Gaines said Biles is someone she has “respected for so long”

Riley Gaines; Simone Biles.Credit : Rebecca Noble/Getty; Steve Eichner/Variety via Getty

Riley Gaines says she is willing to work with Simone Biles in the future, amid the wake of their public war of words.

After TMZ Sports asked Gaines, a former swimmer and conservative activist, if she would ever team up with the Olympic gymnast — who called her “truly sick” over her anti-transgender comments earlier this month — Gaines didn’t hesitate before replying, “Absolutely.”

“Look, Simone is someone I’ve looked up to, I’ve respected for so long,” Gaines, 25, told the outlet. “She has done so much for women’s sports, of course, for the sport of gymnastics, but even broader than that for women in general.”

Gaines went on to tell TMZ Sports that the “stance” Biles, 28, shared “felt so deeply visceral to me not because of the personal attacks, but more so again because of how she used her platform, a platform where young girls all across the nation, young girls like my little sister, who’s a gymnast, look up to her.”

Riley Gaines.Noam Galai/Getty

“In the blink of an eye, she effectively pulled up the ladder behind her,” Gaines said of Biles. “And again, a way that was, I think, done in haste. I think there was a lot of ignorance to the issue when she issued her initial tweets on that Friday evening.”

Seemingly referring to her vocal stance against the participation of transgender women in women’s sports — which Biles pushed back on in their initial exchange of words — the former swimmer then told TMZ Sports that the gymnast “would be a fantastic ally in this fight.”

“Her platform is still incredible. Her career has been illustrious, to say the least,” Gaines said. “I think we could do a lot together if she was willing to do it.”

Biles and Gaines’ social media feud began on June 6, 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 heated exchange comes amid President Donald Trump’s administration’s ongoing efforts to push back against states like California, which are permitting transgender athletes to participate in sports that align with their gender identity.

Simone Biles.Patricia J. Garcinuno/Getty

Reacting to Gaines’ post, Biles tagged the conservative activist and 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 [people] feel safe in sports. Maybe a transgender category IN ALL sports!!”

“But instead… You bully them,” the gymnast continued, adding that “no one in sports is safe with you around!!!!!”

In a separate post on X — which Gaines referenced a week later while announcing her pregnancy — the Olympian added, “Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”

Gaines responded by calling Biles’ comments “so disappointing,” and, in a follow-up post, also accused the gymnast of subtle “body shaming.”

“[Biles] being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls’ dreams? Didn’t have that on my bingo card,” the former swimmer wrote at the time.

A few days later, Biles apologized for getting “personal” with Gaines in a “follow-up” to her previous posts.”

“I’ve always believed competitive equity & inclusivity are both essential in sport,” Biles wrote. “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.”

In her response to Gaines’ initial post, Biles “was not advocating for policies that compromise fairness in women’s sports,” she said, but rather objecting to “singling out children for public scrutiny in ways that feel personal and harmful.”

“Individual athletes — especially kids — should never be the focus of criticism of a flawed system they have no control over. I believe sports organizations have a responsibility to come up with rules supporting inclusion while maintaining fair competition. We all want a future for sport that is fair, inclusive, and respectful,” Biles concluded the post before signing off with: “Xoxo Simone.”