Riley Gaines Unconvinced by Simone Biles’ Apology While Hinting at Possible Motive Behind It

The heated debate between Simone Biles and Riley Gaines began when the Minnesota State High School League shared a congratulatory message on X (formerly Twitter), featuring a photo of Champlin Park’s team. Riley, a former NCAA swimmer, reposted the tweet with a remark: “Comments off lol…” linking this block with the inclusion of a trans player on the team. Notably, Champlin Park Rebels bagged a dominant victory in the Girls 4A Minnesota State Softball Championship on June 6, where they shut out Bloomington Jefferson 6-0, earning that victory. That opened the field for debate, and Simone entered.

Biles, the decorated Olympian with 11 medals to her name, fired back at Riley’s initial tweet. She responded directly to Gaines: “@Riley_Gaines_ You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser.” Gaines didn’t hold back either. And thus, the back and forth continued. Soon after, the followers of both athletes also joined the debate, blaming the camps simultaneously. But no apology had come from any athlete’s side. Now enter June 10.

In the early hours of Tuesday (June 10), Simone penned on X, “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.” The Olympian added several more words, and those were against public scrutiny.

Concurrently, on The Will Cain Show, the titular host questioned Riley Gaines regarding her acceptance of Simone Biles’ apology. Riley said, “I accept the apology.” But she shared a detailed note on it. 

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

BREAKING: @Riley_Gaines_ shares her honest response to @Simone_Biles apology.
⁰Full statement available now — only on The Will Cain Show social media accounts. @willcain pic.twitter.com/ubXXJplgGO

— The Will Cain Show (@WillCainShow_) June 10, 2025

In the show, the former NCAA swimmer said, “Those personal attacks that she issued back last weekend, they didn’t hurt my feelings. That’s not what hurt my feelings about her remarks.” Furthermore, calling Simone’s apology a “half-hearted” action, Gaines explained her issues with the apology. “This apology seems a bit half-hearted. I have a problem with some of the things she said, including the words and phrases, competitive equity, and inclusivity. Look, that is not what competition is about,” the 25-year-old said.

Riley said yes. “Was this a PR firm? Was she doing this because, of course, she didn’t get the response that she had hoped to get? I believe, of course, the first two tweets were totally misguided. That’s the problem, oftentimes when you surround yourself with elites. We watched the video just yesterday on your show, Will, of her on the private jet,” the Tennessee-native shared. So was there any pressure on Simone Biles to drop the apology note on social media? Again, Riley nodded in agreement. 

According to Riley, the pressure from Simone‘s sponsors may have forced her to apologize publicly. “You have to think, too, that maybe even her sponsors, some of those people, those companies and businesses that have endorsed her…,” Riley noted. She was insinuating that Simone’s apology comes with the idea of saving her collaborations with brands, pointing that the motive was not what she was expecting.

As the conversation continues, Simone has yet to respond to Riley’s latest comments.

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