Simone Biles and Stephen A. Smith (Photos via USA Today and YouTube)
Simone Biles has been slammed for her feud with Riley Gaines after the seven-time Olympic gold medalist attacked the former swimmer over her protests against trans athletes.

ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith has taken sides in the debate, and he largely agreed with Riley Gaines amid the former NCAA All-American swimmer’s feud with the Olympic gold medalist.

Smith spoke out on Monday, just days after Biles launched into a personal attack on Gaines after the former Kentucky Wildcats star criticized a Minnesota softball league for turning off comments on a photo showing a state championship team that had a transgender player on its roster.

Smith did not agree with Gaines using Larry Nassar against Biles, but he did agree with her overall point.

“With that being said, the points you made to Simone Biles outside of the Larry Nassar comment, that should give us all cause for pause,” he said on “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”

“The reality 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. Lia Thomas was a perfect example. Her highest ranking at the time … highest ranking as a male participant was like 554th in the world. He transitioned into being a woman and was top 10. That speaks for itself.

“And the reality is there’s an abundance of women out there who have a right to feel the way Riley Gaines feels, Simone Biles. Now, whether it’s right for me or someone else to say it is a different argument. But in the age that we’re living in with Title IX in existence, with us being protective of fairness and equal rights and equal opportunity to women to then piggyback off of that and following up on that years later to allow transgender athletes transitioning from male to female to compete against women doesn’t appear to be fair.”

Smith also dismissed any notion that the debate over transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports was more than just on-field competition.

“When we lean on this argument about 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 allowing you to live and let live,” he said.

“They’re talking about competition in sports. And if you allow somebody to compete in swimming, it’s not gonna stop you from competing in boxing. It’s not gonna allow you to stop you from competing in other sports.”

Smith brought up the discussions around Ronda Rousey taking on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a fight when both athletes were the talk of the sports world.

“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,” he said. “By deserve … I’m talking about based on their gender. You shouldn’t be competing against men. I don’t want to see Clarissa Shields in a boxing ring against Terence Crawford.

“So when we’re talking about it from that premise – it’s one thing for ladies look at someone like me and say, ‘Who are you?’ It’s another thing entirely for ladies to be looking at ladies, acting like ladies don’t have the right to feel like there’s a disadvantage for them if they’re going up against a male transitioning to female.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XvMsLdgMrI&t=1s&ab_channel=StephenA.Smith

Did Simone Biles Affect Her Legacy With Transgender Comments?

Simone Biles (Photo via Jack Gruber-Imagn Images)
Simone Biles has slammed Riley Gaines for ‘bullying’ transgender athletes, with the former collegiate swimmer taking aim at a high school softball team that featured a trans athlete.

She took to X writing “bully someone your own size, which would ironically be a male @Riley_Gaines_.”

Biles then doubled down, attributing Gaines’ platform to her being a “sore loser.”

“In just two tweets, Simone Biles basically tarnished her reputation to anyone with a shred of honesty, to anyone with a moral compass, and to anyone with an inherent, innate desire to protect women, to fight for equal opportunity for both men and women especially as it pertains to sports,” Gained later said about Biles.

Biles has won many medals during her career as the most decorated American athlete ever.

We can only guess how her comments will affect her legacy going forward.

Houston Texans star Azeez Al-Shaair has admitted regrets over his illegal hit to Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence and the ensuing brawl between the teams in a lengthy statement on social media.  

Al-Shaair’s statement comes as his three-game suspension as a result of the incident has ended and he is slated to return to the field for the Texans on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

On December 1, an Al-Shaair hit to the head of a sliding and defenseless Lawrence caused chaos in Jacksonville. The defensive back needed to be restrained by several coaches and Lawrence has not played since taking the barbaric contact.

‘While so many jumped at the first opportunity to hop on the false narrative – that l’m a dirty player or bad person – the messages from all who stood by me were the only things keeping me mentally afloat during a time of isolation,’ Al-Shaair said on social media.

‘I’ve learned so much from this entire experience. Seeing myself on video – letting my emotions get the best of me to the point where I completely lost it – was an embarrassing and eye-opening moment for me.’

‘I’ve had to earn everything in my life. I never want to allow anyone to get me to a point where I jeopardize everything that I’ve worked all my life to obtain. That was not the way I want to represent myself or my family and I will continue to learn and grow from that moment.’

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Azeez Al-Shaair has admitted regrets over his hit to Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence

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The Texans defensive back was suspended for three games as a result of the hit to Lawrence

Al-Shaair said during his three-game ban, he met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and other league executives for the first time, taking issue with how he was characterized in the official announcement of his suspension.

The defender said he thought his character and integrity were ‘unjustifiably smeared’ in the release but the meeting with Goodell and others was ‘productive’ and gave him hope it would not happen again.

‘In that conversation – man-to-man – I owned and acknowledged that my actions following my ejection were careless and, in that moment, I didn’t think about the responsibility I have been blessed with to represent the shield,’ Al-Shaair continued.

‘I also stated that the letter, and specifically the language used in the letter, was equally as careless and conveyed that the context of the words used were not a reflection of my character, nor my career, as I have not been warned multiple times for my play on the field.’

Al-Shaair’s hit on Lawrence was not the only controversial incident he was involved in this season.

During the Texans’ game against the Bears in September, he punched Roschon Johnson, who wasn’t even in the game at the time of another sideline confrontation.

Al-Shaair ended his statement by saying his view is that everyone in the league office and on the field are on the same team to represent the NFL in the best nature possible, something he failed to do earlier this month.

‘Lastly, I’ll say that this world is full of negative people who can’t wait to tear you down, but if you move with love and compassion, the seeds of good you planted in others’ lives can grow into the very tree that shades you with comfort and compassion when you need it most,’ Al-Shaair concluded.

‘I am a man of God, I am a leader, a warrior and a lover. I am also a hell of a football player and I’m grateful to be back doing what I love.’