Mykayla Skinner Talks ‘Saving Women’s Sports’ After Simone Biles’ Struggle

special: Contributed by MyKayla Skinner Team USA Simone Biles had to withdraw from the women’s gymnastics silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics due to a case of twisties.

But through Paris Games Last summer, she became an easy target for USA Gymnastics fans.

On July 3 of last year, Skinner posted a video about the 2024 US Olympic women’s gymnastics team and made controversial comments about the team’s “talent and depth”. The video drew viral reactions from fans and even former teammates. “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform,” Bills wrote in a social media post the same day.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Michaela Skinner of Team United States poses with her silver medal after the women’s vault final on day nine of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Center on August 01, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Skinner apologized for the comments, insisting they were “misinterpreted”. But that didn’t stop online attacks from flooding her inbox and her mind.

“Words were twisted, things were said that I didn’t mean, so yeah, it was a horrible, difficult time. I love those girls more than anything, so it was really sad to see what happened, and the way they attacked me and it came across was very devastating,” Skinner told Fox News Digital.

At the time, Skinner was a new mother.

“I was still nursing at the time. And I was very depressed, because obviously I said something disgusting,” she said. “I was getting death threats. My agent at the time was sending her death threats and emails and they were actually contacting her phone and sending her voice messages.”

Skinner claims that some critics have gone so far as to tell her “I shouldn’t be a mother”.

“It really brought me down, it was really hard and I felt like I couldn’t be the mother that my daughter needed me to be,” she said, visibly emotional. “It was a horrible thing to go through feeling like the world just hates you.”

But through it all, Skinner says the experience helped her find a purpose in becoming an advocate for protecting women’s spots. This week she became the newest ambassador The activist helps launch a new Olympian-themed collection, called the “Gold Medal Campaign,” for sportswear brand XX-XY Athletics.

“I’ve always believed in protecting women’s sports,” Skinner said. “It’s a really difficult and scary topic, but it’s definitely grown from feeling depressed and lonely, it’s given me something else to look forward to and to be an advocate… it’s helped me a lot and made me stronger to talk about this.”

It was time for Skinner to go public on that passion in June after Biles got into another online feud.

Conservative influencer Riley Gaines recently publicized an incident involving a biologically male transgender softball pitcher who won a girls state championship in Minnesota. Gaines himself previously called Biles to sign with XX-XY Athletics Previous interview With Fox News Digital just three months earlier in March.

But after Gaines posted a June 6 social media post calling attention to the softball problem in Minnesota, Biles infamously and unexpectedly came at Gaines with a quote riposte to X, calling Gaines “really sick,” a “straight up sore loser” and a “bully.” A later post by Biles indicated that Gaines was “the same size” as a “man”.

Larry Nassar, lead victims’ advocate, criticizes USA Gymnastics’ handling of trans athlete policy

Bills later deleted the posts, and apologized, but not before Skinner chose a side in the feud. Skinner released a statement on social media supporting Gaines, claiming to be the victim of Biles’ own “bullying.”

“It really broke my heart when I saw Simon attack Riley Gaines,” Skinner said. “When that thing happened, I was like, ‘You know what, it’s time for me to find my voice and stand up and stand up for Riley.’

“It was my chance to speak up. I had a former colleague, you know, come up to somebody, and I was like, ‘This is not OK’.”

Skinner believes Biles was sincere in her defense of transgender inclusion in women’s sports. However, Skinner hopes her former colleague will change her mind.

“I believe she believes in what she believes in. I don’t think she’s on this side, at least, not yet, and I hope she turns around and joins us,” Skinner said.

Skinner’s interjection became the biggest twist in the sensation of the viral feud between Gaines and Biles in early June.

But she was getting to know the price.

“I got a strange letter in the mail with no return address,” Skinner said. “Basically just telling me I’m going to hell, I’m going to die. Like, ‘transgender people are born in the womb’ and they gave me all this information that I’m wrong and I’m stupid and I have no idea what I’m talking about.”

Skinner said the letter shocked her so much, that at one point she thought to herself, “Oh my God, do I need to shut up?”

She had deep-seated fears about talking about trans athletes in women’s sports or other sensitive topics. That fear led Skinner to turn down an earlier opportunity to work with Gaines.

“Riley, her team arrived years before this happened. And again, so scared, I felt like I couldn’t say anything because I’ve been through so much in the world of gymnastics. I’ve been criticized a lot. I feel like in the world of gymnastics, you don’t have a voice. You can’t speak. “Skinner couldn’t speak.

“All we did as gymnasts was eat, sleep and do gymnastics 24/7… They made us fear that we couldn’t say anything because they didn’t want us to have power and control… I was born and raised in it, that’s all I know.”

She faced deals about whether she would lose recognition.

Click here to get the Fox News app

“I wasn’t doing a ton of endorsement deals though, and honestly, it’s not all about the money for me. Like, I can get other endorsement deals from people who love and support what I’m doing,” Skinner said.

Along with her XX-XY Athletics brand ambassadorship, Skinner now partners with Gaines and other activists in the “Save Women’s Sports” space, including Olympic gold medalist swimmer Nancy Hogshead and former University of Pennsylvania swimmer Paula Scanlan.

The company’s founder, Jennifer Sey, told Fox News Digital in February that the biggest thing she thinks her brand is missing is a star with a “high-level” athletic career, adding that she knows some stars out there, including Olympians, that she’s “watching out for,” because Sey knew they were “secretly on her side.”

Say wanted a young player, either in her career or someone who had recently competed.

Now, with Skinner on her roster, Sei believes she has the biggest signing since the company launched.

“It’s huge,” Sen said of recruiting Skinner. “People like Mykayla are recognized by athletes who are competing in a big way right now… that’s a big deal for us, she’s been a star for USA Gymnastics for a long time.

“I get DMs every day from people saying, ‘We love your brand, we’re too scared to wear it.’ And the more relevant athletes, the more high-profile athletes that speak up, the less scared other people are, and that’s when we solve the problem.”

Follow Fox News Digital Sports coverage on X and subscribe Fox News Sports Huddle Newspaper.