Simone Biles' husband, Jonathan Owens, will watch her at the Olympics. Why has he drawn criticism?

Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens is taking a break from training camp to support his wife, American gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, in the women's team final at the 2024 Olympics.

The Biles were married in the spring of 2023. They are adjusting to life in the spotlight as a married couple. Owens has been the target of criticism on social media over the last year for comments he's made about the nature of their relationship.

Owens and Biles appeared on “The Pivot” podcast hosted by former NFL player-turned-broadcaster Ryan Clark last December.

During the show, Owens admitted he didn't know who Biles was when the two connected on a dating app in 2020. Owens was playing for the Houston Texans at the time. Biles is a Houston native.

The two quickly hit it off and were engaged in early 2022. Owens said he believed he was “the catch” in the relationship, which kicked off a firestorm of criticism in social media circles.

The 27-year-old seven-time Olympic medalist — who sometimes wears an “Owens” necklace when not competing — expressed exasperation when asked by The Associated Press earlier this year about the heated rhetoric directed at her husband.

“It wasn’t like protecting me by telling me to divorce him,” Biles said.

Biles admits she was initially caught off guard by the blowback. She was sitting next to Owens as he spoke and struggled to understand what made her fans upset.

“I was literally in the room watching,” Biles said. “I was laughing and I’m like, ‘He’s so cute’ because at the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with him saying that he’s a catch because he is, like, the best guy I’ve ever met.”

Biles believes his comments were “misconstrued” and while she acknowledges putting themselves in a public space can leave them open to criticism, she also believes there's a line that was crossed.

“They started being really mean,” Biles said. "And I was like, ‘Whoa, do not talk about my husband like that. Because he is super sweet, he said nothing wrong.' But you learn.”

No. Owens has become a gymnastics fan over the last year. He watched her win the U.S. Classic, the U.S. Championships and the U.S. Olympic trials earlier this year, frequently jotting down his wife's score and the score of other athletes to keep track, all while sitting with Biles' family.

He's gained a greater appreciation for his wife's stardom, maybe because it's hard to miss the avalanche of NBC promos featuring her in the run-up to the Games.

“It’s like everyone’s a gymnastics fan now,” Owens said. "People are asking me questions, because you might be walking around the building and see a commercial with her up there, so it’s just crazy.”

Biles tweaked her left calf during qualifying on Sunday but is scheduled to compete with the rest of the five-woman U.S. team during Tuesday night's team finals as the Americans try to return to the top of the medal stand after finishing runner-up to Russia three years ago.

Biles will then attempt to bookend the Olympic title she won in 2016 in the all-around final on Thursday. She also qualified for event finals on vault, balance beam and floor exercise.

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Simone Biles of United States, has her ankle taped after competing on the uneven bars during a women's artistic gymnastics qualification round at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Spectators watch from a fan zone set up at the Hotel de Ville, the city hall, as Simone Biles, of the United States, performs on the vault during a women's artistic gymnastics qualification round at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

FILE - Green Bay Packers safety Jonathan Owens and Simone Biles kiss before an NFL football NFC divisional playoff game between the Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, on Jan. 20, 2024, in Santa Clara, Calif. Owens is taking a break from Chicago Bears training camp to come watch Biles at the Olympic women's gymnastics team final. Owens has been the target of criticism from some Biles' fans for comments he's made about their relationship (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday launched his family's cryptocurrency venture, World Liberty Financial, with an interview on the X social media platform in which he also gave his first public comments on the apparent assassination attempt against him a day earlier.

Trump did not discuss specifics about World Liberty Financial or how it would work, pivoting from questions about cryptocurrency to talking about artificial intelligence or other topics. Instead, he recounted his experience Sunday, saying he and a friend playing golf “heard shots being fired in the air, and I guess probably four or five.”

“I would have loved to have sank that last putt,” Trump said. He credited the Secret Service agent who spotted the barrel of a rifle and began firing toward it as well as law enforcement and a civilian who he said helped track down the suspect.

World Liberty Financial is expected to be a borrowing and lending service used to trade cryptocurrencies, which are forms of digital money that can be traded over the internet without relying on the global banking system. Exchanges often charge fees for withdrawals of Bitcoin and other currencies.

Other speakers after Trump, including his eldest son, Don Jr., talked about embracing cryptocurrency as an alternative to what they allege is a banking system tilted against conservatives.

Experts have said a presidential candidate launching a business venture in the midst of a campaign could create ethical conflicts.

“Taking a pro-crypto stance is not necessarily troubling; the troubling aspect is doing it while starting a way to personally benefit from it,” Jordan Libowitz, a spokesperson for the government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said earlier this month.

During his time in the White House, Trump said he was “not a fan” of cryptocurrency and tweeted in 2019, “Unregulated Crypto Assets can facilitate unlawful behavior, including drug trade and other illegal activity." However, during this election cycle, he has reversed himself and taken on a favorable view of cryptocurrencies.

He announced in May that his campaign would begin accepting donations in cryptocurrency as part of an effort to build what it calls a “crypto army” leading up to Election Day. He attended a bitcoin conference in Nashville this year, promising to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet” and create a bitcoin “strategic reserve” using the currency that the government currently holds.

Hilary Allen, a law professor at American University who has done research on cryptocurrencies, said she was skeptical of Trump's change of heart on crypto.

“I think it’s fair to say that that reversal has been motivated in part by financial interests,” she said.

Crypto enthusiasts welcomed the shift, viewing the launch as a positive sign for investors if Trump retakes the White House.

Meanwhile, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has not offered policy proposals on how it would regulate digital assets like cryptocurrencies.

In an effort to appeal to crypto investors, a group of Democrats, including Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, participated in an online “Crypto 4 Harris” event in August.

Neither Harris nor members of her campaign staff attended the event.

Gomez Licon contributed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump waves as he boards a plane at Harry Reid International Airport after a campaign trip, Saturday, Sept.14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)