- More Sports. Simone Biles defends transgender athletes amid rising backlash from Riley Gaines and Jason Whitlock
- More Sports. Simone Biles stands strong with transgender athletes and will not ask for forgiveness
- More Sports. Luana Alonso, the viral swimmer of the Games, shows her new life and denies the lies about her
The debate over transgender participation in women's sports reignited over the weekend after Olympic superstar Simone Biles publicly responded to a post by Riley Gaines, a conservative activist known for opposing trans inclusion in competitive sports.
The controversy started when Gaines criticized a transgender player from Champlin Park High School, who recently helped her team secure its first-ever state softball championship. In response, Biles, a seven-time Olympic medalist, took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend the athlete:
"@Riley_Gaines_ You're truly sick. This whole campaign because you lost one race. Straight-up a sore loser. You should be encouraging the trans community and maybe find a way to make sports inclusive. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL SPORTS!!"
Biles continued:
"But instead... you bully them. One thing's for sure - no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!"
Gaines accuses Biles of "betraying women"
Gaines, who rose to prominence in 2022 after claiming she competed against a transgender woman - Lia Thomas - at the NCAA Swimming Championships, responded with a scathing personal attack on Biles.