Simone Biles blasts ‘bully’ Riley Gaines for anti-trans campaigning: ‘You’re truly sick’

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles has won 10s across the board after dragging anti-trans campaigner Riley Gaines and defending trans athletes’ right to participate in sport.

Seven-time Olympic gold medallist Biles, 28, gracefully leapt to the defence of trans athletes after calling notorious trans-exclusive campaigner Riley Gaines “truly sick.”

Gaines, a former competitive swimmer, has become a prominent right-wing pundit since tying for fifth with trans swimmer Lia Thomas in a 2022 NCAA women’s swimming championship race. She argues trans women should be excluded from female competitive sports.

Gaines, 25, took to X/Twitter on Friday (6 June) to mock a Minnesota high school baseball team for having a trans competitor – who she misgendered – in its roster.

Responding, Biles criticised Gaines’ treatment of trans people, writing in her own post: “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 [people] feel safe in sports,” she continued. “Maybe a transgender category in ALL sports!!”

She went on to brand Gaines a “bully,” adding: “One thing’s for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around.”

@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

Biles the first woman to land the Yurchenko double-pike at the Olympics, is no stranger to champion-tier LGBTQ+ allyship.

The star has used her platform to promote queer rights on multiple occasions, including in 2023 when she branded Uganda’s anti-homosexuality law “absurd“.

She is also the number one hype artist for her lesbian sister, Adria Biles, who was the bridesmaid at Simone’s wedding.

Riley Gaines fired back at Simone Biles’ comments, saying in a response misgendering trans women that she felt her post was “so disappointing,” adding: “It’s not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces.

“You can uplift men stealing championships in women’s sports with YOUR platform,” she wrote. “Men don’t belong in women’s sports and I say that with my full chest.”