June 10, 2025 • 7 mins
When Simone Biles torched Riley Gaines over transgender athletes in women’s sports, the internet erupted — but a resurfaced tweet flipped the narrative. In this episode, we dissect the feud, the facts, and the feelings, exposing how poetic truth and gaslighting have replaced honest debate. From viral insults to virtue signals, we break down what’s real, what’s rewritten, and what’s getting quietly deleted.
Stay sharp. Stay skeptical. #SpotTheGaslight
Read and reflect at Gaslight360.com/clarity
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
What happens when yesterday's truth becomes
today's hate speech and theperson calling you a bully once
said the exact same thing youdid.
Because that's what justhappened.
Simone Biles, olympic icon,walking endorsement deal and
survivor of real institutionalfailure, called former high
(00:23):
major NCAA swimmer Riley Gainestruly sick for saying that
biological males shouldn'tcompete against females in
women's sports.
But back in 2017, simoneherself tweeted good thing guys
don't compete against girls, orhe'd take all the gold medals.
So what changed?
(00:44):
The facts, or just the feelings?
Hi, I'm Jim Detchen, host ofThink First, a Gaslight360.com
production, and today we'rediving into the rhetorical
landmine known as Simone versusRiley, a feud that isn't just
about sports.
It's about which truths we'reallowed to say out loud.
Just about sports.
(01:07):
It's about which truths we'reallowed to say out loud.
This isn't a celebrity spat.
It's a live demo of how poetictruth and gaslighting now drive
public conversation, especiallywhen the science doesn't
cooperate.
Let's rewind.
Riley Gaines, former high majorNCAA swimmer, advocate for
(01:27):
female athletes, criticized aMinnesota girls softball
championship win by a team witha transgender pitcher.
She said what many are thinkingIf a male competes in girls
sports, no matter how theyidentify, isn't that an unfair
advantage?
Simone Biles didn't like that.
She jumped in, calling Gaines.
There was no debate, noengagement with Riley's points,
(01:59):
just a full-scale characterassassination, wrapped in moral
conviction.
And here's the twist Back in2017, simone said exactly what
Gaines is saying now.
She joked that if men competedagainst women, they'd take all
the gold medals.
It wasn't controversial, itwasn't cruel, it was just
(02:21):
obvious.
Fast forward to 2025, and thatsame sentiment is now hate
speech.
That's poetic truth at work.
It doesn't shout.
This is false, it whispers.
This no longer serves thenarrative.
Biles even proposed atransgender category, something
(02:41):
Gaines and others have publiclysuggested for years, but in the
same breath she accused Riley ofbullying, bigotry and making
sports unsafe.
That's not consistency, that'sreputation management, because
poetic truth isn't about what'strue, it's about what makes the
speaker feel righteous.
Now let's pause for somereal-time irony.
(03:08):
Usa Today ran a column defendingbiles and torching gains, and
in it they dropped this linethere is no scientific evidence
that transgender women athleteshave a physical advantage over
cisgender women athletes.
Wait what no evidence.
We've got decades of sportsmedicine, muscle mass ratios,
vo2 max comparisons, bonedensity studies, but sure, let's
(03:32):
just pretend testosterone is avibe now.
It's not just wrong, it'spoetic in the worst way A moral
defense dressed up as a factualone.
And then Simone made itpersonal.
She told Gaines to bullysomeone your own size, which
would, ironically, be a male,which, let's break that down.
(03:53):
Simone is four feet eightinches, built like a superhero
and has publicly battled bodyshaming.
And now she's telling a tallerwoman to pick on someone her own
size while implying that personis a man.
That's not empowerment, that'smean girl girls, energy with
Olympic credentials.
And let's be clear, riley neverbody shamed back.
(04:15):
She replied with sarcasm.
I didn't have Simone Bilesbeing a male apologist on my
2025 bingo card.
Maybe she could compete inpommel horse and rings in 2028.
It's biting, it's dry, but it'snot personal, which makes
Simone's attack not just out ofproportion but narratively
(04:38):
fragile, because if you have tosmear someone's character to win
the argument, you probablydidn't win the argument.
Gaines may not always useperfect PR language, but her
point that biological malescompeting in women's sports
creates unfairness is shared byOlympic legends, feminist icons
and roughly three quarters ofAmericans, including most
(05:01):
independents, moderates andwomen.
Yet when she says it, she's adanger to sports.
That's not disagreement, that'sgaslighting.
Gaslighting doesn't mean lying,it means reframing reality
until the other person lookscrazy for noticing it.
It's not that Gaines is wrong,it's that she's not allowed to
(05:23):
be right anymore, because poetictruth isn't about accuracy,
it's about alignment.
And if you're off message,accuracy it's about alignment,
and if you're off message,you're off the island.
So what's the lesson here?
When someone changes the rulesmid-sentence, when they say
something is noble in 2017 andhateful in 2025, when facts
(05:44):
disappear and feelings win theday, that's not progress, that's
control, and it usually startswith a lie that feels too good
to fact check.
So here's your take home Ifsomeone needs to rewrite their
past to justify their present,you're not watching growth,
you're watching branding, andwhen moral truth punches down,
(06:06):
it stops being moral.
You don't need all the answers,but you should definitely
question the ones that come withsponsorship deals.
If this sounds familiar, itshould.
We explored a similar gaslightin last week's episode number
five she I mean he Inclusion,identity and the cost of silence
(06:28):
.
That one's worth a listen ifyou want more on what happens
when biology meets bureaucracy.
And everyone's afraid to saythe quiet part out loud, and
everyone's afraid to say thequiet part out loud.
Want to go deeper?
Visit Gaslight360.com.
Slash clarity to learn how tospot gaslighting and poetic
truth in media, politics andhistory.
(06:50):
Empower yourself to dissectnarratives, uncover hidden
truths and challenge the tacticsthat keep us in the dark.
Light your flame and startseeing the world with sharper
eyes.
Follow us on X, where 20,000friends are connecting the dots
at.
Spot the Gaslight and keepasking the questions they don't
(07:12):
want you asking.
Thanks for listening and ifthis helped you think a little
differently today, leave us arating on Apple.
It helps more than you know.
Thank you.
What happens when yesterday's truth becomes
today's hate speech and theperson calling you a bully once
said the exact same thing youdid.
Because that's what justhappened.
Simone Biles, olympic icon,walking endorsement deal and
survivor of real institutionalfailure, called former high
(00:23):
major NCAA swimmer Riley Gainestruly sick for saying that
biological males shouldn'tcompete against females in
women's sports.
But back in 2017, simoneherself tweeted good thing guys
don't compete against girls, orhe'd take all the gold medals.
So what changed?
(00:44):
The facts, or just the feelings?
Hi, I'm Jim Detchen, host ofThink First, a Gaslight360.com
production, and today we'rediving into the rhetorical
landmine known as Simone versusRiley, a feud that isn't just
about sports.
It's about which truths we'reallowed to say out loud.
Just about sports.
(01:07):
It's about which truths we'reallowed to say out loud.
This isn't a celebrity spat.
It's a live demo of how poetictruth and gaslighting now drive
public conversation, especiallywhen the science doesn't
cooperate.
Let's rewind.
Riley Gaines, former high majorNCAA swimmer, advocate for
(01:27):
female athletes, criticized aMinnesota girls softball
championship win by a team witha transgender pitcher.
She said what many are thinkingIf a male competes in girls
sports, no matter how theyidentify, isn't that an unfair
advantage?
Simone Biles didn't like that.
She jumped in, calling Gaines.
There was no debate, noengagement with Riley's points,
(01:59):
just a full-scale characterassassination, wrapped in moral
conviction.
And here's the twist Back in2017, simone said exactly what
Gaines is saying now.
She joked that if men competedagainst women, they'd take all
the gold medals.
It wasn't controversial, itwasn't cruel, it was just
(02:21):
obvious.
Fast forward to 2025, and thatsame sentiment is now hate
speech.
That's poetic truth at work.
It doesn't shout.
This is false, it whispers.
This no longer serves thenarrative.
Biles even proposed atransgender category, something
(02:41):
Gaines and others have publiclysuggested for years, but in the
same breath she accused Riley ofbullying, bigotry and making
sports unsafe.
That's not consistency, that'sreputation management, because
poetic truth isn't about what'strue, it's about what makes the
speaker feel righteous.
Now let's pause for somereal-time irony.
(03:08):
Usa Today ran a column defendingbiles and torching gains, and
in it they dropped this linethere is no scientific evidence
that transgender women athleteshave a physical advantage over
cisgender women athletes.
Wait what no evidence.
We've got decades of sportsmedicine, muscle mass ratios,
vo2 max comparisons, bonedensity studies, but sure, let's
(03:32):
just pretend testosterone is avibe now.
It's not just wrong, it'spoetic in the worst way A moral
defense dressed up as a factualone.
And then Simone made itpersonal.
She told Gaines to bullysomeone your own size, which
would, ironically, be a male,which, let's break that down.
(03:53):
Simone is four feet eightinches, built like a superhero
and has publicly battled bodyshaming.
And now she's telling a tallerwoman to pick on someone her own
size while implying that personis a man.
That's not empowerment, that'smean girl girls, energy with
Olympic credentials.
And let's be clear, riley neverbody shamed back.
(04:15):
She replied with sarcasm.
I didn't have Simone Bilesbeing a male apologist on my
2025 bingo card.
Maybe she could compete inpommel horse and rings in 2028.
It's biting, it's dry, but it'snot personal, which makes
Simone's attack not just out ofproportion but narratively
(04:38):
fragile, because if you have tosmear someone's character to win
the argument, you probablydidn't win the argument.
Gaines may not always useperfect PR language, but her
point that biological malescompeting in women's sports
creates unfairness is shared byOlympic legends, feminist icons
and roughly three quarters ofAmericans, including most
(05:01):
independents, moderates andwomen.
Yet when she says it, she's adanger to sports.
That's not disagreement, that'sgaslighting.
Gaslighting doesn't mean lying,it means reframing reality
until the other person lookscrazy for noticing it.
It's not that Gaines is wrong,it's that she's not allowed to
(05:23):
be right anymore, because poetictruth isn't about accuracy,
it's about alignment.
And if you're off message,accuracy it's about alignment,
and if you're off message,you're off the island.
So what's the lesson here?
When someone changes the rulesmid-sentence, when they say
something is noble in 2017 andhateful in 2025, when facts
(05:44):
disappear and feelings win theday, that's not progress, that's
control, and it usually startswith a lie that feels too good
to fact check.
So here's your take home Ifsomeone needs to rewrite their
past to justify their present,you're not watching growth,
you're watching branding, andwhen moral truth punches down,
(06:06):
it stops being moral.
You don't need all the answers,but you should definitely
question the ones that come withsponsorship deals.
If this sounds familiar, itshould.
We explored a similar gaslightin last week's episode number
five she I mean he Inclusion,identity and the cost of silence
(06:28):
.
That one's worth a listen ifyou want more on what happens
when biology meets bureaucracy.
And everyone's afraid to saythe quiet part out loud, and
everyone's afraid to say thequiet part out loud.
Want to go deeper?
Visit Gaslight360.com.
Slash clarity to learn how tospot gaslighting and poetic
truth in media, politics andhistory.
(06:50):
Empower yourself to dissectnarratives, uncover hidden
truths and challenge the tacticsthat keep us in the dark.
Light your flame and startseeing the world with sharper
eyes.
Follow us on X, where 20,000friends are connecting the dots
at.
Spot the Gaslight and keepasking the questions they don't
(07:12):
want you asking.
Thanks for listening and ifthis helped you think a little
differently today, leave us arating on Apple.
It helps more than you know.
Thank you.
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