Olympic gymnast Simone Biles has deleted her X account following an online dispute with women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines.
As The New York Post reported, the move came weeks after a social media feud over transgender participation in high school sports, specifically in response to a viral incident involving a transgender athlete in Minnesota.
The controversy began in early June when Marissa Rothenberger, a transgender player for Champlin Park High School, helped lead the team to a state championship by pitching a shutout.
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The Minnesota State High School League celebrated the win by posting a team photo on social media but disabled comments on the post.
Riley Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer and vocal opponent of transgender participation in women’s sports, commented, “To be expected when your star player is a boy.”
Biles responded directly to Gaines in a now-deleted X post, writing:
“All of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser. You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive OR creating a new avenue where trans feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! But instead… You bully them… One things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!”
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After receiving backlash, Biles issued a public apology on X, stating:
“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. We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful.”
Despite the apology, Biles’ account on X was later deactivated. Her Instagram, with over 12 million followers, remains active. No official explanation was provided for why she deleted only her X account.
Reacting to the news, Gaines said on X, “Sad to see such a phenom go down like this. -has an incredibly unpopular and morally indefensible take, gets rightfully ridiculed for it, issues a groveling public apology after unrelenting backlash, deletes account to pretend it never happened.”
– has an incredibly unpopular and morally indefensible take
– gets rightfully ridiculed for it
– issues a groveling public apology after unrelenting backlash
– deletes account to pretend it never happenedSad to see such a phenom go down like this https://t.co/AiYir3kRG5
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) June 23, 2025
Other athletes joined the conversation. Former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick and Biles’ former Olympic teammate MyKayla Skinner publicly criticized Biles, accusing her of bullying Gaines.
The feud underscores ongoing tensions in the debate over transgender athletes in women’s sports. Gaines, who competed against transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in 2022, has become a prominent voice advocating for the preservation of biological women’s categories in athletics.
As of now, Biles has made no further public statements on the issue and remains active only on other social media platforms.
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