Simone Biles might have deleted her X account after her feud with Riley Gaines, but the Olympian is still speaking out on Instagram.
Biles apologized for getting personal while attacking Gaines for her anti-trans campaigning earlier this month, telling the former swimmer to ‘bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.’
After intensifying scrutiny, the Olympian deactivated her account on Sunday but shared a quote on her Instagram story on Monday that read: ‘Strength is what we gain from the madness we survive’.
Biles initially sparked her feud with Gaines when the OutKick host criticized a Minnesota high school softball team for competing with a trans pitcher. During her swimming career, Gaines competed against trans athlete Lia Thomas at an NCAA meet in Atlanta, tying for fifth.
‘You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser,’ Biles wrote on X three weeks ago after Gaines called out the Minnesota team.
‘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.
Simone Biles seemingly acknowledged her Riley Gaines feud in an Instagram post on Monday
Biles apologized for getting personal while criticizing Gaines’ opinions on trans athletes
Biles wrote on Instagram ‘strength is what we gain from the madness we survive’
‘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!!!!!’
Four days later, Biles publicly apologized on X, writing: ‘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: ‘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.’
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 keeps everyone happy – seemingly acknowledging how polarazing her criticism of Gaines had been.
Biles wrote: ‘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.
‘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 deleted her account on X over the weekend after the Gaines feud had spilled out
Biles’ apology was shared by her husband – the NFL player for the Chicago Bears, Jonathan Owens – on Instagram.
Gaines caught Biles’ eye by mocking the Minnesota state softball champions Champlin Park, who won their competition with a dominant trans pitcher in Marissa Rothenberger.
She retweeted a picture of a team celebration on X, writing: ‘Comments off lol. To be expected when your star player is a boy.’
Gaines had also made her opposition clear on the controversial AB Hernandez, who has even faced protests from her own competititors while competing in California last month.
One athlete, who finished second to Hernandez at a different meet last month, waited for male-born Hernandez to step down from the podium before taking what Gaines decribed as her ‘rightful place’ in the No 1 spot for a picture – while also describing Hernandez as ‘a fraud’.
Days after Biles went after her on social media, Gaines announced she is pregnant wth her first child.