One month after a social media exchange between Simone Biles and Riley Gaines drew national attention, Gaines has returned to the conversation with new remarks tied to a developing legal case. The former NCAA swimmer posted on X, referencing a lawsuit recently filed by two high school track athletes in Oregon. Gaines claims the legal action was influenced in part by the earlier public dispute involving Biles.
The dispute initially stemmed from a now-infamous exchange on social media in which Gaines commented on the game involving the Minnesota girls’ softball team featuring a transgender pitcher. Biles responded with open contempt, telling Gaines to “bully someone your own size.”. A month later, the ripple effects of that very argument appear to have spilled into courtrooms, according to Gaines herself.
It is from this development that Gaines draws fresh debate. “Simone Biles’ disparaging comments towards female athletes totally backfired,” she declared in a recent statement on X. “She inadvertently inspired two high school girls in Oregon to sue the state after being forced to compete against a boy at their state championship meet. Poetic.” Her use of the word “poetic” serves not merely as commentary, but as a strategic dig. Suggesting that Simone Biles, in trying to defend one principle, may have emboldened its opposite. The girls at the heart of this legal challenge, Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter, have named both their personal experience and the Gaines-Biles argument as decisive in their decision to file suit.
Simone Biles’ disparaging comments towards female athletes totally backfired.
She inadvertently inspired two high school girls in Oregon to sue the state after being forced to compete against a boy at their state championship meet.
Poetic.pic.twitter.com/ilLwLHgGNM
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) July 9, 2025
Their legal action centers on Oregon’s policies that permit transgender athletes to compete according to gender identity. After refusing to run against a trans competitor at the Chehalem Classic track meet in April, Eischen and Carpenter said they were contacted by Gaines directly. According to their account, the outreach was not casual support but encouragement to consider legal recourse. Yet it was not until the feud between Biles and Gaines exploded across national media that the girls felt compelled to act. The social aftermath, they explained, clarified the stakes and galvanized their resolve.
As of now, Simone Biles has not issued any public response to Riley Gaines’ latest remarks. The lawsuit filed by Maddie Eischen and Sophia Carpenter remains ongoing in Oregon.
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