Olympic gymnastics great Simone Biles leaped into the fray over transgender athletes by taking on Riley Gaines, calling the former collegiate swimmer “sick” and a “sore loser” for her advocacy against male-born competitors in female sports.
The feud began Friday on social media after Gaines criticized the participation of a male-born pitcher who led their team to a Minnesota state girls’ softball title.
Gaines, who hosts the OutKick podcast “Gaines on Girls,” said on X that the softball victory is “to be expected when your star pitcher is a boy,” prompting the Olympic gold medalist to unload.
“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,” said Biles on X. “Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!!”
Biles continued: “But instead … You bully them … One thing for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!”
The blast came as a surprise, given that Biles had not been active in the fairness-versus-inclusion battle over male-born athletes in female sports.
Gaines responded: “This is so disappointing. 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,” she continued on X. “Maybe she could compete in pommel horse and rings in 2028.”
Biles wasn’t done, firing back: “Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”
That comment prompted some head-scratching, given that Gaines is an average-sized woman. She posted a video Saturday showing her husband using a tape measure to prove that she stands 5 feet 5 1/2 inches.
The average height of a U.S. woman is just shy of 5-4, while the average height for an American man is 5-9, according to Healthline.
“This is for the Wikipedia people, who put me at 5-9,” Gaines in her Saturday video. “This is for Simone Biles, who tells me to bully someone my own size.
Commentators on social media countered that Gaines does in fact, take on biological males, albeit those who identify as women.
“This tweet is hilarious,” said the Virgil account on X. “1. [Biles] body-shames a fellow female athlete. 2. Implicitly acknowledges that men and women are different, with males generally being bigger than females. 3. Disregards the fact that Riley IS going after men in women’s sports.”
Defending Biles was USA Today columnist Nancy Armour, who called Gaines a “bully” in a column headlined, “Simone Biles shows her greatness again in standing up for the transgender community.”
“The seven-time Olympic champion stood up for transgender athletes Friday night, taking to X to chastise Riley Gaines for the relentless verbal abuse she directs at transgender girls and women,” the columnist wrote in an op-ed.
Gaines responded: “She hardly ‘stood up for the trans community’, but instead just personally attacked someone who stands up for women and girls.”
With her comment, Biles put herself in the same camp as tennis great Billie Jean King and soccer champ Megan Rapinoe, top female competitors who have spoken out in support of transgender athletes participating based on gender identity.
Biles, 28, was among the 150-plus female gymnasts who accused former USA Gymnastics Dr. Larry Nassar of sexual assault and abuse. He was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison in 2018 for criminal sexual conduct.
Gaines, 25, and others drew a parallel to rules letting biological males access female locker rooms based on gender identity.
Gaines and other female swimmers shared a locker room with University of Pennsylvania male-born athlete Lia Thomas, who tied with Gaines for fifth place in the 200-yard race at the 2022 NCAA Division I women’s swimming championships.
“All the horrific sexual abuse @Simone_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,” said Gaines on X. “You know how many gold medals you’d have if your ‘inclusive’ dream came true? Zero.”
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.