In recent months, I’ve had a growing awareness of Riley Gaines, a self-styled right-wing political commentator. She was a college athlete/swimmer whose defining moment was coming in fifth place at an NCAA swim meet and having to share the fifth-place trophy with a trans athlete. That is what radicalized her – the idea that a trans woman will compete in women’s sports. Instead of pausing and wondering if she was just a sore loser clinging to trans-panic as the political hot-button issue du jour, Riley has plowed ahead and made a career out of bullying trans children who participate in sports.
Well, I have no idea why GOAT Simone Biles decided that she had the time to take down Riley Gaines, but Simone did so online. It started when Gaines was trying to bully a trans child on a high school softball team, posting a photo of the team and basically putting a f–king target on this poor kid’s back. Simone wiped the floor with her:
@Riley_Gaines_ 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. Maybe a transgender… https://t.co/pjpzuZ0AlO
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) June 6, 2025
bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male @Riley_Gaines_
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) June 6, 2025
I honestly didn’t expect Simone to come out this way for the trans community and the “stop bullying trans kids” community. It’s incredibly cool that she’s saying this with her whole chest. She left her comments open and they are despicable. The sheer number of people using Larry Nassar as some kind of clapback on Simone is deranged. Isn’t that the larger point though? Larry Nassar, a cisgendered man, abused dozens of children. While dipsh-ts like Riley Gaines cry about trans people in locker rooms, the overwhelming majority of predators are cisgendered men.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Avalon Red.
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- 13 October 2019, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Stuttgart: Gymnastics: World Championships, apparatus finals, women: Simone Biles from the USA has 5 gold medals in her hands. Photo: Tom Weller/,Image: 539362729, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: UK and US ONLY – DIRECT SALES ONLY – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Avalon.red – sales@avalon.red London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles: +1 (310) 822 0419 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Tom Weller / DPA Picture Alliance / Avalon
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- PARIS, FRANCE – AUGUST 1: Simone Biles of United States poses with her gold medal after her victory during the Women s All-Around Final on day six of the Olympic Games, Olympische Spiele, Olympia, OS Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 1, 2024 in Paris, France. Paris Bercy Arena France *** PARIS, FRANCE AUGUST 1 Simone Biles of United States poses with her gold medal after her victory during the Women s All Around Final on day six of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 1, 2024 in Paris, France Paris Bercy Arena France Copyright: xJustPictures.ch/DanielaxPorcellix jp-en-EuSpIm-20240801-_DP16156,Image: 895013826, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Daniela Porcelli / Avalon
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- Simone Biles ( USA ) celebrates with her medal during the 2024 Artistic Gymnastics Olympics Games at Arena Bercy on August 01, 2024 in Paris, France. ( Photo by federico pestellini / DPPI / Panoramic ) -,Image: 895029949, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Federico Pestellini / Panoramic / Avalon
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- Paris, FRANCE – Simone Biles clinched gold in the Artistic Gymnastics final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, delivering a performance that reaffirmed her status as one of the sport’s greatest athletes. Pictured: Simone Biles BACKGRID USA 3 AUGUST 2024 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Hollywood, CA – The cast and creators of ‘Simone Biles Rising’ gathered at the Hollywood Athletic Club for Netflix’s FYSEE Emmy FYC event. Pictured: Simone Biles BACKGRID USA 3 JUNE 2025 BYLINE MUST READ: Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
If Simone has the energy to deal with idiots, more power to her.
One more reason why Simone is a f–king LEGEND.
As for the attempt to use the abuse she suffered as a clap-back, it just shows once again how vile and completely oblivious these bigots truly are.
Absolutely cementing her legend status. I love that she’s spoken up on this. Good for her and may more follow.
I watched John Oliver’s episode takedown of Riley a few months ago. She is a sore loser who is attaching herself to the MAGA trans-panic because she gets way more notoriety and opportunity as a bigot then as a mediocre athlete who came in fifth.
He really nailed it!
John Oliver’s show on the subject should be mandatory viewing.
I will confess I was initially hesitant on transwomen in competitive racing or contact sports. Not at the kids level, but at the NCAA and higher. Something on the right wing talking points about safety and fairness kinda stuck.
He does a BRILLIANT job of essentially breaking down how that is total BS. Contact sports are always dangerous and the right wing will pick one incident and turn it into a thing while completely ignoring a thousand incidents involving cis participants that are just part of the sport. He also broke down the results over the years, and how there is no evidence of trans athletes having advantage, and basically how the right wingers will take a single trans win and turn it into “overwhelming” advantage and “unfairness” .
Seriously, must-see coverage of the issue.
LEGEND.
We need more people to be loud in defense of trans people.
There are people trying to make their existence illegal. It is insane.
I always go back to the thing people say about pride month- we’re not trying to turn straight kids into queer kids. We’re try to NOT turn queer kids into dead kids.
It is weird that the fascism of an entire generation or 3 watching faux news and pretending they have facts makes a statement of truth, like the one from Ms. Biles, perhaps the best gymnast to ever do it, sounds startling.
We need more truth.
Less appeasing an evil that cannot be appeased.
If our country keeps on this path, we won’t have truth until Nuremburg.
I can’t believe Riley gets traction at all. Oh wait, it’s MAGA. Facts don’t matter. Like the fact that if the other 5th place swimmer hadn’t competed Riley would have accomplished….the exact same placement.
Right wing nut jobs are skilled cherry pickers.
They paint this as the beginning of the end, and take any success as an indicator of the tide turning so they can fearmonger.
Like, did you know that Leah Thomas also won some races?? How horrible when someone else (but definitely not Riley) could have won them! It’s a conspiracy to make trans athletes win everything. Well, almost everything. Well, 1%. but even that is too much! /s
Riley has screamed so much about that race that her minions are totally unaware of the existence of Taylor Ruck, the actual start to finish winner, and Isabel Ivey, who chased Taylor in an exciting finish that left Thomas in the dust. The announcers never said Riley’s name once they were in the water. Instead of celebrating the achievements of those women, Riley erased them & made it all about herself.
And she mocked the whole Larry Nassar ordeal; she’s truly despicable
I admire Simone’s backbone!
I love to see this, and I wish more top athletes used their position to stand up for the vulnerable !
Kaiser, I love that your photo selection is Simone with all her gold medals v. a person who peaked in college… and that peak wasn’t even close.
She’s a sore loser who is a bigot as is all of the GOP who do this trans panic BS and the Democrats going along with it.
It has been sickening watching maga embolden racists, homophobic/transphobic nutters and murderers like the January 6 morons and KR. They are terrible people and deserve to be dragged. Thank you, Simone! You are amazing!
While I applaud the idea of protecting women in sports (I was a NCAA 12-time All-American in college for my swimming career), bullying and alienating the trans community is NOT the way to do it. I appreciate this is a nuanced topic, and as Simone suggested, perhaps having a separate trans category might be a solution. Regardless, people like Riley Gaines have joined the MAGA base with their anti-trans propaganda and hateful rhetoric, under the guise of advocating for women. She is a bully. The tweet that Simone clapped back on was regarding a MINOR trans-athlete in high school. Gaines then exploits the sexual abuse Simone Biles suffered at the hands of pedophile Larry Nassar, drawing a comparison that equates predators like Nassar to trans women participating in women’s sports. Absolutely vile.
Simone is right – Riley Gaines has created her platform because she tied for 5th place with trans swimmer Lia Thomas. Riley, four other female swimmers beat you!!!!
I thought some sports & competitions test female athlete’s testosterone level, and if you’re over the upper limit, you are banned to participate in the competition.
So if a trans athlete has normal testosterone reading as other female athletes, why ban her?
someone who went through the male puberty has still advantages such as lung capcity, bone dencity, muscle mass and all the things that make men generally stronger than women. T level does not cover all the major differences between male and female. There are many women with high T, like women with PCOS, does that make them superstrong? lol no.
I’m anti men in women’s sports. I don’t think this makes me anti trans. I believe in human rights. Last I checked Trans people are human. I think Trans people should be afforded every legal right I have, as well as respect, love and care. However, this is seperate from the fact that men are not, cannot and will never be biological women. What they are, is Trans-women, and that’s entirely different, isn’t it?
You think this is some enlightened answer. It is not. Educate yourself about trans athletes before claiming to be some kind of ally. You could start with the Jon Oliver episode mentioned in the comments above. Available for free on Youtube.
I love Simone. She is the GOAT in all realms.
I have trans family and to see her speak out on this is really awesome.
Simone truly is a legend.
Good for Simone. Incredible as always.
What shows the Riley Gaines whole argument is specious is that she lost to four women, not just to Thomas (who also lost to the same 4 women). If trans women were such a menace to the other competitors, why don’t they win every single event in which they participate? I also strongly recommend John Oliver’s takedown of the “unfair advantage held by trans women athletes”.
Plus, women are not the “weaker sex”. Biologically, (for the preservation of the species) women are stronger than men in many areas. There is scientific research which illustrates this and indicates that even in areas where men dominate, with training women will catch up with men and beat them (think weight lifting).
And why is there no concern about trans boys and trans men facing danger when using bathrooms for men? I mean, logically, if trans women are still men, the trans men must still be women? Right? (note sarcasm, but also, why do the bigots never even mention this)