Simone Biles versus Riley Gaines isn’t a fair fight. The former is literally the most decorated gymnast in Olympic history, while the latter finished fifth in an NCAA swimming championship and has dedicated her life towards harassing trans athletes ever since.
Given Gaines’ athletic inferiority, when Biles hurled an insult at her earlier this month after she had lambasted an out high school trans athlete to her ravenous anti-LGBTQ+ followers, the sore loser jumped at the chance to capitalize. Taking on her familiar victimhood role, Gaines whipped MAGA homophobes into a frenzy and feigned offense at Biles’ diss.
When Biles issued an apology a few days later, Gaines doubled down on her anti-trans stance. Now that Biles has seemingly deleted her X account, the Fox News contributor is gloating.
How about we take this to the next level?
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While social media spats are often tedious and cringeworthy, they can offer a peak into the cultural moment. The headlines may focus on the bombastic back-and-forth. But why Biles, an 11-time Olympic medalist, felt the need to apologize to Gaines and then delete her X account, speaks to the current landscape of a fraught Pride season and backlash towards trans athletes in general.
For those who are lost in the digital noise, we’re going to offer an explainer to this feud, and its significance, below.
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On June 6, Gaines, who scours social media for trans athletes to humiliate, commented on a picture of a high school championship softball team from a random town in Minnesota. She claimed one of the team’s players is a “boy,” and then celebrated over the “Minnesota State High School League” shutting down comments.
“Comments off lol,” she posted.
In a punditry landscape filled with shallow opportunists, Gaines leads the pact, something she never accomplished at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving Championships. The University of Kentucky swimmer finished fifth in the 200 freestyle race at the 2022 NCAA championships, tying Lia Thomas, an out trans swimmer from UPenn. Even though four other swimmers finished ahead of her, Gaines has obsessed over Thomas and her fifth-place finish.
Over the years, Gaines’ fixation on out trans athletes playing women’s sports, of which there are almost none, has propelled her to conservative media stardom. No target is too small, even a high school softball player in suburban Minnesota.
Biles, apparently fed up with Gaines’ mean-spirited schtick, called her out. “All of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser,” she replied.
Later, Biles called Gaines “truly sick” and chided her for bullying. “One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!,” she said.
In another post, Biles lobbed a personal barb towards Gaines: “Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”
Gaines responded by going even lower, accusing the Olympic hero of being complicit in the documented abuse of female gymnasts.
Four days later, Biles took the high road and apologized. “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, for her part, issued a statement searing with condescension. “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 said.
In the days that followed, right-wing accounts and outlets continued to bash Biles, and even stooped to mocking her her for her publicized mental health challenges.
On Sunday, she deleted her X account, and Gaines declared victory.
Where do trans athletes stand?
Gaines’ victory lap comes as trans athletes face widespread backlash for their participation in women’s sports. A recent poll from NBC News shows 75% of Americans oppose trans athletes competing in female athletic competitions.
Currently, 27 states with GOP-controlled governments have bans against trans students participating in sports consistent with their gender identity. Early this year, the White House issued an executive order seeking to bar trans athletes from playing women’s sports nationwide. (California has attempted to thread the needle, enacting a new policy that allows participation, but prohibits trans athletes from displacing cis athletes at the podium.)
The blowback towards trans athletes reflects a broader anti-trans sentiment. Last week, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, which could lead to even more legal backsliding.
What role does the hostile environment play in Biles’ actions?
If Biles and Gaines’ spat happened three years ago, it’s possible that Biles wouldn’t have felt compelled to apologize. But as a highly visible and sponsored figure, she’s obviously aware of public sentiment.
It’s also possible, if not likely, that Biles felt bad about getting personal with Gaines and wanted to clear the air. But Gaines’ reveling shows the danger in offering magnanimity to cynical, attention-seeking actors. Biles’ apology failed to stop the harassment being spewed in her direction.
Given that she remains active on other social platforms, it looks like she deleted her X account for peace of mind.
We can’t blame her.
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