A fierce online battle erupted this week between Olympic legend Simone Biles and women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines — with Dallas-based conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey joining the fray — after a Minnesota high school softball team won a state championship with the help of a “transgender” athlete.
The controversy began when Champlin Park High School clinched the title Friday behind a shutout performance from Charlie Dean Rothenberger, a biological male who goes by the name Marissa.
In 2017, Rothenberger’s mother petitioned the Hennepin County District Court to amend her child’s birth certificate, changing his name from Charlie Dean to “Marissa” and the sex designation to female.
This legal change allowed Rothenberger to compete in girls’ sports under Minnesota State High School League policies that permit athletes to participate based on gender identity.After the championship win, the League posted a team photo on X (formerly Twitter) — but comments were disabled.
“To be expected when your star player is a boy,” Gaines posted in response.
Comments off lol
To be expected when your star player is a boy https://t.co/2qY2onUhNW
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) June 6, 2025
That prompted a sharp rebuke from Biles, the seven-time Olympic medalist, who accused Gaines of being a “sore loser.”
“You’re truly sick, all of this campaigning because you lost a race. Straight up sore loser.” Biles wrote. “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!!!!!”
Biles escalated the rhetoric further: “Bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male.”
Gaines responded without hesitation.
“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. 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.”
Gaines continued: “My take is the least controversial take on the planet. Simone Biles being a male-apologist at the expense of young girls’ dreams? Didn’t have that on my bingo card.”
She also took issue with what appeared to be a jab at her physical appearance. “And the subtle hint at ‘body-shaming’ ???? Plzzzz I’m 5’5,” Gaines added.
Though Biles never explicitly stated that male athletes should compete in women’s divisions, she did suggest the idea of a separate “transgender category” for sports. When challenged by a commenter who noted that certain gymnastics events are sex-specific for a reason, Biles responded by questioning their “comprehension skills.”
That’s when Allie Beth Stuckey entered the conversation with a flurry of blistering posts aimed at Biles.
Simone, please be real. You’re too much of a coward to do the right thing, which is to stand up for female athletes. You would have NOTHING if you’d had to compete against men for your medals. But you don’t want girls to enjoy the same fairness you did, because you’re too scared… https://t.co/ATI2CAJ6XN
— Allie Beth Stuckey (@conservmillen) June 7, 2025
“Simone, please be real,” Stuckey wrote. “You’re too much of a coward to do the right thing, which is to stand up for female athletes. You would have NOTHING if you’d had to compete against men for your medals.”
She continued, “But you don’t want girls to enjoy the same fairness you did, because you’re too scared and selfish to take a stand. So instead here you are on social media lodging immature (& completely untrue) insults because that’s the best and most intelligent contribution you’re able to offer to this discussion.”
In another viral post, Stuckey called out what she saw as Biles’ unintentional admission: “Love how Simone accidentally admits here that men are bigger than women.”
Stuckey also referenced Biles’ past statements about the Larry Nassar abuse scandal: “All the horrific sexual abuse Simone Biles witnessed and spoke out against caused by one man, yet believes women should be forced to strip naked in front of men to validate the man’s feelings.”
“You know how many gold medals you’d have if your ‘inclusive’ dream came true?” she asked. “Zero.”
As of now, neither Biles nor Gaines has backed down — and the question of fairness in women’s sports remains as fiercely debated as ever.