A heated social media confrontation erupted between Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles and conservative commentator Riley Gaines over “trans” participation in women’s sports, with the dispute escalating into personal attacks and dredging up past controversies.
The conflict began when Gaines criticized a Minnesota high school softball team’s state championship victory, specifically targeting their trans-identifying player.
Gaines reposted an image of Champlin Park High School celebrating their title with trans-identifying pitcher Marissa Rothenberger on the team.
Gaines wrote in response to the celebratory post, “Comments off lol. To be expected when your star player is a boy.”
This comment sparked the initial confrontation between the two prominent figures.
Biles, the 28-year-old Olympic hero, launched a scathing counterattack against the former collegiate swimmer.
She criticized Gaines’ stance and accused her of “bullying” trans-identifying athletes.
“You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser,” Biles wrote in her initial response.
She continued her criticism by suggesting alternative approaches to so-called transgender inclusion in sports.
The gymnastics champion argued that Gaines 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!!”
Biles escalated the personal nature of the attack by comparing Gaines’ appearance to a man, writing: “Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”
This comment drew immediate pushback from Gaines.
The 25-year-old former swimmer, who hosts OutKick’s Gaines for Girls podcast, defended her position and fired back at Biles.
“This is actually so disappointing. It’s not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces,” Gaines responded.
Gaines characterized her stance as mainstream, stating: “My take is the least controversial take on the planet.”
“Simone Biles being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls’ dreams? Didn’t have that on my bingo card.”
The former swimmer also suggested Biles could compete in men’s gymnastics events, writing: “Maybe she could compete in pommel horse and rings in 2028.”
She addressed the appearance-related comment by noting her height: “And the subtle hint at ‘body-shaming’???? Plzzzz I’m 5’5″.”
Gaines then escalated the dispute by referencing the sexual abuse scandal involving former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.
She drew connections between Biles’ experience as a victim and the current transgender sports debate.
“All the horrific sexual abuse @Simmone_Biles witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man’s feelings,” Gaines posted on social media platform X.
She continued this line of attack by questioning Biles’ potential success under inclusive policies: “You know how many gold medals you’d have if your ‘inclusive’ dream came true? Zero.”
Gaines later shared a video clip of Biles testifying before the Senate about the abuse she suffered under Nassar, alongside a screenshot of Biles’ tweet supporting transgender inclusion.
“Simone Biles when she had to endure a predatory man Vs Simone Biles when other girls have to endure predatory men,” Gaines wrote alongside the comparison.
The former swimmer also unearthed an eight-year-old social media post from Biles’ account that appeared to contradict her current position on transgender athletes in women’s sports.
The 2017 post from Biles read: “ahhhh good thing guys don’t compete against girls or he’d take all the gold medals !!”
Gaines reshared this tweet as evidence of inconsistency in Biles’ position.
“Oop don’t you hate it when your past self completely undermines your current nonsensical argument?” Gaines wrote.
“How has 2025 Simone reconciled with the fact 2017 Simone was a ‘truly sick bully’ by her own standard?”
The Daily Mail reported that following the escalated attacks, Biles has not provided additional commentary beyond retweeting her original post calling Gaines “sick.”
