Riley Gaines Accepts Simone Biles' Apology, Invites Her To Join Fight To Protect Women's Sports
It appears that the social media feud between seven-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and former All-American swimmer Riley Gaines has come to an end. Biles apologized to Gaines with a lengthy post on X and Gaines responded by accepting her apology.
"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," Biles wrote.
Biles apology came after she tweeted at Gaines, saying that the former Kentucky swimmer is "truly sick" for trying to protect women's sports from the invasion of biological males. Biles then "body-shamed" Gaines and said, essentially, that Gaines looks like a man.
"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," Gaines responded.
However, while Gaines accepted the apology, she noted that Biles' apology post still included points that are worth debating.
"Sports ARE inclusive by nature. Anyone can and everyone SHOULD play sports. Competition, on the other hand and by definition, is exclusive. So the idea of "competitive equity" is nonsensical. Secondly, the boys are publicly humiliating the girls. To suggest that women and girls must be silent or ignore a boy who is PUBLICLY hurting or humiliating them is wrong. You can't have any empathy and compassion for the girls if you're ignoring when young men are harming or abusing them. I am not ashamed to be a voice for the voiceless."
Riley Gaines accepted Simone Biles' apology after the Olympic gymnast "body-shamed" the former Kentucky swimmer and invited Biles to join the fight to protect women's sports.
(Imagn Images)
Finally, Gaines urged Biles to join the fight to protect women's sports, something the gold medalist has never done.
"I agree with you that the blame is on the lawmakers and leaders at the top. Precisely why I'm suing the NCAA and support candidates who vow to stand with women. That's why I joined [President Donald Trump] at the signing of his Executive Order. I didn't see you there or championing this effort with your platform. Women's sports can't be used as an excuse for [girls] to center the feelings and validation of men and boys. I welcome you to the fight to support fair sports and a future for female athletes. Little girls deserve the same shot to achieve that you had."
While the "feud" might be over, the conversation shouldn't end. As Gaines pointed out, Biles has a huge platform (with tens of millions of followers across social media) and could use that to positively advocate for women in sports. The ball is in her court, and we'll see what she chooses to do from here.