'It’s too late. It is the tweets, not the carefully crafted PR statement, that everyone is going to remember,' Megan Basham of The Daily Wire commented.
(LifeSiteNews) -- Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles has apologized to athlete and activist Riley Gaines for her string of angry X posts on June 6 in which she accused Gaines of being a “bully” for opposing males in female sports and insinuated that the swimmer looked like a man.
In a follow-up X post on June 10, 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. I was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women’s sports. 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. 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.
Biles’ initial broadside against Gaines got a whopping 32,000 reposts and was torqued by LGBT activists who were thrilled to have such a high-profile athlete publicly ally with them on a cause that has become so toxic even Democrats like LGBT champion Gavin Newsom has been backing away from them. Biles’ apology, however, got a mere 8,000 reposts—and plenty of questions about what her position actually is. Does Biles believe trans-identifying men should be able to play against women? Or doesn’t she?
Gaines, for her part, thanked Biles for the apology and accepted her olive branch—but pushed back hard against Biles’ assertion about “competitive equity.”
READ: Olympian Simone Biles used to oppose men in female sports, so why is she attacking Riley Gaines?
“I accept Simone's apology for the personal attacks including the ones where she body-shamed me,” Gaines wrote. “I know she knows what this feels like. She's still the greatest female gymnast of all time. A couple of things. Sports ARE inclusive by nature. Anyone can and everyone SHOULD play sports. Competition, on the other hand and by definition, is exclusive. So the idea of ‘competitive equity’ is nonsensical.”
Gaines continued:
Secondly, the boys are publicly humiliating the girls. To suggest that women and girls must be silent or ignore a boy who is PUBLICLY hurting or humiliating them is wrong. You can't have any empathy and compassion for the girls if you're ignoring when young men are harming or abusing them. I am not ashamed to be a voice for the voiceless.Lastly, I agree with you that the blame is on the lawmakers and leaders at the top. Precisely why I'm suing the NCAA and support candidates who vow to stand with women. That's why I joined Donald Trump at the signing of his Executive Order. I didn't see you there or championing this effort with your platform.
Women's sports can't be used as an excuse for girl's to center the feelings and validation of men and boys.
I welcome you to the fight to support fair sports and a future for female athletes. Little girls deserve the same shot to achieve that you had.
Others were less gracious. “And you still won’t see her at any of these events standing up for girls bc not one word of that ‘apology’ was sincere even though to your credit you are too classy to say it,” Megyn Kelly shot back.
“It’s too late. It is the tweets, not the carefully crafted PR statement, that everyone is going to remember,” Megan Basham of The Daily Wire added. “And that in the moment when little girls needed courage from the women who went before them, you massively let them down.”
Predictably, Biles’ have-it-both-ways apology satisfied nobody. LGBT activists want full-throated support; common-sense Americans don’t want boys to play against girls in sports. Biles clearly realized, based on the backlash, that her position was far more unpopular than she had anticipated. Biles backed down; Riley Gaines takes the round.
