Fresh off her exploits at the 2024 Paris Olympics, gymnast Simone Biles evoked the wrath of NFL fans for wearing a Packers jacket to a Bears preseason game.
The incident occurred on August 17 when Biles pulled up to Soldier Field in Chicago to support her husband, safety Jonathan Owens, who switched teams from the Packers to the Bears in the 2024 offseason. However, Biles’ jacket was adorned with images of Owens in a Packers jersey, which did not sit right with many Bears fans.
.@Simone_Biles is in Chicago 🗣️🐐
📺: #CINvsCHI — 1pm ET on @NFLNetwork
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus
One fan wrote that Biles needed to throw the Packers-themed jacket “in the trash” and even criticized the Bears security for allowing her on the field.
With all due respect, Simone Biles gotta throw that jacket in the trash ASAP.
How did she get in with that?
The Athletic’s Chase Daniel tweeted that Biles “gets a pass” in light of being one of the greatest Olympians ever. However, he pointed to the Bears versus Packers rivalry going back decades and understood why Biles’ wardrobe rubbed Bears fans the wrong way.
She’s obviously supporting her husband Jonathan Owens and she’s one of the greatest Olympians so she gets a pass…but it’s still one of the oldest rivalries in all of football & she’s rocking #GoPackGo logos lol
Another furious Bears fan suggested that Biles should be “stripped of all her medals” for her wardrobe blunder.
Simone Biles should be stripped of all her medals after wearing Packers gear while cheering for the Bears. Yeah yeah I get it, her husband played for the packers and it’s an Owens themed jacket, but this is just wrong.
Simone Biles Excited for Husband
In March, Owens signed a two-year deal with the Bears worth $4.5 million after spending just one season with the Packers. At the time, Biles took to X to express excitement about her husband’s move to the Windy City.
The 11-time Olympic medalist also claimed to “love” the city of Chicago after her husband agreed to join the Bears as a free agent.
CHICAGO HERE HE COMES
“I’m so excited about not having a connecting flight to go & see my husband hahahahaaha,” she tweeted in March. She followed up that tweet with another, writing, “also I just love the city of Chicago.”
I’m so excited about not having a connecting flight to go & see my husband hahahahaaha
“So incredibly proud of my husband,” she also tweeted in March. “the grind never stops! this is just the beginning!”
also I just love the city of Chicago
Some Bears fans pointed to those tweets and wondered whether Biles was being facetious about her husband’s move to Chicago and whether she wore a Packers jacket to purposely irk them. However, Biles seemed nothing but excited about visiting her hubby at Soldier Field.
so incredibly proud of my husband🤍
the grind never stops! this is just the beginning!
Owens had skipped most of the Bears’ training camp to travel to Paris to watch his wife dominate at the Paris Olympics. Biles did not disappoint, becoming the first North American woman to win two Olympic all-around and vault titles and the first woman (from any country) to achieve the splendid feat since Vera Caslavska in 1964 and 1968. The 27-year-old also became only the second woman to win two Olympic all-around at least two World all-around titles. She also clinched the silver medal on floor and another gold as part of Team USA’s star-studded team nicknamed “Golden Girls.”
bear down
Biles was ultimately rewarded with the honor of being Team USA’s official flagbearer for the closing ceremony at the end of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Biles & Owens Met on a Dating App
The legendary gymnast and NFL safety started dating in March 2020 after they met on Raya, an app restricted exclusively to celebrities. According to Owens, he did not know about Biles’ exploits in Olympic gymnastics when they decided to go on their first date.
“I didn’t know who she was,” Owens told Texas Monthly in June 2021. “I just hadn’t heard of her, and when I told her that, that’s one of the things she liked.”
Owens revealed the couple got closer after the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to 2021. During the year off, Biles did not have to undergo her rigorous training schedule and found more time with her future husband.
“It was one of the few times in her life where everything was just shut off and she couldn’t do anything,” Owens said. “So we used it to get to know each other — really get to know each other. It created our bond and made it stronger. Now I’m so thankful.”
Biles and Owens tied the knot in April 2023, three years after they began dating.
Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens had a close encounter during a Texans game in 2019, but the two officially met via the dating app Raya in March 2020.
Three years later, and the two are now married! | 📷: Rachel Taylor
Get all of the details here: t.co/ZO0LZWxcQn
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Simone Biles Faces Backlash for NFL Wardrobe Blunder