Will Cain Country - Bonus Episode: Riley Gaines Doesn't Buy Simone Biles' Apology

Episode Date: June 11, 2025

In this bonus episode of 'The Will Cain Show,' Will shares the interview that you didn't get to see on television. OutKick's Riley Gaines joined Will just 24 hours after their previous conversation��to react to Simone Biles’ public apology following the backlash over her criticism of Gaines on the issue of transgender athletes in women’s sports. Gaines accepted the apology, but questioned Biles' sincerity, noting that it came only after Biles faced widespread criticism. Will and Gaines discussed how elite athletes, corporate sponsors, and politicians often cave to public pressure rather than stand on principle and how this cultural victory is proof that Americans are beginning to push back against the erasure of women’s sports. Tell Will what you thought about this podcast by emailing [e-mail] Subscribe to The Will Cain Show on YouTube here: Watch The Will Cain Show! Follow Will on X: @WillCain Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Riley Gaines joined me here in Dallas 24 hours ago to discuss her viral social media spat with Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. New today in the last couple of hours, Simone Biles apologized to Riley on X, writing in part. I want to follow up from my last tweets. I've always believed competitive equity and inclusivity are both essential to sport. The current system does not adequately balance these important principles, which often leads to frustration and heated exchanges, and it didn't help for me to get personal with Riley, which I apologize for. Joining me now is the host of Outkicks Gaines for Girls podcast, Riley Gaines.

Riley, good to see you just a short 24 hours later. How does the apology land? How do you feel? Well, how sincere it is, I think, is the real question here. This came about four days after she delivered those initial tweets, those two tweets that I believe incinerated her entire career. But I will say, nonetheless, I accept the apology. I told you this yesterday, those personal attacks that she issued back last weekend, they didn't hurt my feelings. That's not what hurt my feelings about her remarks.

would hurt me personally about what she chose to tweet out was how she was so willing and so quick to sell out young girls. That is the problem that I had here. Again, this apology seems a bit half-hearted. I have a problem with some of the things she said, including the words and phrases, competitive equity and inclusivity. Look, that is not what competition is about. Understand sports are inherently inclusive. Anyone can play sports, right? But competition, on the other hand, and by its true definition, is exclusive. So I believe that is entirely silly, especially at her level, to advocate for competitive equity, but I accept apology. Well, okay, I actually want to come back to the language that she used in the

apology when it comes to the substance of this debate. But it's hard to, and maybe it's not correct to try to peer into someone's motivations, but I think there's potentially two different things playing a role in Simone's apology. One, as you point, She pointed out yesterday could be this. This is what happened to her on TikTok. Don't worry, Riley Gaines. I will say what you cannot say, that I am disappointed in you, Simone Biles.

I thought you were an advocate for young girls. What Simone Biles tweeted was manipulative. I think it was performative. And to be honest, coming from an Olympic champion. I'm very disappointed. Okay, Riley, that was everywhere. I was on TikTok. It was on X.

As you pointed out, it didn't go well for her. well for her publicly. But I do think there's a second thing that could have played a role. And I'm just guessing on her motivations. You took the high road, Riley. You really did. You did with me sitting right here yesterday. You did on social media.

You didn't respond to personal attacks with personal attacks. And I can't say that she watched the Will Kane show or saw everything you said on social. But when you're going after someone personally and they respond with class, at some point you've got to look in the mirror. Yeah, well, that's the thing. And again, to the point of who knows why she apologized now. Was this a PR firm? Was she doing this because, of course, she didn't get the response that she had hoped to get. I believe, of course, the first two tweets were totally misguided.

That's the problem oftentimes when you surround yourself with elites. We watched the video just yesterday on your show, Will of her on the private jet. That is the mindset that these people have. And I told you yesterday, this is why the celebrity endorsements didn't work for Kamala Harris. It is so out of touch with the reality that every day Americans face. And Simone realized that. And truthfully, based on the response that we saw over the past weekend, I honestly almost felt bad for her. The amount of railing that she was getting, she was getting totally dragged across every single social platform on X, on TikTok.

You have to think, too, that maybe even her sponsors, some of those people, those companies and businesses that have endorsed her. One of those being Athleta have had some words for her because Athleta was receiving major pushback because of Simone Biles' comments and specifically because of her body shaming towards me. Athleta has been a company that they announced when they partnered with Simone Biles, they did this to empower young girls and women. And I think they realized pretty quickly based on the public response that her comments towards me, that was certainly not empowering any young girl or woman. Well, if corporate sponsors did have a role in this, that actually gives me a great amount of hope. That doesn't make me cynical. If corporate sponsors have moved, that shows a real shift in our culture and one to be celebrated. Not because those corporate sponsors all of a sudden become moral, but because they've seen the movement of the American people.

Let's go to the substance, because I shared your skepticism. Okay. So you're saying, I've always believed in equity, okay, red flag, and inclusivity. It's another red flag, to be quite honest, as you laid out when it comes to athletics, because they are antagonistic to competition. I feel like Simone is trying to have her cake and eat it too. She's trying to say, no, no, I believe in competitive fairness, but we've got to find a way to hit all these buzzwords that make me still somebody acceptable within the category

or class of people out there that require that kind of language. That's right. Look at someone like Gavin Newsom. This is what he does very, very, very well. He is a professional fencer, sits on the fence and tries to wink. at both sides. Simone Biles, similarly to even Target, right, talking about these big corporations, Target, you think back to a year ago, two years ago, during Pride Month, the month of June. Look at the apparel they had out. They had the tucking bathing suits. They received severe

pushback in a big boycott movement. Now you walk into Target in the month of June. It is all patriotic. They've got all of this USA gear and apparel right front and center. That is what Simone Biles is facing now. Just on Friday, she, again, very much took the opposite end of this spectrum. And today she's coming out and saying, look, I never advocated for men and women's sports. That's what her response says. So fence sitting, I think what she will quickly realize is all you are doing is making everyone really turned off by you and your remarks. And I hate that for her because, again, her career has been illustrious. She has been incredible, not just in the sport of gymnastics, but how that has translated beyond for all women's sports, but I think very quickly, she really torched her

career. Well, congratulations. Is that what you say someone who has just received an apology? Do you congratulate them on receiving an apology? We'll put it this way. A well-earned apology there for Riley Gaines. Glad to see it, even if still the logic doesn't quite make complete sense. Thank you, Riley. It's always good to see you. Well, thank you, Will. You had to imagine she watched the Will Kane show yesterday. That's what I'm going to believe. And then she saw The Light and did right by Apollcastle again. See you, Riley. See, Riley. Listen to ad-free with a Fox News podcast plus subscription on Apple Podcast, and Amazon Prime

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