'Simone Biles was getting dragged on social media' - Riley Gaines opens up about brutal backlash faced by gymnast during transgender athlete row

Swimmer turned social activist Riley Gaines recently shared her thoughts about gymnastics legend Simone Biles and the backlash she faced over her statements on the transgender athlete row. The Olympic champion gymnast had criticized Gaines for her stance, for which she received backlash from several people.

In her recent interview with TMZ Sports, Gaines revealed that she felt bad for Biles and that she was 'being dragged over social media' for her statements. In her words [via TMZ.com],

"We're in those 48 hours. I really felt bad for her, truthfully, she was getting dragged on social media for her stance and how venomously she took her stance. Uh, she had to turn off her comments on her social pages. Uh, but then as I alluded to uh, just that start of that next week, she issued an apology, uh, saying really further clarifying that she does not believe that men should be a part of women's sports."

For the unversed, Simone Biles had called out Riley Gaines over the issue of trans athletes in women's sports. She allegedly called Gaines a 'sore loser' over her statements against a high school in Minnesota for the inclusion of a transgender player. This left social media divided, with some backing Biles, while others, including celebrities like Martina Navratilova and Piers Morgan, criticizing her for allegedly trivializing the cause of women's sports.

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Riley Gaines makes stance clear on transgender athletes as Simone Biles issues apology

Riley Gaines responds to Simone Biles' apology for statements on transgender athlete row [Image Source : Getty]

Riley Gaines made her stance clear on the issue of transgender athletes after the apology of Simone Biles. The Olympic champion gymnast revealed that she shouldn't have gone personal in her statement against Gaines.

In a conversation with Fox News, Gaines mentioned,

"I concluded my apology by welcoming her to join the fight because again she said in there it's against the sports organizations to do something about this and of course, I want to maintain fairness. I would love to have her stand alongside me."

Gaines further explained her stand that while sports are inclusive, competition should be held based on merit. In her words,

"She advocated for competitive equity. Let me be very clear here. Sports inherently by their true nature are inclusive. Anyone can play and everyone should play, in my opinion. But competition on the other hand by definition, by nature of the word is exclusive, that's what competition means. The idea of competitive equity is totally non-sensical and it's an oxymoron."

Riley Gaines had previously backed the protests by high school athletes in California over the inclusion of trans athletes in various athletic events. She also campaigned against the participation of Algerian boxer Imane Khelif at the Paris Olympics, due to the controversy around her gender identity.