After her online beef with Riley Gaines went viral earlier this month, Simone Biles now has been rocked by accusations made by a former teammate.
In a statement to One America News, former U.S. gymnast MyKayla Skinner backed Gaines in her feud with Biles before claiming the Olympic legend had bullied her for years behind the scenes.
Skinner, who won silver in the vault event at the Tokyo Games in 2021, previously had been involved in an online conflict with Biles in the lead-up to the 2024 Summer Games.
Skinner claimed that she and her family received death threats over comments made about the U.S. women’s gymnastics teams prior to the Paris Games.
Now, after years of staying silent “out of respect,” she indicated she’d reached her tipping point.
“Throughout my own career, I endured being belittled, dismissed and ostracized behind the scenes by Simone,” Skinner said.
“The pressure to stay silent was immense. I kept quiet out of respect — for the sport, for my teammates, and for the ideal of unity among athletes.
“But witnessing this kind of public shaming, especially from someone in a position of influence, makes that silence no longer acceptable.”
Biles had ripped into Gaines on social media over her stance on transgender athletes in women’s sports, unfolding after the conservative political activist shared a post about a Minnesota high school softball team winning a state championship with a transgender pitcher on its roster and noted that the comments were turned off, writing, “To be expected when your star player is a boy.”
In response, Biles wrote that Gaines was “truly sick,” and referenced the former swimmer’s infamous fifth-place tie with transgender athlete Lia Thomas at a championship event.
“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!!” Biles continued.
Biles later wrote “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.” She later apologized for her comments.
Skinner was firmly in Gaines’ corner over the online battle.
“As an athlete who has dedicated years to a sport, I’ve always believed that true competition should elevate us — not diminish others,” she said in her statement. “That’s why it’s deeply troubling to see @Simone_Biles publicly label a fellow female athlete a ‘sore loser’ — simply for expressing valid concerns about fairness in women’s sports.
“I commend and appreciate @Riley_Gaines_ for having the courage to speak up. Women like her are not only standing for fairness, but for the future of female athletics itself. She deserves support — not ridicule.”
Skinner’s own feud with Biles reached a point where she had to plead with the 11-time Olympic medallist to call off her rabid fans, revealing that she and her family had received death threats over her comments about the 2024 U.S. women’s gymnastics teams.
“I sincerely hoped that this topic wouldn’t have to be revisited, but unfortunately things have really gotten out of hand lately,” an emotional Skinner said in a video posted to Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C-VTyXsJFp6
“So, to Simone, I am asking you directly and publicly to please put a stop to this,” Skinner continued.
Prior to the Games, Skinner made comments during an interview on YouTube about the talent and depth of the team heading to Paris.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be. Just notice like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic,” Skinner said in the since-deleted video, which went viral on X.
After Biles and Co. won gold in the team event, she seemingly threw some shade at Skinner’s comments, posting a pic of the squad celebrating with the caption: “Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.”