"Why y'all soooo scared" - Simone Biles slams back after receiving online criticism over her and Riley Gaines' feud 

Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles has responded to the criticism over the feud between her and swimmer turned social activist Riley Gaines. Biles had been involved in an altercation with Gaines last month over the participation of trans athletes in women's sports.

The seven-time Olympic gold medallist had previously shared a tweet on her X account, urging critics to post from their real accounts. Biles' post [which is now deleted] read,

"If you're gonna say it, SAY IT ON YOUR REAL ACCOUNT!"

The 28-year-old later reshared the post on her Instagram story with the following caption,

"Point, Blank, Period! Because why y'all soooo scared"

Screengrab of Biles' Instagram story on Riley Gaines [Image Source: Simone Biles' Instagram]

For the unversed, Simone Biles had responded to Riley Gaines over the latter's statement against the alleged participation of a trans athlete in the girls' softball team from the Champlin Park High School in June 2025. The Olympic champion also took a jibe at Gaines as she posted on her X account,

"bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male @Riley_Gaines_"

However, the post received severe criticism from a section of social media. Simone Biles later apologized for her statement and temporarily disabled her X account.

---

Simone Biles apologized for her statement against Riley Gaines

Biles opens up on her statement against Riley Gaines [Image Source: Getty]

Simone Biles opened up about her thoughts on her statement against Riley Gaines. Following the backlash over her posts, the Olympic champion had issued a public apology to the 25-year-old former swimmer.

Biles mentioned in her long post on her X account that she shouldn't have gone personal in her criticism against Gaines. She wrote,

"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 to get personal with Riley, which I apologize for."

The 11-time Olympic medallist further added in her post,

"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 was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women’s sports. My objection is to be singling out children for public scrutiny in ways that feel personal and harmful."

Riley Gaines responded positively to the apology and hoped that Biles would one day wholeheartedly support her stance on women's sports.

Edited by Anisha Chatterjee