Simone Biles issues public apology after Riley Gaines exchange, calls for empathy in trans athlete debate

American gymnast Simone Biles recently issued an apology amidst the ongoing online spat between her and activist Riley Gaines. This started over the debate over the existence of transgender athletes in women's sports.

Biles, a three-time Olympian, had criticized Gaines for her stance against the subject after the latter called out a transgender school softball player for playing in the women's team. Biles called Gaines a bully and also called her out for constantly having a go at the trans athletes on social media.

Following this, shots were fired from both sides, with Gaines also reposting some of the gymnast's old posts to validate her point. Amidst this, the American gymnast shared a post on her X handle where she shared that even though she thought sports were an inclusive space, the existing system doesn't have the infrastructure to allow this.

She then apologized for the tone used during her exchange with Riley Gaines on social media and also asked for empathy in the debates over transgender athletes. Simone Biles 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. "

"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."

Several top personalities, such as Piers Morgan and Martina Navratilova, had also spoken out against Simone Biles and slammed her for criticizing Gaines.

Feud between Simone Biles and Riley Gaines finds a new take from Stephen A.Smith

Simone Biles at USA Gymnastics Women's National Team Media Days - Source: Getty

Stephen A.Smith shared her viewpoints on the social media war between Simone Biles and Riley Gaines. Smith is one of the most well-known personalities in the television world and has hosted several shows on ESPN.

This comes after Gaines criticized Biles for her hypocrisy when speaking out for herself, facing abuse in the workplace during the Larry Nassar incident, and for other female athletes who had to compete with men in their respective fields.

Smith criticized Gaines for dragging the Nassar incident into her argument with Biles and termed it as going too low on the side of Gaines. He said (via Stephen A.Smith, 49:19 onwards):

"Talking about transgender women competing in sports in one issue. Using a guy like Larry Nassar — one of the most despicable human beings we’ve ever witnessed on this Earth who molested and abused numerous women, numerous gymnasts, including Biles — to go that low."

During the conversation, Stephen A.Smith also added that Riley Gaines could have kept her points against Simone Biles without bringing out the Larry Nasser incident into context.