Stephen A's Take: Stephen A responds to Simone Biles standing up for Trans Athletes!

Summary

The Stephen A. Smith Show: Stephen A's Take on Simone Biles Standing Up for Trans Athletes

Release Date: June 10, 2025

In this compelling episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, host Stephen A. Smith delves deep into the contentious debate surrounding transgender athletes in women's sports, spotlighting the recent clash between Olympian Simone Biles and former NCAA swimmer turned conservative pundit Riley Gaines. The discussion navigates the complexities of gender inclusion, fairness in competition, and the broader societal implications of such high-profile disputes.

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Introduction: Setting the Stage

The episode kicks off with a heated discourse initiated by Riley Gaines' lawsuit against the NCAA, challenging the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's competitions. Gaines, representing over a dozen athletes, accused the NCAA of violating Title IX rights by allowing transgender swimmer Leah Thomas to compete in the 2022 national championships. This legal action sets the foundation for the ensuing debate on fairness and inclusivity in sports.

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Simone Biles' Stance and Response to Riley Gaines

Simone Biles, a seven-time Olympic gold medalist, publicly responded to Riley Gaines' criticisms, particularly targeting the Minnesota State high school league's decision to include transgender athletes. Biles' response was vehement and personal, expressing strong disapproval of Gaines' stance.

• Notable Quote:

  "You're truly sick. All of this campaigning because you lost the race straight up sore loser." ([01:42])

Biles criticized Gaines for lacking support for the transgender community and instead choosing to undermine their participation in women's sports. She emphasized the need for inclusivity and respect, suggesting that Gaines' actions were more about personal loss than legitimate concerns about fairness.

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Riley Gaines' Counterattack

In retaliation, Riley Gaines escalated the conflict by drawing parallels between Simone Biles and Larry Nassar, the disgraced former national team doctor convicted of sexually abusing multiple gymnasts, including Biles herself. Gaines accused Biles of hypocrisy, arguing that while Biles condemned abuse, she allegedly supports policies that disadvantage cisgender female athletes.

• Notable Quote:

  "Respectfully, that's going a bit too far... Using a guy like Larry Nassar... you lost all credibility." ([05:00])

• Gaines' Extended Critique:

  "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? 0." ([05:30])

Gaines' remarks were met with significant backlash, with commentators highlighting the unexpected and unwarranted connection between Biles' advocacy against abuse and her stance on transgender athletes.

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Analyzing the Debate: Fairness vs. Inclusivity

The core of the debate centers on whether transgender women (individuals assigned male at birth who identify and compete as female) have an unfair advantage in women's sports. Commentators weigh in with varied perspectives:

• Commentator 1 Highlights:

  "If you are a male transitioning to female, that there's an unfair advantage." ([06:23])

• Commentator 2 Argues:

  "In the age that we're living in, with Title IX... allowing transgender athletes transitioning from male to female to compete against women doesn't appear to be fair." ([07:00])

The discussion underscores the tension between ensuring equal opportunities for all athletes and maintaining fair competition standards. The commentators debate the biological and competitive differences that may or may not confer advantages, questioning how sports organizations can balance these factors.

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Broader Implications and Societal Reflections

The episode doesn't stop at the sports arena but expands to reflect on societal values and the evolving understanding of gender. Sage Steele, a former ESPN colleague and conservative pundit, is cited to provide an external perspective:

• Sage Steele's Statement:

  "Riley Gaines is perfectly within her right to have the opinion that she had... What about their feelings? What about theirs?" ([10:15])

This inclusion illustrates the broader societal debate on transgender rights, civil liberties, and the struggle to reconcile differing viewpoints within the framework of modern values and legal standards like Title IX.

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Conclusion: Navigating a Divisive Issue

Stephen A. Smith's exploration of the Simone Biles and Riley Gaines controversy offers a nuanced look into one of sports' most divisive issues. The episode meticulously dissects personal attacks, legal battles, and the quest for fairness, leaving listeners with a comprehensive understanding of the complexities involved in integrating transgender athletes into women's sports.

By presenting multiple viewpoints and emphasizing the emotional and ethical dimensions of the debate, The Stephen A. Smith Show provides a balanced and thought-provoking analysis, encouraging listeners to reflect on the delicate balance between inclusion and competitive integrity.

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Notable Quotes Recap:

• "You're truly sick. All of this campaigning because you lost the race straight up sore loser." – Simone Biles ([01:42])

• "Respectfully, that's going a bit too far... Using a guy like Larry Nassar... you lost all credibility." – Commentator 1 ([05:00])

• "If you are a male transitioning to female, that there's an unfair advantage." – Commentator 1 ([06:23])

• "Riley Gaines is perfectly within her right to have the opinion that she had..." – Sage Steele ([10:15])

This episode serves as an essential listen for anyone interested in the intersection of sports, gender identity, and societal values, offering deep insights into a highly relevant and emotionally charged topic.

Transcript

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[Commentator 1]

Now I want to get to a story that caught my attention this past weekend and that's the clash between Olympian Simone Biles and Riley Gaines over the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports. Gaines is a former NCAA swimmer turned conservative pundit who joined a lawsuit against the NCAA in March of 2024. The suit from more than a dozen athletes accused the NCAA of violating their Title IX rights by allowing transgender swimmer Leah Thomas to compete at the national championships in 2022. Gaines and Thomas tied for fifth, but only Thomas was awarded the fifth place trophy for the 200 yard freestyle. Fast forward to last week where Gaines spoke out against another transgender athlete. Gaines targeted a Minnesota State high school league for not allowing comments on their post about the Chaplin park girls team celebrating the state championships. Chaplin Park's team includes a trans athlete that prompted Simone Biles to post this about Gaines quote, you're truly sick. All of this campaigning because you lost the race straight up sore loser. You should be uplifting the trans community and perhaps finding a way to make sports inclusive or creating a new avenue where trans people feel safe in sports. Instead, you bully them one Thing's for sure is no one in sports is safe with you around. Gaines responded to Biles in follow up posts saying the seven time gold medalist stance on transgender athletes was disappointing and labeled her a, quote, male apologist at the expense of young girls dreams, end quote. Then she went here, bringing in Larry Nassar, a former national team doctor who sexually abused multiple US gymnast, including Biles, under the guise of medical treatment. She wrote, quote, 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? 0. End quote. Respectfully, Gaines, I was with you until that last quote. Respectfully, that's going a bit too far. Talking about transgender women competing in sports is one issue. Using a guy like Larry Nassar, one of the most despicable human beings we've ever witnessed on this earth, who molested and abused numerous women, numerous gymnasts, including Biles, and to go that low gains, you lost all credibility. You could have made your argument without going that far. No matter what Simone Biles said to you, how she may disagree with you on your position did not warrant you to go that far. Certainly you're not suggesting that it was okay for her to be molested. Certainly you're not suggesting it was okay for her to be abused. So why would you say something like that? That's just cruel. Just because she said something that hurt your feelings didn't mean that you had to double down on it by being a gazillion times worse. Which Riley Gaines, is what you are at this particular moment in time. I'm speaking specifically about you going that far. Having said that, the points that you made to Simone Biles, outside of the Larry Nasser comment, that gives us all cause to pause. The reality is, is that it is a disservice to women in a lot of people's eyes that men transitioning to women get to compete in women's sports. Leah Thomas was a perfect example. Her highest ranking at the time, his hero highest ranking as a male participant was like 554th in the world.

[Commentator 2]

He transitioned into being a woman and.

[Commentator 1]

It was top 10. That speaks for itself. You're born, you got an XY chromosome.

[Commentator 2]

It is what it is. It's different. And the reality is that there are an abundance of women out there who have a right to feel the way that Raleigh Gaines feels.

[Commentator 1]

Simone Biles.

[Commentator 2]

Now, whether it's right for me or somebody else to say is a different argument. But in the age that we're living in, with Title nine in existence, with us being protective of fairness and equal rights and equal opportunity to women, to then piggyback off of that and follow up on that years later by allowing transgender athletes transitioning from male to female to compete against women doesn't appear to be fair. And when we lean on this argument about fear, fear, fear, Wait a minute. Somebody's not talking about your civil liberties. Somebody's not talking about equality. Somebody's not talking about those things living, you, allowing you to live and let live. They're talking about competition in sports. And if you allow somebody to compete in swimming, it's not going to stop you from allowing them to compete in boxing. It's not going to allow you to disallowed him competing in other sports. I remember years ago when Ronda Rousey joked about how she, when she was undefeated, before Amanda Nunes put it on her. No disrespect to Ronda Rousey, but she was talking about how she could beat Floyd Money Mayweather.

[Commentator 1]

Now, come on now, we now know what would have happened to her. We knew it before, but we certainly knew after what we saw Amanda Nunes.

[Commentator 2]

Do to her and Holly Holmes, by the way, before that, we saw that. We know that in most instances, even though there are women that could beat some men out there, by and large, the elite women don't deserve to be competing against the elite men. And by deserve, I mean I'm not talking about warranted based on their credentials. I'm talking about based on their gender. You shouldn't be competing against men. I don't want to see a Clarissa Shields in the boxing ring against a Terrence Crawford or Jamal Charlo or Canelo Alvarez. I don't want to see one of these ladies in UFC going up against Merab. I don't want to see them going up against. I don't want to see somebody going up against John Jones as a female. So when we're talking about it from that premise, it's one thing for ladies to look at somebody like me or somebody and say, who are you? It's another thing entirely for ladies to be looking at ladies acting like ladies don't have a right to feel like there's a disadvantage for them if they're going up against a male to transitioning to female.

[Commentator 1]

We can't have it all, ladies and gentlemen. We can't handle it. We can't have it all in my. In my. If you ask me my preference.

[Commentator 2]

I hope a whole bunch of men transitioning to women come out of the woodwork so we can have men going up against men, women going up against women, and transgenders going up against transgenders. That's fair. But what Raleigh Gaines is talking about.

[Commentator 1]

Does seem a bit unfair. And she has a right to express those thoughts without Simone Biles coming at her that way just because she lost. She's talking about an unfair advantage. And there's no one that can really dispute that if you are a male transitioning to female, that there's an unfair advantage. I don't see women transitioning into men trying to compete in men's sports. If it's happened and I've missed it. I've apologized, but I've missed it. I haven't seen that. I haven't seen that. Sage Steele, my former colleague at espn, a conservative pundit. She had her own thoughts on this matter. And let's read what she had to say here. Easy to say this, Simone Biles, when you only had to compete against fellow women, every one of your Olympic medals came competing against fellow women. Riley Gaines was not only forced to compete against a man, but forced to share a locker room with a man that is sick, shocked and disappointed that you'd attack another woman who has done nothing but uplift other women. If you think it makes sense to create a league for trans people, go for it. Use that huge platform of yours. But to attack Raleigh for what she has done for little girls who want to be the next Simone Biles is sick. Maybe I would have used the other word, other than sick or whatever.

[Commentator 2]

But.

[Commentator 1]

It'S not like Sage Steele is wrong. Based on what she described and the facts that we know, Raleigh Gaines is perfectly within her right to have the opinion that she had that she's an American citizen who's using the courts to make her argument, which is what we do in our democratic society. Whether you like it or not, Simone Biles, that's just the truth. I respect where you're coming from. I respect your passion to look out for those you feel are being victimized by a large segment of our population. I understand that. But there are a lot of young ladies out there who were born women that feel this is a flagrantly unfair advantage. What about their feelings? What about theirs?

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