Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles called out the USA Gymnastics interim president for an anti-Nike tweet, following the shoe brand naming Colin Kaepernick its spokesperson. Biles quote-tweeted Mary Bono's month-old tweet, which was critical of the former San Francisco quarterback's protests against police brutality and his association with Nike. The 21-year-old happens to be sponsored by Nike. Bono's now-deleted tweet featured a photo of herself blacking out or erasing a Nike logo on a golf shoe, reports ESPN. "Don’t worry, she wrote Saturday. "It’s not like we needed a smarter USA gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything." *mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything https://t.co/cYQizcjywn — Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) October 13, 2018 The tweet comes at a time when USA Gymnastics is still recovering from the team doctor Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal. An estimated 200 women accused Nassar of taking advantage of them under the guise of medical treatment. According to The Associated Press, Bono, who was a Republican congresswoman, took over following the resignation of Kerry Perry. After the blowback, the interim president apologized for tweeting the critical photo and promised to repair the damage made: I regret the post and respect everyone’s views & fundamental right to express them. This doesn’t reflect how I will approach my position @USAGym I will do everything I can to help build, w/ the community, an open, safe & positive environment. — Mary Bono (@MaryBonoUSA) October 14, 2018 Bye, Bono. Just two days before Biles' gathering of the interim president's tweet, the young gymnast spiced up one of the most difficult vault moves on Thursday, meaning the exercise has yet to be done by any other woman, according to Deadspin. If she repeats it at the world championships which begins later this month, the move will likely be named in her honor. Now, check these out: Chicago Police Board Rules Cop Was Justified In Shooting And Killing This Unarmed 15-Year-Old Ex-Firefighter Found Guilty After Shooting At Black Teen Looking For Directions To School New Kanye Fully Revokes Old Kanye's Place In Black History, Walks Back George Bush Comment<doc-sep>Daniel Zuchnik *mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything https://t.co/cYQizcjywn— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) October 13, 2018 I regret the post and respect everyone’s views & fundamental right to express them. This doesn’t reflect how I will approach my position @USAGym I will do everything I can to help build, w/ the community, an open, safe & positive environment. Loading the player... October 14, 2018 People are still being anti-Nike in this economy, including the newly-appointed USA Gymnastics interim President Mary Bono. USA Gymnastics announced Bono’s appointment over the weekend. From there, Twitter detectives do what Twitter detectives will do. It was discovered that back in September, Bono had expressed some hot takes about Nike. Presumably in response to when hoards of people were destroying their Nike gear in protest of Colin Kaepernick’s campaign, Bono took to Twitter and took a picture of someone—presumably herself—defacing her Nike gear, filling in the iconic tick with a marker. “Playing in a charity golf tournament raising money for our nation’s Special Forces operators and their families. Unfortunately had these shoes in my bag, Luckily I had a marker in my bag too..,” Bono wrote in the now-deleted tweet.Now, we all know Nike sponsors a lot of legendary athletes, Simone Biles, being one of them. The indomitable gymnast, who recently became the first Black woman to win five all-around titles , was neither impressed nor pleased by Bono’s swipe at Nike. Biles tweeted in response, “It’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything.”Bono, who is also a former Republican congresswoman, later apologized for the tweet, saying, “This doesn’t reflect how I will approach my position at USA Gymnastics.”It’s always so interesting to me how people react when they get caught. It is also noting that Bono never apologized, so much as she said that she “regrets” the post. And I’m sure she does as it comes on the heels of what should have been a great day for her.<doc-sep>(CNN) — Mary Bono had been at the helm of USA Gymnastics for only a day when she drew the ire of the sport’s brightest star. The former congresswoman from California was appointed as interim president and CEO of the sport’s beleaguered governing body on Friday and was touted for her leadership, communication and ability to “coalesce people with differing views,” according to a USA Gymnastics news release. Those qualities may have eluded her in September when she took to Twitter to fire off a reaction to Nike promoting former NFL quarterback and civil rights activist Colin Kaepernick, who hasn’t played since 2016 after angering some fans by kneeling during the pregame national anthem to protest racism and social injustice. In a photo, Bono used a black marker to blot out the Nike swoosh on a pair of golf shoes, following the lead of angry Nike owners who burned and otherwise destroyed their Nike goods after Kaepernick appeared in a major ad campaign last month. Twitter Mary Bono deleted this tweet shortly after posting it. “Playing in a charity golf tournament raising money for our Special Forces operators and their families. Unfortunately had these shoes in my bag. Luckily I had a marker in my bag too….” she wrote in the tweet that surfaced Saturday. Forget Olympian McKayla Maroney; Simone Biles is not impressed. Turns out, Biles collects some pretty heavy checks from – wait for it – a Beaverton, Oregon, athletic wear giant known as Nike. Whoops. Biles is also the face of the team, which will compete in the World Championships in Qatar this month. She’ll arrive in Doha with all the swagger one might expect from a roundly beloved 21-year-old who boasts four Olympic gold medals and 10 World Championship golds in artistic gymnastics. She’s basically bulletproof. Bono deleted the tweet, but not before Biles let the former Republican lawmaker know that bashing Nike didn’t seem like the brightest move. *mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything https://t.co/cYQizcjywn — Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) October 13, 2018 Quoting Bono’s tweet, Biles replied: “*mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything.” Later Saturday, Bono acknowledged that she ghosted the tweet, saying that she wanted to turn the focus to what she plans to accomplish as USA Gymnastics’ leader. “I regret the post and respect everyone’s views & fundamental right to express them. This doesn’t reflect how I will approach my position @USAGym I will do everything I can to help build, w/ the community, an open, safe & positive environment,” she said in another tweet. “I look forward to telling my gymnastics story, my vision for the future of the sport and why I wanted the job,” said another. I regret the post and respect everyone’s views & fundamental right to express them. This doesn’t reflect how I will approach my position @USAGym I will do everything I can to help build, w/ the community, an open, safe & positive environment. — Mary Bono (@MaryBonoUSA) October 14, 2018 USA Gymnastics’ board of directors said that in reviewing Bono’s background, it missed the Nike tweet – “an oversight on our part” – and while board members are disappointed in the post, they’re standing by her. “As members of the Olympic movement, USA Gymnastics supports everyone’s right to freedom of expression, and we’re committed to an inclusive, safe and positive culture for our sport,” the board’s statement said. Following the sentencing of former team doctor Larry Nassar, after hundreds of women and girls said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment, USA Gymnastics president and CEO Kerry Perry resigned last month following a series of tone-deaf responses to the scandal. She had been in the job only nine months. Attorney John Manly, who represents 180 gymnasts, said Perry “continued the same flawed policies that led to the Nassar scandal, placing the reputation of coaches and staff above the safety of athletes and denying all legal responsibilities for the two-decade-long cover-up of Nassar’s crimes.” From Instagram Kaepernick became the face of a major Nike ad campaign last month. Her resignation followed several other high-profile departures, including those of the team’s elite development coordinator, head of the women’s program and coordinator for the women’s national team. In a letter to USA Gymnastics’$2 200,000 members, board chairwoman Karen Golz promised the board would take steps to support a safe environment “where every athlete can grow, learn life lessons, have fun and succeed.” On Friday, Golz said Bono, a former gymnast herself, was just the woman to move the team forward. “Mary is known to be an outstanding communicator who can coalesce people with differing views and perspectives,” Golz said in a statement announcing Bono’s appointment. CNN’s Holly Yan, Kevin Dotson and Wayne Sterling contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
Olympic champion gymnast Simone Biles has criticized newly-appointed USA gymnastics CEO Mary Bono for posting an anti-Nike tweet after the sportswear giant announced it advertising campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick. READ MORE: Collapsing bars & medal hauls: The remarkable career of gymnastics legend Ludmila Tourischeva Bono, a former Republican congresswoman, posted the controversial tweet in September, several days after the sports giant made the ex-San Francisco quarterback the face of its new campaign. The tweet showed Bono using a marker to cover up the Nike logo on shoes, an act which was seen by many as criticism of Kaepernick’s kneeling demonstrations, despite there being no direct mention of his protests. Four-time Olympic gold medalist Biles, who is also sponsored by Nike, responded on Twitter by expressing her disappointment over the controversial post. “Mouth drop,” Biles wrote, adding: “don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything.” *mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything https://t.co/cYQizcjywn — Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) October 13, 2018 Bono, who was appointed as the new head of USA Gymnastics just last week, apologized for the post, stressing she “respects everyone’s views.” I regret the post and respect everyone’s views & fundamental right to express them. This doesn’t reflect how I will approach my position @USAGym I will do everything I can to help build, w/ the community, an open, safe & positive environment. — Mary Bono (@MaryBonoUSA) October 14, 2018 Biles was one of hundreds of gymnasts to reveal they had been molested by disgraced doctor Larry Nassar, who is now serving an effective life sentence in prison after pleading guilty to sexually assaulting young gymnasts under the guise of medical treatment.