On Friday evening, Olympian gymnast Simone Biles had a disagreement with conservative activist Riley Gaines regarding the involvement of transgender athletes in Minnesota’s high school softball team.
Gaines reacted to a post from the Minnesota State High School League, which celebrated Champlin Park High’s achievement in winning their first Softball State Championship.
“Comment off lol,” Gaines noted in her response, implying expectations when a top player is a boy.
The Champlin Park team featured a transgender pitcher who threw a shutout, leading to a 6-0 win against Bloomington Jefferson High School on Friday.
“You’re really sick. You lost the race, so everything about this campaign,” Biles replied to Gaines, who had labeled her a “bully” and a “painful loser.”
Gaines has become a notable voice against the inclusion of trans athletes in girls’ sports, particularly after her fifth-place finish in the 2022 NCAA Championship, where she competed alongside transgender swimmer Leah Thomas.
“We should either find ways to uplift the trans community and maybe make sports more inclusive, or set up a separate category for transgender athletes,” Biles expressed in her online commentary.
Earlier this year, Gaines was at the White House with President Trump when he signed an executive order prohibiting trans athletes from competing in sports aligned with their gender identity. This move sparked an investigation into Minnesota’s sports governance and its federal funding.
Gaines, a former swimmer at the University of Kentucky, expressed her “disappointment” regarding the defense of the young athlete in a comment aimed at Biles.
“It’s not the responsibility of women to accommodate men in our spaces,” Gaines remarked.
“Men don’t belong in women’s sports. I’m firm on that,” she added.
Just last month, a conservative group initiated legal action against Minnesota concerning its 2015 Transgender Athlete Policy on behalf of three softball players.
