Anti-trans activist claims Simone Biles offered her 'a groveling public apology'
Anti-trans activist Riley Gaines declined an opportunity to graciously accept an apology from Olympic champion Simone Biles.
The former University of Kentucky swimmer has made a career out of attacking transgender women athletes after tying Lia Thomas for fifth place in the 2022 NCAA championship, and she refused to take the "W" on Fox News after the gold medal-winning Biles apologized for calling her out last week as "bully."
"I accept her apology and see this truthfully as a really big win," Gaines said during an appearance on "Outnumbered." "You have this famous public figure who is now issuing a groveling public apology and backtracks after tweeting pro-trans propaganda, if you will. This scenario would have been unthinkable a year, certainly two years ago. Whether it's sincere or not, I think that's a different question, but nonetheless she learned we're not living in 2020 anymore."
Biles criticized Gaines as a "sore loser" on social media for complaining that a Minnesota high school softball pitcher who might be transgender was "a dude" who had "hijacked" the state's Class 4A title, and took a shot at her physical appearance.
"Bully someone your own size," Biles said, "which would ironically be a male."
Gaines has been posted about Biles in frequently personal terms and compared her support for trans athletes to the actions of Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State team physician who sexually abused Biles and hundreds of other girls and young women.
"To make my position on both topics very, very, very clear: - I hope Larry Nassar spends the rest of his life rotting away and miserable in prison. Gymnasts were failed by a system that protected an abusive man at the expense of the girls' safety," Gaines posted Saturday on X. "Men don't belong in women's sports. Female athletes continue to be failed by a system that protects abusive men at the expense of the girls' safety."
Biles issued an apology on Monday, saying she should not have personally attacked Gaines and instead focused on the issues of competitive equity and inclusivity.
"I was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women’s sports," Biles wrote. "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."