Simone Biles, 28, was one of the big winners at the 2025 ESPY Awards by taking home two trophies from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on July 16.
At the Shane Gillis-hosted event to honor individual and team achievements in sports, the professional gymnast was named Best Women’s Athlete and Best Championship Performance during the ceremony.
By winning Best Championship Performance for earning three gold medals at the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, Biles defeated three other top-level male athletes.
Olympic gold medal-winning basketball player Steph Curry, MLB’s 2024 World Series MVP Freddie Freeman, and 2025 Masters Tournament golf champion Rory McIlroy were also nominated in the category alongside Biles.
Some sports fans specifically took issue with Curry, 37, losing Best Championship Performance to his fellow 2024 U.S. Olympian.
“Simone Biles over Steph Curry’s performance. I hate you guys,” expressed one fan. Another stated, “How does Simone Biles get best Champ Performance over Steph hitting five look away threes in the Gold Medal game. F–king rigged.”
“This is why I don’t watch the ESPYs. All credit to Simone Biles, but how can Steph hit 8 threes in an Olympic final and not win the award?” read a more-balanced tweet.
Simone Biles' night at the ESPYS:
Best Championship Performance – 2024 Olympics Women's All-Around
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 17, 2025
However, Biles got backing on the X platform when one encouraging person tweeted, “Simone Biles still triggering weak fragile ego MAGA ‘men’ after all these years..”
Despite the online hate, Biles gave off unbothered vibes with a photo carousel on Instagram. She uploaded five pre-ESPY photos featuring her glam squad and her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens.
“Getting ready for the ESPYs,” Biles captioned the July 17-dated images. Her followers flooded the 11-time Olympic medalist’s comment section with fire and smiling face with heart-shaped eyes emojis.
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Owens joined Biles at the 2025 ESPYs, where they sat in the front row for the ceremony. The Chicago Bears safety kissed his wife as she rose to accept the Best Championship Performance award.
“That was very unexpected. Especially in a category of all men. So thank you guys,” Biles told the crowd after receiving the trophy from LSU college basketball player Flau’jae Johnson and rapper Busta Rhymes.
The Houston native continued, “Before I get into it, I first want to offer my sincere condolences and prayers to all those impacted by the devastating flash flooding on July 4th in Central Texas. Words can’t replace the pain, but our hearts are with you in this tragic time.”
Biles also thanked her teammates, competitors, coaches, family members, and fans for their support on her “magical journey” to becoming one of the greatest Olympic champions of all time.
Later in the night, Biles picked up the Best Athlete, Women’s Sports award, too. She won over Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (track and field), Gabby Thomas (track and field), and A’ja Wilson (WNBA).
Biles has won seven ESPY Awards throughout her career, according to People. Even though Curry came up short in 2025, the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player has eight total ESPYs on his mantel.
Curry won the ESPY for Best NBA Player on three occasions (2015, 2021, 2022). This year saw 2025 NBA Most Valuable Player and 2025 NBA Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander crowned Best NBA Player.
‘Rigged’: Simone Biles Beats Steph Curry at the ESPYs and Sports Fans Are Calling It the Biggest Snub of the Night