Simone Biles Wanted to "Stand Up for" Younger Teammates During Olympic Criticism

Simone Biles is prepared to defend all of her teammates, even if it means calling out other athletes. And when it comes to the members of the United States women's gymnastics Olympic team, Biles is ready to "stand up for them," and lend her voice whenever they can't speak up.

In an interview with People, Biles, who is often referred to as the GOAT, addressed her recent beef with former teammate MyKayla Skinner. Back in June, Skinner shared a since-deleted YouTube video in which she criticized Team USA's women's gymnastics team. "Besides Simone [Biles], I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be," she said in the video (via HuffPost). "I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic."

After Team USA won gold in the women's gymnastics group competition, Biles appeared to clap back at Skinner's derogatory comments. Sharing a photo of the team on Instagram, Biles wrote, "lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions ❤️🥇🇺🇸." The multiple-Olympic medal holder subsequently revealed she'd been blocked by Skinner.

Speaking to People, 27-year-old Biles opened up about her decision to speak out to defend her teammates following Skinner's criticism. "It's important because you have to teach them to use their voices," the gymnast said, revealing how protective she feels over her team. "And if not, you're a voice for the voiceless, which is okay."

Elaborating on why she spoke out so publicly, Biles said, "I just felt like it was right in that moment to stand up for them, because they're so young and they haven't fully stood in their power yet." Biles leads the women's gymnastics team, which includes 20-year-old Lee, 23-year-old Chiles, 24-year-old Carey, and 16-year-old Rivera, via USA Today. Importantly, Biles knows her decision to clap back "meant a lot" to her younger teammates.

Biles finished the 2024 Paris Olympics with one silver and three gold medals. Understandably, the accomplished athlete was proud of her success, particularly after leaving the 2020 Tokyo Olympics early. While speaking to People, Biles revealed she was "so much more relieved, so much more at a better spot, mentally and physically, just happy with overall what I've been able to accomplish and what I've done."

Meanwhile, Skinner has asked Biles to call out cyberbullies in a new Instagram post.

"Watching people cheer on the bullying—which has led to threats of physical harm to me, my husband and our daughter—is disgusting," she explained. "So please, at this point, I'm just asking for it to just stop for the sake of my family because enough is enough."

She also apologized for her previous comments, saying she took "100 percent responsibility for poorly articulating the point I was trying to make."