Illinois Male Gymnast Sparks Uproar After Calling Out Riley Gaines—Claims Simone Biles Could Beat Men, Win Gold in Elite Events! Explosive Comments Ignite Gender Debate in Sports, Athletes and Fans React, and NCAA Officials Weigh In—Is This the Start of a New Era in Gymnastics Competition?
A male gymnast has lashed out at Gaines for believing women’s sports are for women.
Sam Phillips, a male gymnast at the University of Illinois, has come to the defense of Simone Biles after the legendary Olympian randomly and personally attacked OutKick’s Riley Gaines regarding transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Biles went after Gaines on June 6 when she posted a response on X calling the OutKick host “truly sick” while claiming she should be “uplifting the trans community” before telling Gaines she should “bully someone your own size,” which Biles wrote “would ironically be a male.”
Her response was a reaction to Gaines pointing out the ridiculousness of a Minnesota high school softball team winning a state championship last week while being led by a pitcher who is a biological male.
After a brief back-and-forth on social media, Biles has gone radio silent, while Gaines issued her response to it all during Monday’s edition of ‘Gaines for Girls.’
Phillips, a member of USA Gymnastics, decided to share his two cents on the situation by bashing Gaines and claiming Biles would actually win gold medals in certain men’s gymnastics events.
Phillips, like many who see no issue with biological males competing in women’s sports, appears to have ironically missed a 2017 post from Biles that has been unearthed where the Olympian commented on men taking gold medals away from women.
Phillips spoke with OutSports about the Gaines-Biles feud and went into further detail about how Biles would have beaten male gymnasts in her prime.
“Floor and vault!! Most definitely,” he told the outlet. “And honestly with her body type, if she was introduced to rings at a young age, maybe even rings!!! We don’t know the possibilities of what women in all sports fields can accomplish if we limit them from the start!!”
Phillips, who is reportedly openly bisexual, told the outlet he’s written papers on the topic of transgender athletes in women’s sports and is “armed with knowledge.” That knowledge does not appear to support basic biology, sex, or keeping women’s sports and spaces exclusive to biological females.
“I have written multiple papers on this topic and have been involved in discussions within the NCAA and activist groups regarding this subject. I am armed with knowledge and have no time to argue with people who lead with hate and ignorance. I’m protecting my community and protecting my peace,” Phillips told the outlet.
“I thank Simone for standing up for those who don’t have many people fighting for them. I think this was a huge win for the athletic community who truly knows that sports is about unity and competing under common purposes. If there’s no space, like Simone said, we will figure it out and make it. But name-calling and outing like [Gaines] did does nothing but spread toxicity and hate. And THAT has NO PLACE in sports!!”
Male Gymnast Misses The Mark In Calling Out Riley Gaines
It is easy for Phillips and others to focus on gymnastics in the context of the Gaines-Biles feud, given that he himself is a gymnast and Biles is one of the greatest gymnasts ever. However, it misses the larger point so many have failed to see.
Gaines is routinely labeled as an ‘anti-trans’ activist, which has never been the case. She’s gone on the record more times than she can likely remember, explicitly explaining that she’s an advocate for women’s sports to be exclusive to biological females, and not a haven for biological males to infiltrate what should be a safe and celebrated place for women.
Gaines was forced to swim against biological male Lia Thomas at the NCAA Championships years ago. Thomas accomplished nothing when swimming against biological males, then suddenly won a national title when transitioning and moved to the women’s division. That’s not a coincidence.
Despite the notion that the liberal media, athletes, and people across social media push, Gaines has not and is not pushing the idea that sports are no place for transgender athletes. Her message is a simple one and based in reality: women’s sports are no place for biological men.
