Simone Biles learned the rules of the Packers-Bears rivalry firsthand last month when she wore a Green Bay jacket to a preseason game against the Bengals. Now she's making up for it.
Biles wore the Packers jacket to support her husband, new Bears safety Jonathan Owens, who played for Green Bay last season. The jacket was custom designed and featured a photo of Owens playing for the Packers. But die-hard Bears fans didn't seem to mind and were unforgiving. The Olympic gymnast was subjected to a post by an angry Bears fan for wearing a rival team's uniform to support the Bears in their home stadium.
The angry posts must have had an effect: Biles said Friday that she had bought more Bears merchandise in the aftermath of the controversy.
“Yes, there are many. [of Bears gear] “I'm OK now,” she said while leaving the Global Summit on Women's Mental Health, according to TMZ Sports. “So don't worry!”
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Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles watches the Chicago Bears warm up before a preseason game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Soldier Field on Aug. 17, 2024 in Chicago. (Joseph Weiser/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Initially, Biles appeared to stick with her Packers jacket choice after receiving backlash: Just days after she was first spotted wearing it, Biles posted a photo of herself wearing it and standing next to Owens on X with the caption, “Bear Down.”
Owens later shared his wife's post on his Instagram Story, captioning it with two blue and orange hearts.
Owens signed a two-year contract with the Bears in March after having the best season of his career with Green Bay. Owens scored his first touchdown with the Packers last year, started 11 games on defense and led the team to its first postseason appearance in his career. He started both games in the playoffs, a win over the Dallas Cowboys and a close loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and recorded seven tackles.
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Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles kisses her husband, Green Bay Packers player Jonathan Owens, before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Lambeau Field on December 3, 2023 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. (Stacey Revere/Getty Images)
Owens will be playing for his third team of his career and is looking to help the Bears turn around a franchise that has missed the playoffs the past two seasons.
Biles cheered on Owens at Packers games last year, including the playoffs, and is set to attend plenty of Bears games this year, so now that she's in a Chicago uniform, Bears fans will have every reason to root for her every time she appears on the big screen at Soldier Field.
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Gold medalist Simone Biles of the United States poses wearing a goat charm on her necklace during the medal ceremony of the women's individual all-around gymnastics final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena on August 1, 2024 in Paris. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Biles won three gold medals at this summer's Paris Olympics, making her the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history — and she accomplished all this while being one of the oldest gymnasts in Olympic gymnastics history at age 27. The gold medal win marked the completion of Biles' dramatic comeback story after she withdrew from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics due to a sprain.
“I'm just so proud of her, knowing how much she's worked and what she's been through,” Owens told Fox News Digital in July, “and for her to be able to come back and be fearless and continue to be as dominant as she has been is just so amazing.”
“It's a testament to her character, her confidence and hard work. I can't wait to continue watching her dreams come true.”
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