Conservative advocate Riley Gaines has responded to Simone Biles with a sharp comment about the gymnast’s traumatic experiences, as their heated online argument about transgender athletes in women’s sports intensifies.

The 28-year-old American Olympic champion fiercely criticized Gaines on Friday, suggesting a comparison to a man after Gaines objected to a Minnesota high school softball team that included a transgender player.

At age 25, Gaines, a prominent critic of transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, replied by alluding to the severe abuse Biles and other gymnasts endured from the predatory doctor Larry Nassar.

‘All the horrific sexual abuse @Simmone_Biles witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man’s feelings,’ the former collegiate swimmer posted on X following the gymnastics legend’s attack. ‘You know how many gold medals you’d have if your “inclusive” dream came true? Zero.’

Gaines later doubled down, sharing a clip of Biles testifying before Senate about the abuse suffered at the hands of the former team doctor. Alongside it, she posted a screengrab of Biles’ tweet. 

‘Simone Biles when she had to endure a predatory man Vs Simone Biles when other girls have to endure predatory men,’ she wrote. 

Gaines, who tied for fifth with trans swimmer Lia Thomas at the 2022 NCAA championships, later clarified her position, insisting that she hopes Nassar ‘spends the rest of his life rotting away and miserable in prison.’

She said that the gymnasts were ‘failed by a system that protected an abusive man at the expense of the girls’ safety.’ However, she claimed that female athletes were equally being failed by the same system amid the gender row sweeping through sport. 

Nassar was a leading doctor at Michigan State and with USA Gymnastics, but used his position within those organizations to sexually abuse young women under the guise of treatment at the now-closed Karolyi Ranch National Team Training Center in Huntsville, Texas. 

He was sentenced in federal court in 2017 to 60 years in prison on charges of possessing child sex abuse material. The following year, Nassar was sentenced to up to 175 years and up to 125 years, respectively, in two separate Michigan courts for molesting female gymnasts under his care.

Biles publicly broke her silence in January 2018, revealing in a powerful tweet that she was one of Nassar’s victims. In 2019, Biles revealed that the trauma of the assaults had left her struggling with suicidal thoughts.

Gaines has forged a career as a political commentator for OutKick and Fox following her time as a swimmer, where she competed against trans athlete Lia Thomas. Her campaigning has won praise from Donald Trump, who welcomed her to the White House before signing the ‘Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports’ executive order in February.

On Friday, Gaines retweeted a picture of Minnesota team Champlin Park celebrating the state high school title that they won with transgender pitcher Marissa Rothenberger on the team.

‘Comments off lol,’ Gaines wrote in response to the post. ‘To be expected when your star player is a boy.’

It sparked a blistering response from Biles, 28, who first criticized Gaines’ view and then compared her appearance to a man. Biles wrote: ‘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 things for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!’

She then tweeted at Gaines again, saying: ‘Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.’

Gaines replied: ‘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. 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.’

She continued: ‘My take is the least controversial take on the planet. Simone Biles being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls’ dreams? Didn’t have that on my bingo card. Maybe she could compete in pommel horse and rings in 2028.’

Gaines then addressed Biles mocking her appearance, saying: ‘And the subtle hint at “body-shaming” ???? Plzzzz I’m 5’5″.’

Sage Steele, the former ESPN reporter who has also been a vocal critic of trans athletes, backed Gaines up with a fiery tweet of her own.

‘Easy to say this @Simone_Biles when you only had to compete against fellow women. Every one of your Olympic medals came competing against fellow women,’ Steele wrote.

‘Riley Gaines was not only forced to compete against a man, but forced to share a locker room with a man. THAT is SICK. Shocked and disappointed that you’d attack another woman who has done nothing but uplift other women. 

‘If YOU think it makes sense to create a league for trans people, go for it! Use that huge platform of yours! But to attack Riley for what she has done for little girls who want to be the next Simone Biles is……..sick.’

Biles, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, also gave a savage reply to a Trump voter that wrote back to her: ‘Simone, there is a reason they have rings in men’s gymnastics, and not women’s. Male athletes have a biological advantage over female athletes. That will never changes.’

Biles wrote back: ‘Can you even read? I see we are lacking comprehension skills as well…..’

The gymnast has offered no further comment other than to retweet her original post calling Gaines ‘sick’. 

The issue of trans athletes in sports has been a bigger talking point in the US this week with the Minnesota high school team reaching the state championships. 

Rothenberger is biologically male. At nine, Rothenberger’s mother applied in district court to alter her child’s birth certificate after their ninth birthday, with the petition being approved, per Reduxx. 

Rothenberger was issued a new birth certificate showing to be born female, switching their name from ‘Charlie Dean’ to Marissa.