Simone Biles will always defend her teammates. While embracing Team USA’s epic victory on Tuesday, July 30, at the Paris Olympic Games, the 27-year-old gymnastics GOAT shared a celebratory photo to her Instagram — and fans are convinced that her caption referred to MyKayla Skinner‘s past comments about the team.
“Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions,” Simone captioned her post.
Fellow gymnast and friend McKayla Maroney seemingly confirmed the subtle diss toward MyKayla, 27, by commenting on the athlete’s caption, “It doesn’t get more iconic than this,” McKayla, 28, wrote. “She f’d around n found out fr [sic]. Feels like I need to apologize just to redeem my first name.”
McKayla was also referencing the hilarious nickname that Team USA chose for themselves, which is “F**k around and find out.”
Countless fans swarmed the comments section to point out the possible clapback against MyKayla. One commenter wrote, “Lol she’s probably so jealous that you guys won.” Another chimed in, “This is the caption! I feel like you’ve been saving this one for a few weeks.”
Last month, a video of MyKayla criticizing the U.S. Olympic team surfaced online.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be,” the athlete said. “Just notice like, I mean, obviously a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
MyKayla went on to say that “Coaches can’t get on athletes, and they have to be really careful what they say.”
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
The athlete later clarified the meaning of her comments via a July 3 Instagram Stories message. In the note, MyKayla pointed out that her statement “wasn’t always necessarily about the current team because I love and support all the girls that made it and I’m so proud of them.”
“It was more about going back into my own gym, just the work ethic is different compared to when we were doing gymnastics in the [previous team coach] Márta [Károlyi] era,” she added. “And I’m not sticking up for Márta or saying what she did was good, I’m just saying it was different. So anyway, sorry for anything that got out of context or seemed hurtful. That is never my intention. And seriously, throughout the video, I was so pumped for the girls, and it was so fun watching trials and doing a live with everybody.”
In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, MyKayla formally apologized to both Team USA and the gymnastics community for her comments.
“It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work,” she insisted in her statement. “Your hard work and dedication has paid off, and I congratulate each and every one of you. Upon reflection, I was comparing the ‘Marta Era’ to the current era. I am coming to terms that I have not fully dealt with the emotional and verbal abuse I endured under Marta that perhaps led to my hurtful comments. I take full responsibility for what I said and I deeply apologize. It is most important to me that the sport I love continue down the path of healing and ensures a positive environment for all. I wish you all the very best in Paris. I will be cheering you all on! Go Team USA!”