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| While Simone Biles (top pic) shines and achieves, Riley Gaines (bottom pic) will continue to ride her fifth-place tie with trans athlete Lia Thomas for clout |
In case some of you aren't aware, multiple Olympic gold medalist and the most awarded gymnast Simone Biles was in a recent feud with anti- trans activist Riley Gaines.
Gaines is a former collegiate swimmer who has made a career in right-wing circles speaking out against trans athletes ever since she tied for fifth in a meet with a trans athlete, Lia Thomas. Four other woman who are not trans defeated Gaines, but that hasn't stopped her grift, I mean "crusade."
The feud between Biles and Gaines began when last month when Gaines took it upon herself to publicly call out a high school trans student on Twitter. Biles stood up for the teenager but found herself cast in the middle of an ugly brouhaha with publicity-hungry Gaines, who made the most of this opportunity by attacking Biles on Twitter and Fox News. On Twitter, her followers also made attacks against Biles. Gaines herself even dug up Biles's sexual abuse by former USA doctor and convicted child predator Larry Nassar.
While Biles tried to divest herself from the situation (even by offering an apology), Gaines and her supporters - particularly female pundits on Fox News - declared Gaines as the "winner."
However, at the Wednesday night's Espy Awards, folks - and I hope especially Gaines and her supporters - were reminded what a true winner looks like:
Simone Biles won two trophies at the ESPYS on Wednesday night, including the women’s best athlete award. The 11-time Olympic medalist claimed the night’s first award, best championship performance for her efforts at the Paris Games.She won three golds and a silver while helping the U.S. women’s gymnasts win their first team title since 2016. “That was very unexpected, especially in a category of all men,” Biles said after kissing husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens.
The comment Biles made is what folks are talking about because it is considered a dig at Gaines. But we shouldn't let her comment overshadow the fact that Biles continues to win and achieve, while Gaines will probably be looking for another opportunity to ride her coattails for more attention and appearances on Fox.
One has to admire Gaines's skill of turning a fifth-place tie to a full fledge-media career, but we are still talking about a fifth-place tie.. There aren't any further chapters of the story in which Gaines trained herself to be better and managed to become the gold-medalist she mostly like dreamed of being as a child. Her sports story ends with a brazen grab for easy cash by blaming others for her own inability to successfully compete.
Meanwhile Biles will continue to shine and add to her long list of achievements, thus proving that those who can generally do. Gaines, on the other hand proves that those who can't achieve will spend considerable time blaming others for their own mediocrity.
It's easy to see who actually won this feud. It wasn't even close.
