In a post shared on Tuesday on X, Biles apologized to Riley for making things personal when she wrote that Gaines was “truly sick” for speaking out against biological boys playing against girls in female sports. She called her things like a “straight up sore loser” and “bully” after Gaines lost on the collegiate level to trans-identifying male swimmer Lia Thomas.

However, Biles’ semi-apology stopped short of admitting how wrong it is for boys to play in girls sports, claiming she believes “competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport … These are sensitive, complicated issues that I truly don’t have the answers or solutions to, but I believe it starts with empathy and respect.”

I wanted to follow up from my last tweets. I’ve always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport. 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…

— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) June 10, 2025

Biles claimed that calling for sports to be “inclusive” is “not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women’s sports,” but that’s exactly what it does.

She then said her objection was to the “singling out children for public scrutiny in ways that feel personal and harmful” because she said kids should never be the focus of criticism of a flawed system they have no control over.”

Biles ended her statement by claiming, “Sports organizations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition. We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful.” 

Megyn Kelly was one of many people who reacted to the comments, slamming them as nothing but a PR move.

“I don’t believe one word of this PR drafted backtracking,” Kelly wrote on X. “It doesn’t sound anything like (I mean in style) the original posts, which we know were her.”

“In this rhetorical floor routine, Biles dances around the crux of the issue with buzzwords without offering solutions, as she admits,” Townhall Media’s Guy Benson wrote. “Glad to see the apology for getting so personally (& inaccurately) nasty about @Riley_Gaines. Good for her. Still deducting some points.”

“.@Simone_Biles, there isn’t anything complicated about this issue. No one is being banned. Sex is binary. Boys can compete in boys. Everyone is included. Unless they aren’t good enough to make the team. Which is competitive sports,” Jennifer Sey, founder of XX-XY Athletics, wrote.

“To defend men who say they are women — at the expense of actual women — is to be an actual ‘handmaiden for the patriarchy.'”

Biles’s initial attack against Gaines came after the outspoken female sports advocate reacted to a tweet posted to a high school girls’ softball team’s account by noting that the tweet had the replies turned off for a reason, RedState reported.

Comments off lol

To be expected when your star player is a boy https://t.co/2qY2onUhNW

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) June 6, 2025

“Comments off, lol,” Gaines wrote. “To be expected when your star player is a boy.”

That set off Biles, who attacked Gaines personally. It read:

But instead… You bully them… 

One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!

In the second tweet, Biles wrote, “Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male @Riley_Gaines_.”

Gaines then hit back and wrote, “This is so disappointing. My take is the least controversial take on the planet. Simone Biles being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls’ dreams? Didn’t have that on my bingo card. Maybe she could compete in pommel horse and rings in 2028.”