Simone Biles doesn’t want anyone picking on kids.
The seven-time Olympic champion tried to add some clarity to her exchange last week with anti-transgender activist Riley Gaines, apologizing for her personal criticism but doubling down on her feelings about Gaines’ attacks on kids.
‘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,’ Biles wrote Tuesday.
Gaines has made a career out of attacking the participation of transgender women athletes since tying Lia Thomas for fifth place in the 200-yard freestyle at the NCAA championships in 2022. She routinely uses her platform to mock and demean transgender athletes, many of whom are minors.
On Friday, Gaines posted about the Champlin Park softball team, which won the Class 4A title in Minnesota. The team’s star pitcher is reportedly transgender, and Gaines referred to her as ‘a dude’ and said Champlin Park had ‘hijacked’ the title.
‘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 category IN ALL sports!!’ Biles wrote. ‘But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!
Since then, Gaines has repeatedly posted about Biles, often in personal terms. She even likened Biles’ defense of transgender athletes to Larry Nassar’s abuse. Nassar is the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State team physician who sexually abused Biles and hundreds of other girls and young women, often under the guise of medical treatment.
Biles didn’t weigh in further on the participation of transgender athletes in Tuesday’s post, saying instead that everyone wants ‘a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful.’
