Girls Sports

Cringe: Simone Biles Erupts at Riley Gaines for ‘Bullying’ Boys in Girls Sports

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles erupted at Riley Gaines on social media Friday, accusing the former NCAA swimmer of bullying transgender-identified boys in girls sports and shaming her for being too masculine.

You read that right.

The contentious exchange kicked off after Marissa Rothenberger, a boy, led the Champlin Park Rebels to a 6-0 shutout victory in the Minnesota girls high school softball championship on June 6.

Gaines, who had been sounding the alarm on Rothenberger’s participation in a girls league for weeks, immediately criticized the Rebels’ win.

“To be expected when your star player is a boy,” she wrote in one tweet, reposting a picture of the team holding the trophy.

Apparently, Biles had had enough.

Biles’ rant references Gaines’ race against Lia, formerly Will, Thomas — a man — in the 2022 NCAA championships. The two tied for fifth place in the 200-meter freestyle.

After castigating Gaines for bullying, Biles concluded:

Gaines, no stranger to attacks like Biles’, posted a blistering rebuttal Saturday, which you can watch here.

Biles’ comments deserve the strictest scrutiny. If she supports stripping female athletes of sex segregated sports, which she has excelled in, she should offer a darn good reason why.

If she has one, Biles’ posts do not articulate it.  

Exhibit A — her concluding line.

“Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”

Strong arguments don’t lean on insults, so not an ideal finish. It’s also just … a bad insult.

So, Gaines looks like a dude — why? Because she’s muscular, like Biles? For a post ostensibly “uplifting” people who believe sex doesn’t matter, or even exist, Biles chose a remarkably sex-centric conclusion —one that acknowledges men are built differently than women and, ironically, insults her own physique.

Ill-advised insults aside, Biles contends Gaines uses her platform to improperly “bully” transgender-identified athletes. As Biles sees it, Gaines should be “uplifting” transgender-identified athletes or find a way to include them in sports.

Biles’ argument smacks of hypocrisy. She bullies Gaines in the name of stopping Gaines’ bullying. And, in her myopic focus on trashing the former swimmer, Biles gets some crucial facts wrong.

Biles calls Gaines a sore loser, implying she began “bullying” boys in girls sports because she tied with Thomas in 2022. But, in interview after interview, Gaines has cited her interaction with NCAA officials after the race, when Thomas received the only trophy “for photo purposes,” as the moment that galvanized her opposition to men in women’s sports.

In a 2022 interview with the Daily Wire, Gaines even claimed she had no problem with Thomas himself, only the NCAA’s automatic prioritization of gender confused athletes.

Gaines’ experience illustrates the ways men’s participation in women’s sports diminishes the athletic accolades and accomplishments of women. Biles sidesteps this facet of the argument entirely.

In addition to her initial mischaracterization of Gaines, Biles relies on two implicit assumptions to prosecute her case: that advocating for sex-segregated sports is bullying and that allowing boys to play in girls sports is uplifting.

Both are wrong.

Advocating for sex-segregated sports is not bullying — it’s an acknowledgement of biological reality. Congress recognized the same reality in 1972 with the establishment of Title IX. Sex-segregated sports were necessary, legislators understood, because women could not compete with the physicality of their male peers.

In a world without male and female leagues, women would warm the bench, if they were lucky.

Biles herself seemed to acknowledge as much in 2017, tweeting:

Allowing boys to compete in girls sports cannot be called “uplifting” to gender confused boys, in part, because their victory is at the expense of girls’ athletic opportunities and accomplishments — not to mention their privacy and safety.

Biles conspicuously fails to address women’s concerns about sharing private spaces with intact males, as NCAA swimmers were forced to do with Thomas. Her failure to empathize with athletes like Paula Scanlon, Lilian Hammond, Gaines and others affected by changing in front of a male is particularly disappointing given Biles own experience with sexual assault.

Biles competes in one of the few sports in which a man may not have an automatic competitive advantage, at least in some events. Perhaps that’s why she feels comfortable airing her thoughts on social media.

But, as one of the most successful and recognizable female athletes in the world, Biles should endeavor to think before she tweets. Attacking one of the foremost protectors of girls sports without explaining why future athletes should be deprived of the sex-segregated sports Biles succeeded in is tone deaf — at best.

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Nebraska Becomes 26th State to Protect Girls and Women’s Sports

Nebraska became the 26th state to protect girls and women’s K-12 and collegiate sports after Governor Jim Pillen signed “The Stand for Women Act” earlier this week.

The bill allows for all male, all female and coed teams in school sports.

Although many transgender and media activists call such legislation “transgender bans,” these commonsense laws don’t even mention transgenderism. They are grounded in science, defining male and female based on reproductive capacity, not spurious gender ideology.

Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Erica O’Connell commended the legislature and governor for “passing this critical bill,” adding:

Letting men intrude on women and girls sports teams is an invasion of privacy, a threat to their safety, and a denial of the real biological differences between the sexes.

Nebraska is right to ensure that female athletes of all ages have a fair and level playing field and protect the safety and dignity of women and girls.

Legislative Bill 89 originally included provisions restriction school restrooms and locker rooms based on sex, but those were removed to assure the bill’s passage.

The Nebraska Examiner reported that state Sen. Merv Riepe, who objected to sex-segregated facilities being mandated by the legislature, said, “I did not run for office to become part of the ‘Nebraska State Potty Patrol.’”

The act’s sponsor, Senator Katheen Kauth, said she’ll try again to protect the privacy, dignity and safety of all students by introducing a bill in 2026 that mandate’s separate facilities in schools. The Examiner quoted her saying, “The work is not done. We’re going to continue.”

LB 89 is based on the reality of innate differences between the two sexes, as the legislation explains:

Males and females possess unique and immutable differences that manifest prior to birth and increase as they age and experience puberty.

Differences between the sexes are enduring and may, in some circumstances, warrant the creation of separate social, educational, athletic, or other spaces in order to ensure safety and to allow members of each sex to succeed and thrive.

The act lists some of the physical advantages for males, noting they have “on average, a larger body size with more skeletal muscle mass, a lower percentage of body fat, and a greater maximal delivery of anaerobic and aerobic energy.”

Noting the “significant sports performance gap between the sexes,” LB 89 further states:  

Even at young ages, males typically score higher than females on cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, and speed and agility. These differences become more pronounced during and after puberty as males produce higher levels of testosterone. On average, male athletes are bigger, faster, stronger, and more physically powerful than their female counterparts.

The new law explains that these natural advantages are not erased when males suppress testosterone and take female hormones.

It’s unfair and even dangerous to allow males to compete in girls and women’s sports. We at the Daily Citizen are grateful that more and more states, as well as the federal government, are moving to protect their athletic achievements, along with their health, dignity and privacy.

Related Resources and Articles:

Don’t Let the Media Deceive You About Trump’s Order Protecting Female Athletes

Feds Pressure California After Boy Wins in Girls Track and Field Championship

House Passes Bill Protecting Women and Girls in Sports

NYT Poll Finds Almost 80% of Americans Oppose Men in Women’s Sports

Payton McNabb, Injured Volleyball Player, Wins Title IX Victory

Senate Democrats Block Bill to Save Women’s Sports Trump Signs Executive Order Protecting Women’s Sports and Spaces

Image from Gov. Jim Pillan

Feds Pressure California After Boy Wins in Girls Track and Field Championship

California played a high stakes game of chicken with the federal government over Title IX enforcement last week, culminating in a boy winning two girls state track and field titles on Saturday.

Now, California officials’ commitment to “inclusivity” could cost the state billions in federal funding.

California planted itself on the Department of Education’s (DOE) radar in February after the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) publicly vowed to defy “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” — an executive order prohibiting boys from playing girls sports in programs that receive federal funding.

President Trump signed the order on February 6. One day later, CIF told Fox it would follow California Education Code Section 221.5(f), which reads:

A pupil shall be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with his or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil’s records.

The Department of Education launched an investigation into CIF in February for its statements. After months with no news, the conflict drifted out of public focus.

It exploded back into the media in mid-May, when AB Hernandez, a boy, began dominating girls high school track and field events in California ahead of the state championship.

As of May 13, Hernandez led the state in girls triple and long jump. In regional championships, he won the triple jump by “nearly seven feet,” according to Sports Illustrated, the long jump by more than three feet and the high jump by a foot.

Not surprisingly, Hernandez won state titles in the women’s high jump and triple jump at the championship on May 31, 2025. He took second place in the long jump.

Sophia Lorey is the outreach director at California Family Council, a Focus on the Family-allied family policy council. CIF officials escorted Lorey out of the state championships for passing out “Save Girls Sports” wristbands to fans.

“What I witnessed at the California State Track and Field Championships was not progress, it was the erasure of girls sports,” Lorey told the Daily Citizen of her experience.

“Watching two girls share one of the biggest moments of their athletic careers with a male competitor was a painful reminder of how far we’ve strayed from truth and fairness.”

But CIF didn’t just wreck female competitors’ athletic ambitions by allowing Hernandez to compete — it played fast and loose with the state’s federal education funding.

On May 27, just days before the competition, President Donald Trump weighed in on social media.

“California … continues to illegally allow men to play in women’s sports,” he wrote, citing Hernandez’s qualification for state finals.

The president continued:

This is not fair and totally demeaning to women and girls. Please be hereby advised that large scale funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the executive order on this subject matter is not adhered to.

“This is a totally ridiculous situation!!!” he emphatically concluded.

CIF clearly thought the President meant some kind of business. It expeditiously issued a rule change bumping girls who competed against Hernandez to the place, or medal, they would have received in a race without boys. CIF also invited girls that had been bumped out of contention by Hernandez to participate in the championship.

But Hernandez still competed. He still beat his female peers. Rightful winners shared the podium with him at award ceremonies.

On May 28, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced it would be joining DOE’s investigation against CIF for violating Title IX.

“My office has found reasonable cause to believe that CIF… is engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against female athletes,” Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the DOJ’s Department of Civil Rights Investigations, wrote in a letter to the organization.

Dhillon cites CIF Bylaw 300.D, which reads:

All students should have the opportunity to participate in CIF activities in a manner that is consistent with their gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on a student’s records.

“As a result of CIF’s policy,” she continues, “California’s top-ranked girls triple jumper, and second-ranked girls long jumper [AB Hernandez] is a boy.”

CIF wasn’t the only group Dhillon implicated. In the same letter, she announced her office would also investigate whether CIF, the California Department of Education, Jurupa Union School District (Hernandez’ district) and “any applicable state laws” had violated girls’ constitutional right to equal protection under the law

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads, in part:

No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States … nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of laws.

A press release from Dhillon’s office helps contextualize the DOJ’s Fourteenth Amendment investigation. In August 2013, then-Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1266, which created the California Education Code allowing students to participate in sports according to their “gender identity,” rather than their sex.

Dhillon’s probe indicates the DOJ is exploring whether to challenge AB 1266, and all its resulting codes and bylaws, in court as unconstitutional.

But that’s later down the line. Right now, California and the feds seem preoccupied with the state’s apparent violations of “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.”

If guilty, the state’s federal education funding, which totaled $10 billion in FY 2024, could be on the line.

President Trump certainly seems to think so. On Monday, he promised “large-scale fines would be imposed [on California]” via Truth Social.

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Thurmond, seems equally convinced financial consequences aren’t imminent.

“Let’s be clear: sending a letter does not change the law,” Thurmond told ABC7 News on Tuesday. “The DOJ’s letter to school districts does not announce any new federal law, and the state law on this issue has remained unchanged since 2013.”

In the meantime, advocates like Lorey and California Family Council will continue whipping up support for women and girls.

“This isn’t just about sports,” Lorey emphasized. “It’s about truth, safety and the future of female opportunity.”

“If we don’t stand up now, we risk losing what generations of women fought to earn.”

Additional Articles and Resources

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Supreme Court Protects Maine Rep’s Right to Vote, Defend Girls Sports

Education Department Finds UPenn Violated Title IX & Women’s Rights

Minnesota Lawsuit Advances Shocking Poor Attacks on Title IX

Attorney General Pam Bondi Sues Maine for Title IX Violations

Department of Education Launches Multiple Investigations Into Title IX Violations

Department of Justice Launches Title IX Task Force to Protect Women’s Sports

Maine Schools Violated Title IX, Must Apologize, Feds Say

On 50th Anniversary of Title IX, Groups Fight to Protect Women’s Sports

Poll Finds Majority of Americans Want Transgender Athletes to Play on Team of Birth Sex

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Girls Shouldn’t Apologize for Protesting Boys in Girls Sports

If you’re losing track (no pun intended) of the stories of boys and men pretending to be girls and women and stealing awards and qualifying spots in various girls sports, you wouldn’t be alone.

This past weekend at the California high school track and field championship, two boys stole gold medals in the high jump and the triple jump.

Against a backdrop of a banner that proclaimed, “No Boys in Girls Sports!”, 16-year-old male athlete AB Hernandez shared the first-place podium with Jillene Wetteland and Lelani Laruelle.

Faced with a growing backlash and the threat of losing federal funds for allowing boys to infiltrate girls athletics, California approved an incoherent and illogical policy of allowing boys and girls to share top honors.

Sound familiar, King Solomon?

Sophia Lorey, who serves as outreach director with the California Family Policy Council, attended Saturday’s events and was thrown out of the stadium for handing out bracelets and flyers that advocated for the preservation of women’s sports. Organizers weren’t able to show what policy she was allegedly violating.

A former athlete, Lorey offered to toss the materials in exchange for staying at the meet to support the girls. That gesture was denied, and she received a police escort out of a back exit of the stadium and was forced to walk a mile to her car.

In Oregon, Alexa Anderson and Reese Exchard protested the inclusion of a male athlete in the girls’ high jump by stepping off the winners’ platform.

Alexa, who finished third, felt compelled to explain their actions.

“We didn’t refuse to stand on the podium out of hate,” she said. ‘We did it because someone has to say this isn’t right. In order to protect the integrity and fairness of girls sports we must stand up for what is right.”

In Tacoma, Washington, a male student cheated to win the Girls 400-meter dash at the Washington State Track and Field Championships. Lauren Matthew was the real champion.

Spectators understandably booed the male runner and cheered the girls.

In Minnesota last week, Champlin Park High School’s girls’ softball team defeated Rogers High School twice, all behind the pitching of a boy who is pretending to be a girl.

Minnesota, like California and several other states, is ignoring President Trump’s executive order that bans boys from competing in girls sports and vice versa. Rogers High School is the defending state champion.

The male pitcher threw fourteen shutout innings to lead Champlin High to its first state tournament next week.

Males infiltrating girls sports is a farce. It’s also an outrage. No girl should have to apologize or defend gestures of protest. They shouldn’t feel obliged to assure critics their actions aren’t hateful.

In reality, officials who step back and allow the fraud, theft and corruption of girls sports are guilty of dereliction of their duty. They’re surrendering to the mobs, caving to the bullies, and enabling either deception, deceit or mental illness and sexual confusion.

Image from Riley Gaines.

Supreme Court Protects Maine Rep’s Right to Vote, Defend Girls Sports

Maine’s House of Representatives must temporarily allow Representative Laurel Libby to vote again, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a preliminary injunction issued Tuesday.

The 7-2 decision comes almost three months after a slim majority of Maine representatives barred Libby from voting or speaking on legislation — unless she publicly apologized for criticizing boys’ participation in girls’ sports.

“This is a victory not just for my constituents, but for the Constitution itself,” Libby wrote of the ruling on X, continuing:

The Supreme Court has affirmed what should NEVER have been in question — that no state legislature has the power to silence an elected official simply for speaking truthfully about issues that matter.

The Supreme Court’s brief ruling contains no information from the majority. Justice Sotomayor wrote she would not grant Libby an injunction, but did not explain why. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson authored a five-page dissent criticizing the court for offering emergency relief in cases that aren’t true emergencies.

Libby filed an emergency petition with SCOTUS on April 28 after a whirlwind legal battle that began with a simple Facebook post:

Less than ten days after the post went live, Libby’s colleagues voted to censure her for violating Maine’s Legislative Code of Ethics “in an effort to advance her political agenda.”

The resolution, which passed 75-70 in a party line vote, claimed the mother of five had endangered the male athlete’s safety by “[naming him] and [using] photos of [him] in a post without [his] consent.” This despite the fact the boy competed publicly. His podium photo was featured in media and on social media accounts across the nation.

The resolution suspended Libby’s right to vote and speak on legislation unless she publicly apologized for her conduct.

The punishment illegally deprived the representative’s more than 9,000 constituents of representation. The Editorial Board at The Wall Street Journal pointedly noted:

Under the Maine constitution, expelling a member requires a two-thirds majority, but state lawmakers have used the censure as a backdoor to silence Ms. Libby by a simple majority vote.

The House put a steep price on Libby’s participation — if she wanted to vote again, she would have to publicly betray the women and girls she was defending.

“[The mandated apology] would be an apology for speaking up on behalf of Maine women and girls,” she told IWF. “And the message I’ve heard loudly and clearly since all of this has occurred is that these girls have felt very betrayed, and alone and unsure.”

She continued:

The authorities in [these girls’] lives are not standing up for them. So to apologize would be a betrayal.

Not to mention she would reportedly have to run her mea culpa past Maine Speaker Ryan Fecteau, who supported her censure.

“At a certain point, I just had enough and told him the meeting was over, and he would go down as the speaker who silenced a woman for speaking up for girls,” Libby remembered for IWF.

Libby’s plight received sympathetic media attention, even among national, legacy outlets like the Journal and The Boston Globe, which wrote:

The Maine House resolution to censure Libby stated that she violated the Legislature’s code of ethics. But those rules are not a model of clarity…
Such broad language can too easily be used to justify punishing a lawmaker in the minority party for saying almost anything that the majority party dislikes, even if that speech is protected by the First Amendment.

Though Libby experienced favor in the press, two federal courts initially denied her a preliminary injunction restoring her right to vote.

On April 18, the U.S. District Court for Rhode Island called the censure “an internal Maine House affair,” ruling Libby’s situation was “not of such extraordinary character” as to warrant federal action.

Libby’s subsequent appeal failed on April 25 in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Daily Citizen applauds Representative Libby for hanging tough and defending her right to speak biological truth and advocate for women and girls.

We are similarly grateful to the Supreme Court for upholding legislators’ right to free speech, without which representatives like Libby cannot confront injustices like boys participation in girls sports.

Additional Articles and Resources

Attorney General Pam Bondi Sues Maine for Title IX Violations

Maine Schools Violated Title IX, Must Apologize, Feds Say

Department of Education Launches Multiple investigations Into Title IX Violations