A feud between Simone Biles and her ex-Olympic teammate spilled into public view
Geoff Weiss
- Simone Biles appeared to swipe at a former teammate on social media after winning gold.
- MyKayla Skinner had criticized the 2024 squad, then later apologized.
After a gold medal win in the women's team event — a triumphant comeback for Simone Biles after the Tokyo Games — the most decorated gymnast in the world took to Instagram with a seemingly pointed post.
"Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions," Biles quipped under a carousel of photos of the 2024 team celebrating their victory.
The caption appeared to be a not-so-veiled dig at Biles' former teammate, MyKayla Skinner — a retired gymnast who competed alongside Biles at the 2016 Olympics in Rio (as an alternate) and in Tokyo, where she took home silver on vault.
But Skinner — a popular social media influencer — more recently criticized the depth of talent and work ethic on the 2024 squad.
Apart from Biles, Skinner said the team 'isn't like what it used to be'
In a since-deleted YouTube video also captured on X, Skinner said of this year's team: "Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn't like what it used to be." She added, "A lot of girls don't work as hard."
Skinner suggested this could be a result of the US Center for SafeSport, an organization founded in the wake of the Larry Nassar case to investigate sexual misconduct across the Olympic movement.
In the deleted video, Skinner said SafeSport had forced coaches to be careful about how they speak to athletes.
While she noted that's a "really good" thing, she also said it's necessary to be "a little aggressive and a little intense" in order to win.
Biles appeared to condemn the comments, and Skinner later apologized
In a post on Instagram Threads on July 3, Biles appeared to respond to Skinner without naming her directly, writing, "Not everyone needs a mic and a platform."
Skinner later apologized for her remarks, explaining that she was still dealing with the emotional and verbal abuse she suffered during her gymnastics career — which she said could have led her to make the "hurtful comments."
"It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work," she wrote in an Instagram statement on July 6. "I wish you all the very best in Paris."
Current and former gymnasts rallied around Biles
Despite Skinner's apology, the damage seemed to have been done. After Biles' post on Wednesday, July 31, current and former gymnasts rallied around her in Instagram comments.
"And that's on periodt!!" wrote Jordan Chiles, who competed with Biles in Tokyo and Paris. "It doesn't get more iconic than this," added 2012 Olympian McKayla Maroney. "She f'd around n found out fr."
"Micdrop," wrote 2008 all-around champion Nastia Liukin, while Laurie Hernandez, who competed at the Rio Games, commented: "LMAOOOO I LOVE YALL."
On Wednesday, Biles suggested on X that she'd been blocked by Skinner on social media.
Neither Biles nor Skinner immediately responded to requests for comment from Business Insider.
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