Former Olympic gymnast MyKayla Skinner has announced a new partnership with an athletic brand dedicated to advocating for women’s sports. The addition of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics vault silver medalist was announced by the brand’s founder via social media.
Skinner, who previously competed alongside Simone Biles on Team USA, has been vocal about issues affecting female athletes. Her latest move aligns her with a growing movement focused on protecting fairness in women’s athletic competition.
What Happened Between Mykayla Skinner and Simone Biles?
Skinner’s relationship with gymnastics icon Biles took a dramatic turn in June 2024 when she commented on the current state of U.S. women’s gymnastics during the Paris Olympics selection process. In a YouTube video that later went viral, she suggested that the depth and work ethic of gymnasts had declined compared to previous generations, making an exception only for Biles.
After Team USA secured gold at the Paris Olympics, Biles responded on Instagram with a pointed caption celebrating the team as “lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions,” directly referencing Skinner’s earlier remarks. The situation escalated with both gymnasts blocking each other on social media platforms, and Skinner claimed she faced cyberbullying and threats to her family.
The feud reignited in June 2025 when Biles engaged in a public dispute with former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines over transgender participation in women’s sports. Skinner publicly sided with Gaines and accused Biles of years of bullying behavior behind the scenes.
In a statement, Skinner revealed she had “endured being belittled, dismissed, and ostracized behind the scenes by Simone” throughout their nearly decade-long overlap as teammates. She expressed support for Gaines’ advocacy work and criticized Biles for using her platform to shame other female athletes.
On October 21, 2025, XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey announced Skinner’s partnership with the brand through a post on the social media platform X. She wrote,
“At @xx_xyathletics we are proud to welcome @mykaylaskinner to our team of pro woman athletes! An athlete near & dear to my heart, MyKayla was a gymnast & competed in the 2021 Olympics, winning silver in vault. A true champion, she is now speaking out for her daughter.”
Tweet shared by Sey announcing Skinner joining XX-XY Athletics
Skinner joins the brand as part of its “Gold Medal Collection” campaign, which features multiple generations of Olympic athletes. In her statement, Skinner explained that finding her voice has been difficult and emphasized her desire to serve as a positive role model for female athletes, particularly for her young daughter, Charlotte.
MORE: Simone Biles Reacts to Young Gymnasts Dulcy Caylor and Joscelyn Roberson’s Performance at World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
Skinner Joins a Movement Led by Gaines
XX-XY Athletics was founded in March 2024 by Sey, the 1986 U.S. Women’s All-Around National Gymnastics Champion. The brand positions itself as the only athletic apparel company that explicitly advocates for protecting women’s sports and spaces based on biological sex.
Gaines, who gained national attention after tying with transgender swimmer Lia Thomas at the NCAA championships, became the brand’s first ambassador when it launched.
Skinner now joins Gaines and several other prominent female athletes as brand ambassadors, including Nancy Hogshead, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and silver medalist from the 1984 Games who founded Champion Women.
The Gold Medal Collection also features other Team USA athletes across multiple sports, including taekwondo competitor Jaycee Bassett, triathlete Shannon Grady, and swimmer Réka György.
Sey has stated that the company aims to influence culture through its products and messaging while providing high-quality athletic gear that competes with major mainstream brands.
