Retired Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner has addressed her former teammate Simone Biles’ ongoing tension with Riley Gaines amid their public back-and-forth over the inclusion of transgender athletes in sports.
“As an athlete who has dedicated years to a sport, I’ve always believed that true competition should elevate us — not diminish others,” Skinner, 28, said in a Friday, June 13, statement to far-right media outlet One America News. “That’s why it’s deeply troubling to see @Simone_Biles publicly label a fellow female athlete a ‘sore loser’— simply for expressing valid concerns about fairness in women’s sports.”
She added, “I commend and appreciate @Riley_Gaines_ for having the courage to speak up. Women like her are not only standing for fairness, but for the future of female athletics itself. She deserves support — not ridicule.”
Biles, 28, publicly condemned conservative political activist and OutKicker commentator Gaines, 25, earlier this month for making transphobic comments. Gaines, a former competitive swimmer, reposted an X post from the Minnesota State High School League about their softball tournament victory.
“Comments off lol. To be expected when your star player is a boy,” Gaines wrote on June 6, referencing a female trans athlete.
Biles fired back, calling out Gaines for allegedly intentionally misidentifying the athlete.
“@Riley_Gaines_ You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight-up sore loser,” Biles wrote later that day. “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. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!!”
She added, “But instead … You bully them … One thing’s for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!”
Gaines, in response, said that she found the gold medalist’s comments to be “disappointing.”
“It’s not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces,” Gaines replied. “You can uplift men stealing championships in women’s sports with YOUR platform. Men don’t belong in women’s sports, and I say that with my full chest.”
Biles, a longtime impassioned ally of the LGBTQIA+ community, later issued an apology to Gaines for getting “personal.”
“I’ve always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport,” Biles wrote via X on Tuesday, June 10. “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 to get personal with Riley, which I apologize for.”
Skinner, meanwhile, believes that Biles used her social media platform to “bully and demean” Gaines for having an alternative perspective.
“It’s one thing to disagree. It’s another to use your platform to bully and demean,” Skinner added in her statement. “No one should be punished for standing up for fairness and biological reality. We should be lifting each other up — not tearing one another down for speaking hard truths.”
She also alleged that Biles similarly bullied her back when they competed side-by-side.
“Throughout my own career, I endured being belittled, dismissed and ostracized behind the scenes by Simone,” Skinner claimed. “The pressure to stay silent was immense. I kept quiet out of respect — for the sport, for my teammates, and for the ideal of unity among athletes. But witnessing this kind of public shaming, especially from someone in a position of influence, makes that silence no longer acceptable.”
Biles has not publicly addressed Skinner’s accusations. Us Weekly has reached out for comment.
