Overview

• Simone Biles issued a public apology on X for personal attacks on Riley Gaines, admitting her frustration led to harmful comments.
• She clarified that she supports both competitive equity and inclusivity, arguing that current rules fail to balance those principles in women’s athletics.
• Riley Gaines accepted the apology and reaffirmed her position that women’s sports should remain exclusive to biological females, noting that competition inherently excludes certain participants.
• Reactions poured in from across the spectrum, including Jonathan Owens resharing Biles’s statement in support and commentators like Sage Steele and Jemele Hill taking opposing stances.
• The broader debate continues at the policy level, highlighted by President Trump’s executive order banning transgender women from women’s sports and Gaines’s lawsuit against the NCAA.