Simone Biles Posts Cryptic Message About Survival After Leaving X amid Feud with Riley Gaines

Simone Biles has a message about the “madness,” weeks after her online clash with conservative activist Riley Gaines.

“Strength is what we gain from the madness we survive,” Biles, 28, posted on her Instagram Stories on Monday, June 23.

The Olympic gold medalist and Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer, have been embroiled in a back-and-forth regarding transgender rights in sports.

Biles’ Instagram post comes after she deleted her X account — something Gaines responded to on Sunday. “Sad to see such a phenom go down like this,” Gaines, 25, posted.

Biles and Gaines’ social media feud began earlier this month, when Gaines made anti-trans remarks about a transgender softball player while commenting on a celebratory post from the Minnesota State High School League.

The most decorated gymnast of all time then responded to Gaines, a former Kentucky swimmer who placed 85th in the 100-meter freestyle at the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials. 

Gaines went on to compete against transgender athlete Lia Thomas in 2022 in the NCAA Championships in the 200-meter freestyle, where Thomas edged out the Tennessee native for fifth place.

“You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race,” Biles posted on June 6 in response to Gaines’ controversial comments. “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 [people] feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!!”

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“But instead… You bully them,” the gymnast continued, noting that “no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!” In a separate post, Biles added: “Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”

Gaines responded at the time by calling Biles’ comments “so disappointing,” and, in a follow-up post, also accused the gymnast of subtle “body shaming.” The former swimmer wrote, “[Biles] being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls’ dreams? Didn’t have that on my bingo card.”

A few days later, Biles apologized for getting “personal” with Gaines, who has since announced that she’s pregnant, in a “follow-up” to her previous remarks. “I’ve always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport,” Biles posted on June 10.

She continued, “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.”