Did New Balance publicly cut ties with Simone Biles, ending a $22 million contract after the gymnast criticised activist Riley Gaines in June 2025? No, that's not true: The rumor originated on a page that describes its output as satirical. Quotes attributed to the footwear brand were fabricated.
The claim appeared in a June 10, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here), which consisted of meme showing Biles' face along with the text "New Balance rep, It's time for Ms. Biles to move on", and a caption that read:
When Simone Biles "body slammed" Riley Gaines on X, New Balance said, you're done!
This cost Simone Biles a smooth 22 million dollars! Do you think her anti-woman stance was worth it?
This is what it looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot)
In reality, New Balance did not cut ties with Biles or make the public statement attributed to the brand in the meme. This rumor originated in a June 9 post on America's Last Line of Defense, which consisted of four panels:
(Source: Facebook screenshot)
"America's Last Line of Defense" is part of a network of pages and websites which describe their output as satirical. A disclaimer on the page reads:
The flagship of the ALLOD network of trollery and propaganda for cash.
Nothing on this page is real.
The website associated with the page, Dunning-Kruger Times, contains the following disclaimer:
Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined.
In June 2025, Biles publicly criticised Riley Gaines, a former swimmer and activist who opposes the inclusion of transgender women in women's sports.
