitcher in Marissa Rothenberger.
Biles is seen alongside her husband Jonathan Owens – an NFL player for the Chicago Bears
Gaines shakes Donald Trump’s hand on the day he signed an executive order on trans athletes
And Gaines retweeted a picture of a team celebration on X, writing: ‘Comments off lol. To be expected when your star player is a boy.’
Before accepting the apology from Biles, Gaines had also criticized the Olympian by unearthing a tweet from 2017.
In the post, the US Olympian said: ‘ahhhh good thing guys don’t compete against girls or he’d take all the gold medals !!’
Gaines reposed it and wrote: ‘Oop don’t you hate it when your past self completely undermines your current nonsensical argument? How has 2025 Simone reconciled with the fact 2017 Simone was a ‘truly sick bully’ by her own standard?’
Gaines was welcomed to the White House by Trump for the signing of the ‘Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports’ executive order in February.
