Simone Biles apologizes to Riley Gaines after fight over trans athletes, Internet calls it 'PR clean-up'

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Amid the ongoing feud between Simone Biles and Riley Gaines, the Olympic gold medalist wrote an apology to the former NCAA swimmer-turned-activist on Tuesday, June 20, but the internet believed it was just another "PR" stunt.

The online fight between the two started when Gaines went viral for a post on X (formerly Twitter) as she criticized a Minnesota high school softball team for including a trans player, according to Mediaite.

Simone Biles apologizes to Riley Gaines for taking personal shots

Simone Biles went to X and wrote an apology to Riley Gaines for taking personal shots at her.

She began, "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. I was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women’s sports," the gymnast continued.

She also added, "My objection is to be singling out children for public scrutiny in ways that feel personal and harmful. Individual athletes—especially kids—should never be the focus of criticism of a flawed system they have no control over."

She concluded her post and wrote, "I believe sports organizations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition. We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful. Xoxo Simone."

The feud between the two had become ugly as Biles responded to Gaines' post on the trans athlete and called the activist a "sore loser" and a "straight up loser."

She also mentioned in a different post, "Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male @Riley_Gaines_"

Gaines responded to the "bully" post and wrote, "This is so disappointing. My take is the least controversial take on the planet. Simone Biles being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls’ dreams? Didn’t have that on my bingo card. Maybe she could compete in pommel horse and rings in 2028."

Meanwhile, Gaines did accept Biles' apology on Tuesday, Outkick reported.

Internet slams Simone Biles over apology to Riley Gaines

Several internet users slammed the Olympic gold medalist as she wrote an apology to Riley Gaines for "getting personal" with her. Some believed that it was a half-hearted apology, while some called it a PR stunt.

A user wrote on X, "It would have been helpful if she had written the apology herself, and a true one, heartfelt, not one diplomatically couched in woke verbiage that was so obviously made up by some paid media person," while one added, "I wonder how much she had to pay a PR rep to come up with that. And I would bet that she didn't mean a single word of it."

A person also stated, "That did absolutely nothing to move the needle back in her direction. She basically double-downed on her position and gave a half-hearted apology for making it personal," whereas one mentioned, "Will you take a stand against men competing in women’s sports? Or is this PR clean up?"

A user also wrote, "This is what million-dollar crisis PR firms get you. Watered-down apologies that not a single person believes. Too little, too late. Sorry @Simone_Biles you flat out ruined your entire career," while one commented, "Took your PR team long enough to come up with this. Unfortunately, we all got to see who you really are already. It was incredibly disappointing and unbecoming. You took the low road and kids who look up to you witnessed it all. America needs better role models than this."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.