Riley Gaines reacts to Simone Biles deleting her X account after bitter feud

Women’s sports activist Riley Gaines reacted to the surprising move by Olympian gymnast Simone Biles abruptly deactivating her X account.

Gaines, a podcast host and former University of Kentucky swimmer, noted how it was “Sad to see such a phenom go down like this” after screenshots were shared on X of Biles’ account.

“[Simone] has an incredibly unpopular and morally indefensible take; gets rightfully ridiculed for it; issues a groveling public apology after unrelenting backlash; deletes account to pretend it never happened. Sad to see such a phenom go down like this,” Gaines wrote.

– has an incredibly unpopular and morally indefensible take
– gets rightfully ridiculed for it
– issues a groveling public apology after unrelenting backlash
– deletes account to pretend it never happened

Sad to see such a phenom go down like this https://t.co/AiYir3kRG5

— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) June 23, 2025

The comments and the apparent departure of Biles from X come after a very public and heated feud between the two women over transgender athletes.

Earlier this month, Biles reacted to Gaines’ comment on a post by the Minnesota State High School League, whose team includes a transgender athlete, writing, “@Riley_Gaines_ You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. 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 feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!! But instead… You bully them… One thing’s for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!” added Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history.

“Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male @Riley_Gaines_,” the gymnast added in another attack on Gaines.

“This is actually so disappointing. It’s not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces,” Gaines fired back. “You can uplift men stealing championships in women’s sports with YOUR platform. Men don’t belong in women’s sports and I say that with my full chest.”

Biles, who came under fire for her attack on Gaines and for her stance on trans athletes in women’s sports, issued a kind of apology, which only seemed to make things worse.

“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,” she wrote. “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.”

Her sudden deactivation of her X account led to more speculation and criticism.

Not sure Simone Biles will ever quite recover the general good will many had for her. pic.twitter.com/WEETUVsJvv

— Kabbie (@sentence58) June 23, 2025

Biles picked the wrong battle to fight. She completely lost her moral compass on this one and that apology wasn’t fooling anyone.

— Discover My Paradise (@__ParadiseEarth) June 23, 2025

It appears @simone_biles has deleted her Twitter account after she attacked ⁦@Riley_Gaines_⁩, defended men in women’s sports, and issued a strangely worded apology written by her moronic PR team. pic.twitter.com/gSmZR8AQwj

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) June 23, 2025

It doesn’t matter. Sadly, she destroyed her reputation and her brand. We see her now.

— Kentucky Girl (@Notwokenow) June 23, 2025

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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

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