A heated social media exchange between Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines ignited a public debate about transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

The feud, sparked by Gaines’ criticism of a Minnesota high school softball team that included a transgender pitcher, has drawn significant attention, highlighting deep divisions on the issue of inclusivity versus fairness in athletics.

The controversy began when Gaines, a vocal advocate against transgender women competing in women’s sports, commented on a post by the Minnesota State High School League celebrating Champlin Park High School’s girls’ softball team, which won the Class AAAA state championship.

The team’s star pitcher, Marissa Rothenberger, a transgender athlete, threw a shutout, allowing just three hits and striking out six.

Gaines noted that comments on the league’s post were disabled, implying it was due to Rothenberger’s participation. “Comments off lol. To be expected when your star player is a boy,” Gaines wrote on X.

Gaines’ remarks, which misgendered Rothenberger, drew a sharp response from Biles, the most decorated gymnast in history with 30 world championship medals, including 23 golds.

Biles called Gaines “truly sick” and a “sore loser,” referencing Gaines’ 2022 NCAA swimming championship tie for fifth place with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

“You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race,” Biles wrote on X. “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!!!!!”

In a follow-up post, Biles added, “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male,” a comment some interpreted as body-shaming Gaines.

Gaines, who has built a platform advocating for the exclusion of transgender women from women’s sports, responded swiftly, calling Biles’ remarks “so disappointing.”

She argued that it is not the responsibility of women to accommodate men in female sports categories. “It’s not my job or the job of any woman to figure out how to include men in our spaces,” Gaines wrote on X.

“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.”