Former Kentucky swimmer Gaines also urged Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham to join the fight for women’s sports.
By Jackson Thompson OutKick – Published – Fox
Just over a year ago, Simone Biles came at Riley Gaines.
In now-infamous X posts, Biles called out Gaines for speaking up about a transgender pitcher who won a Minnesota girls’ softball championship, and mocked Gaines’ body saying “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.” It ignited the biggest pop culture flashpoint in the “Save Women’s Sports” movement.
Now just over a year later, Gaines has a close ally in Biles’ former US Olympic gymnastics team teammate, MyKayla Skinner. Gaines and Skinner celebrated the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold state laws that protect women’s sports on Tuesday, and sent a message to Biles one year after the infamous social media feud.
SUPREME COURT MAKES RULING ON TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS
Mykayla Skinner and Simone Biles of Team United States pose for a photo during Women’s Podium Training ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 22, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
“Just being able to try to find my voice and how I could use my voice after Simone had come out against Riley, it had really affected me,” Skinner said. “I have a little daughter, and we are hoping to put her in sports soon, and I just really want her to have everything that I got to have, all the opportunities.”
Skinner, who won an Olympic silver medal in vault at the Tokyo Games, said her own athletic career shaped her view of the issue.
“I’ve broken records, I’ve been an Olympian, I was a college athlete, and I want her to have the opportunities that I had,” Skinner said of her daughter. “And so this, for me, was a way that I felt like this is the time for me to come up and stand for what I believe in, stand with Riley, and to join in on this fight.”
Skinner then turned her attention directly to Biles.
“I think it would just be really cool to see Simone stand with us,” Skinner said. “She’s one of the best athletes in the world.”
Skinner said she wants to see more elite female athletes join Gaines, XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey and others in the movement.
“To be able to see her as my teammate, as an Olympian, as an amazing athlete that she is, to be able to stand with us and fight alongside Riley and everyone else on this road,” Skinner said. “I would just love, love to see my teams, especially Simone, in step with us.”
Gaines, a former University of Kentucky swimmer who became one of the most prominent advocates against transgender athletes in women’s sports after tying transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships, previously called on Biles to stand with her on the issue in a March interview with Fox News Digital, months before Biles’ social media attack.
Gaines renewed her call to Biles, alongside Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham, to stand on her side, after Tuesday’s SCOTUS ruling.
“Let this be a clarion call, not just to Simone, but to every, I think especially elite female athlete, professional female athlete, the likes of Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham, Serena Williams, to link arms,” Gaines said.
Gaines added that the ruling made her feel “absolutely vindicated.”
“I feel, of course, excited, I feel optimistic about the future,” Gaines said. “But I think the feeling that I feel the most of is vindicated.
“Being a mom, I look at her and I think of the country and the world that I want her to inherit,” Gaines said of her daughter. “It’s a more fair, more safe, more prosperous, more opportunistic world, country.”
“Let it be known that you also think young girls are worthy of calling themselves champions one day,” Gaines added.
Biles’ feud with Gaines began June 6, 2025, after Gaines drew attention to a biologically male transgender softball pitcher who helped a Minnesota girls’ team win a state championship. Biles called Gaines “truly sick,” a “straight up sore loser” and a “bully,” and later suggested Gaines was the “same size” as a male, according to Fox News Digital. Biles later deleted the posts and apologized.
The feud also became a turning point for Skinner.
Skinner had already endured her own public clash with Biles after she posted a video about the 2024 U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team and made comments about the team’s “talent and depth.” Biles responded at the time with the post, “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform,” and Skinner later apologized while saying her remarks were misinterpreted. Skinner told Fox News Digital last year that the backlash included death threats and messages saying she “shouldn’t be a mom.”
Skinner later joined XX-XY Athletics as an ambassador in the brand’s “Gold Medal Campaign,” aligning herself with Gaines, Sey, Olympic swimmer Nancy Hogshead and other prominent activists in the “Save Women’s Sports” space.
‘SAVE WOMEN’S SPORTS’ 2025 CULTURE WAR TIMELINE — THE YEAR THE TIDES TURNED
Riley Gaines, Simone Biles, MyKayla Skinner (Getty Images)
When asked whether she believes Biles truly meant what she said to Gaines last year, Skinner did not hesitate.
“100% yes,” Skinner said. “I’ve known Simone since I was 13 years old, and we’ve had our moments. There’s times where she has belittled me as an athlete, as a person, bullied. And so this wasn’t a shock to me when she came out against Riley.”
Skinner said she believes Biles “stands firm” in her position, but hopes that can change.
“Being at this level and being a mom, we look up to these amazing athletes,” Skinner said. “I really think that she’s not on this side with us, and I really would love to see her come forward and maybe change her mind.”
Gaines agreed that Biles’ initial comments reflected her real views, while suggesting the apology that followed felt more like public-relations cleanup.
“You could even notice the very obvious tone switch between the initial tweet or two and the very ChatGPT-coded apology,” Gaines said.
Gaines said she accepted Biles’ apology and would still be willing to “link arms” with the Olympic gymnastics legend.
“That’s kind of like water off the duck’s back to me,” Gaines said.
But Gaines said she believes the backlash Biles faced after her posts may have revealed a cultural shift on the issue.
“I think it took that for her to realize, ‘Oh dang, I think I was living in my own little bubble here,’” Gaines said. “Maybe the people I surrounded myself with think this, but majority of Americans don’t.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling does not force every state or school to adopt bans on transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. The court said the cases did not present the separate question of whether schools may allow biological males who identify as female to compete on girls’ and women’s teams.
But for Gaines and Skinner, Tuesday’s decision marked a defining legal victory — and another chance to pressure some of the biggest names in women’s sports to pick a side.
Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
============================================
Walz post calling SCOTUS girls’ sports ruling ‘cruel’ backfires online as critics reveal what’s even crueler
Minnesota GOP lawmakers were among those who condemned the governor’s stance on women’s sports
By Andrew Mark Miller Fox News – Published – Fox
Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz faced backlash from conservatives on social media after denouncing Tuesday’s Supreme Court ruling on transgender athletes in women’s sports by calling it “cruel.”
“As the Supreme Court says states can be cruel to trans kids, my message is clear: Here in Minnesota, we stand with and value our trans neighbors and youth,” Walz posted on X as the Supreme Court was ruling in favor of West Virginia and Idaho against trans athletes who sued to gain access to girls’ sports.
Walz’s comment was immediately blasted on social media by conservatives, many of whom are from Minnesota.
“What’s cruel is making a teenage girl, already uncomfortable in her own skin, change in a locker room next to a naked boy,” Minnesota Republican state Sen. Julia Coleman posted on X. “What’s cruel is letting our girls get the s— kicked out of them by biological males on the field and lose out on scholarships and more chances to compete. What’s cruel is putting your base above female safety and opportunities.”
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz testifies during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2026. The hearing examined alleged misuse of federal funds for Minnesota social services and Medicaid programs. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Once again you disregard the laws of America,” retired Minnesota State Patrol Lt. John Nagel, running for Congress as Republican in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, posted on X. “You don’t support women’s rights. You don’t stand for anything. You are the face of everything that is wrong with the Democratic party.”
“Which Minnesota girl deserves to lose her spot on a team to a male athlete?” True North Legal attorney Renee Carlson posted on X.
The US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. President Donald Trump is fighting to end automatic citizenship for children born to parents who are in the country unlawfully or on temporary visas, part of his broader crackdown on undocumented immigrants and a change that could overturn more than a century of legal precedent. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Tim Walz calls it ‘cruel’ that the Supreme Court ruled to protect young girls and keep men out of their sports,” a Republican National Committee account posted on X. “What’s actually ‘cruel’ is advocating for the gender mutilation of children and letting men in their locker rooms you sicko.”
“True cruelty to these children is perpetuating the LIE that they can be a different gender,” Minnesota Republican state Sen. Michael Holmstrom posted on X. “The consequence of which is the destruction of lives — and the victimization of girls across the state. The DFL has lost reality.”
Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz speaks to reporters after he announced that he would not seek re-election, at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jan. 5, 2026. (Reuters/Tim Evans)
“Worst Governor in America,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X. “Thankfully we have exposed him and he’ll be headed to retirement soon. Good riddance, Tim.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment.
Walz later in the day explained that his state’s position on girls in boys sports won’t change as a result of the ruling, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported.
“The Supreme Court has allowed states to be as cruel as they want to be to transgender people,” Walz told reporters. “They’ve also allowed states like Minnesota to be as kind and welcoming as they can, so I kind of view this as a mixed bag.”
“We’re going to view it as a positive considering what could have been done. In Minnesota, we can continue to treat our transgender athletes and youth with dignity and humanity and respect. We’ll continue to do that, nothing will change there. Anything that gets kids involved, I want them to be involved. This idea of folks who have never been to any youth event are hell-bent on making sure some kid doesn’t participate in bowling is ludicrous. I think Minnesotans find there’s a lot of other things to worry about than three little kids wanting to play sports somewhere.”
In the highly anticipated rulings in West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox, the high court upheld state laws requiring student-athletes to compete on sports teams that correspond with their biological sex at birth rather than their gender identity.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3.
Now, more than half of the states in the U.S. are empowered to enforce the protection of women’s sports without fear of a legal challenge.
However, there are still 23 states, including California, New York and Massachusetts, that don’t have any such laws, and some of those have laws to protect trans athletes in girls’ sports.
Fox News Digital’s Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
Lord Buckbeak: "Will you come into my parlor?," said the Spider to the Fly. 
Leave a comment