Simone Biles Appears to Take a Shot at Former Teammate After Winning Gold
American superstar Simone Biles is, without question, one of the greatest gymnasts to ever live.
But if her post-gold medal celebrations were any indication, Biles may very well be one of the greatest grudge-holders to ever live, as well.
After helping return the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team to its former glory (after a controversial blip in 2021), Biles offered some curious self-praise for the gold medal winners on her Instagram.
View this post on Instagram
“lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions,” Biles posted, alongside a photo of the team and a trio of emojis.
That weirdly negative description of her team was a clear and obvious allusion to a past controversy involving U.S. gymnast MyKayla Skinner, who used those negative descriptors about Biles’ 2024 team.
Skinner, who won a silver medal in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (which occurred in 2021 due to COVID-19), stirred a hornet’s nest of controversy when she took to her social media platforms to openly question the talent level of the 2024 squad following the Olympic Trials this year.
While the original videos have since been deleted, clips are still circulating online:
Part 1: The gymnastics community cannot let these comments to be swept under the rug. I will be as respectful as possible to @mykaylaskinner but instead of engaging in meaningful conversation she blocks anyone who holds her accountable for her words. pic.twitter.com/Y69pwCxnUG
— Riley (@gymguyri) July 3, 2024
“But Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be,” Skinner is seen saying in the viral clips. “I mean, obviously, a lot of girls just don’t work as hard.
“The girls just don’t have the work ethic. And it’s hard, too, because of SafeSport. Coaches can’t get on athletes and they have to be really careful what they say, which in some ways is really good, but at the same time, to get to where you need to be in gymnastics, I feel like you do have to be a little aggressive, and a little intense.”
(SafeSport is the organization that oversees various sports bodies — including Team USA — with the specific intent of preventing sexual abuse. Team USA gymnastics has especially been a nightmare when it comes to abuse.)
Skinner took an enormous amount of flak for her comments, which she did eventually issue a full apology for:
— MyKayla Skinner (Harmer) (@mykaylaskinner) July 6, 2024
That apology, which came July 6, clearly fell on deaf ears, if Biles’ reaction was anything to go by.
But it wasn’t just Biles who had something to say — indirectly — to Skinner.
Former Biles teammate and gold medalist McKayla Maroney had something to add.
“It doesn’t get more iconic than this,” Maroney responded in the comments of Biles’ Instagram post, according to People Magazine. “She f’d around n found out fr. Feels like I need to apologize just to redeem my first name.”
According to E Online, Biles’ 2024 teammates Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee also took some jabs at Skinner.
As for the most recent development of this drama, it doesn’t appear that fences will be mended anytime soon between Biles and Skinner.
oop I’ve been blocked 👀🫢😂
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) July 31, 2024
“oop I’ve been blocked,” Biles posted to social media platform X Wednesday.
Oh, and as for the real nickname for the 2024 gold medal team, no it isn’t actually, “lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions.”
It’s the Golden Girls, a reference to their status as the sport’s oldest Olympic team, Biles explained.
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