A Minnesota high school softball championship has become the latest flashpoint in the national debate over transgender athletes in girls’ sports, after Champlin Park High School clinched the title behind a dominant performance from Marissa Rothenberger, a transgender pitcher. The game — and the subsequent celebration online — sparked a heated exchange between Olympic gymnastics champion Simone Biles and women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines.
The controversy began after Champlin Park High School secured a state championship win on Friday, led by Marissa threw a shutout in the title game. Rothenberger’s performance capped off a dominant postseason and drew both praise and criticism across social media.
When the Minnesota State High School League posted a congratulatory photo of the winning team online, users quickly noticed the comments were disabled, which was widely interpreted as an attempt to suppress backlash over Rothenberger’s participation. Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and outspoken critic of male-born athletes competing in women’s sports, reposted the image on X (formerly Twitter) and didn’t mince words. “To be expected when your star player is a boy,” Gaines wrote.
The comment drew a sharp rebuke from Simone Biles, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, who accused Gaines of bullying transgender athletes and being motivated by personal resentment.
“All of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser,” Biles responded, referencing Gaines’ past competition against trans swimmer Lia Thomas in 2022.
“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.”
Gaines quickly returned fire, rejecting the idea that women are responsible for making male-born athletes feel included in female sports categories.
“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,” Gaines wrote. “Men don’t belong in women’s sports and I say that with my full chest.”
She also directly responded to the personal attack from Biles. “And the subtle hint at ‘body-shaming’ ???? Plzzzz I’m 5’5,” Gaines quipped. “Simone Biles being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls’ dreams? Didn’t have that on my bingo card.”
Gaines continued, suggesting that if Biles believes in equal crossover, she could try her hand at men’s events. “Maybe she could compete in pommel horse and rings in 2028.”
When challenged by users about the biological differences that separate male and female divisions — particularly in sports like gymnastics — Biles deflected, accusing critics of lacking “comprehension skills.”
The exchange quickly went viral, underscoring the growing tension around transgender participation in women’s athletics. According to recent surveys, nearly 80% of Americans believe that biological males should not compete in girls’ and women’s sports, suggesting that while Biles may enjoy a sizable platform, public sentiment appears to favor Gaines’ position.
This isn’t the first time Gaines has clashed with high-profile athletes or organizations over the issue. Her advocacy has brought her before Congress, state legislatures, and school boards, where she has argued that inclusion policies should not come at the cost of fairness and safety for female athletes.
To Gaines and her supporters, allowing male-born athletes to dominate girls’ competitions — and now win state titles — undermines the very concept of female sports. To Biles and others, the issue is one of inclusion and societal evolution.
With high-profile figures like Biles and Gaines now openly clashing, the national spotlight on this issue is only intensifying.
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As soon as Biles competes against a trans person, then she can comment. Otherwise she is just spouting more BS from the left