United States' Simone Biles celebrates after completing her routine on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's qualification at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday,... (Associated Press) 
 
 United States' Simone Biles celebrates after completing her routine on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women's qualification at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Sunday, Aug. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell) (Associated Press) 
 
 NEW YORK (AP) — NBC announcer Al Trautwig said Monday he regrets tweeting that the adoptive mother and father of American gymnastics star Simone Biles were not her parents, a declaration that angered advocates for adoption. 
 
 Trautwig had been scolded by a woman on Twitter for not referring to Ron and Nellie Biles as the 19-year-old Olympic gymnast's parents. Ron Biles, her maternal grandfather, and his wife Nellie adopted Simone and her sister Adria in 2000 after they spent time in foster care. 
 
 NBC ordered Trautwig to delete his tweet. 
 
 "To set the record straight, Ron and Nellie are Simone's parents," Trautwig said Monday. 
 
 Carrie Goldman, who lives outside of Chicago and writes a blog, "Portrait of an Adoption," said NBC and its personnel should not minimize the role of adoptive parents. She said Trautwig should apologize to Biles; NBC had no comment on whether he would. 
 
 It's the second public misstep in as many days for an NBC announcer, after swimming commentator Dan Hicks was ripped online for referring to the husband and coach of a Hungarian swimmer as "the guy responsible" for her strong performance. Trautwig's case involved an athlete NBC expects to be one of the biggest stars of the Rio de Janeiro Games. 
 
 Simone Biles went to live with her grandparents in Texas while their mother struggled with drugs and alcohol in Ohio, and was adopted when the birth mother's parental rights were terminated. Simone remains in contact with Shanon Biles but is quick to correct anyone who calls Shanon her mother. Shanon Biles is her biological mother, she says. Nellie Biles is mom. 
 
 "Mother" and "father" were also the phrases used by NBC in a profile of Biles that aired Sunday night. 
 
 Shortly thereafter, Trautwig said on the air that Simone "was raised by her grandfather and his wife and she calls them mom and dad." 
 
 A woman on Twitter then urged Trautwig to stop calling Ron and Nellie her grandfather and his wife. "They are her parents," she wrote. But Trautwig replied in his since-deleted tweet: "They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents." 
 
 If she's been adopted, they are her parents — legally as well as emotionally, advocates said. 
 
 "If they are parenting her — that's what a parent does — don't diminish the role by calling them something other than her parents," said Chuck Johnson, president and CEO of the National Council for Adoption. "Some of us would find that offensive." 
 
 Goldman said she hopes NBC uses the opportunity to educate viewers about adoption, given the Olympics' big audience and Biles' high profile. Trautwig's statement was a good first step, she said. 
 
 "Clearly the tide of public opinion has gotten through to NBC," she said. 
 
 Judging by some of his other tweets, Trautwig was in a cranky mood Sunday. 
 
 To one tweeter who complained about losing five years of his life every time Trautwig explained the gymnastics scoring system, the announcer replied: "Then you should be done by now." To another who said that he'll watch ping pong if he had to listen to Trautwig's voice any longer, he replied: "Enjoy what is called table tennis." 
 
 Someone with the Twitter handle "Gym Nerd" wrote to Trautwig that "you may be in Rio but at least I'm passionate about my job, and respected for it." 
 
 "Right, and I don't care," Trautwig replied. "Resume treatment." 
 
 NBC said it had no further comment on Trautwig's social media habits. 
 
 ___ 
 
 AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org 

 CLOSE Al Trautwig, NBC’s gymnastics announcer at the Rio Games, apologized Monday for suggesting that Simone Biles’ parents through adoption are not really her parents. Sara Snyder, USA TODAY 
 
 Simone Biles of the United States talks with teammates during women's gymnastic qualifications in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Rio Olympic Arena. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports) 
 
 RIO DE JANEIRO — Al Trautwig, NBC’s gymnastics announcer at the Rio Games, apologized Monday for suggesting that Simone Biles’ parents through adoption are not really her parents. 
 
 “I regret that I wasn’t more clear in my wording on the air,” he said in a statement emailed by NBC Sports. “I compounded the error on Twitter, which I quickly corrected. To set the record straight, Ron and Nellie are Simone’s parents.” 
 
 Ron and Nellie Biles adopted Simone and her younger sister, Adria, in 2001. The girls had spent time in foster care as Shanon Biles, their biological mother and Ron’s daughter, struggled with drugs and alcohol. 
 
 Trautwig referred to Ron and Nellie as Biles’ grandparents on Sunday’s NBC primetime broadcast. When a woman tweeted Trautwig to say that he should call them her parents, he tweeted: “They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents.” 
 
 Trautwig deleted the post but it was preserved by users who retweeted or screen-grabbed it. The hashtag #FireTrautwig gained traction on Twitter. 
 
 Aimee Boorman, Biles’ longtime coach, also chimed in, tweeting: “@AlTrautwig actually they are her parents.” 
 
 @AlTrautwig actually they are her parents. — Aimee B (@Salto_Coach) August 8, 2016 
 
 NBC said in a statement: “We became aware of the situation last night and addressed it with Al quickly.” 
 
 Trautwig was reviled by some gymnastics fans even before the controversy on Sunday night, and he is often derided on the corner of social media known as the Gymternet. 
 
 On the podcast GymCastic, host Jessica O’Beirne said, “Could he be any more insensitive and cruel? He is disgusting. How does he still have that job?” 
 
 Biles, 19, the three-time world champion, is poised to become one of the brightest stars of the Rio Games. As her star has grown over the past three years, she has shared the story of how her family came together. 
 
 In a December interview at the family’s Houston-area home, she told USA TODAY Sports, “When I was younger, I was adopted by my grandparents, which are now my parents. I call them Mom and Dad. Everything’s just been so normal.” 
 
 CLOSE First-time Olympian is the favorite to take home gold medal in all-around gymnastics event. USA TODAY Sports 
 
 Axon reported from Rio de Janeiro 
 
 PHOTOS: GYMNASTICS AT THE RIO OLYMPICS
– NBC announcer Al Trautwig said Monday he regrets tweeting that the adoptive mother and father of American gymnastics star Simone Biles were not her parents, a declaration that angered advocates for adoption. Trautwig had been scolded by a woman on Twitter for not referring to Ron and Nellie Biles as the 19-year-old Olympic gymnast's parents. Simone Biles went to live with Ron Biles, her maternal grandfather, and his wife Nellie in Texas while their mother struggled with drugs and alcohol in Ohio; she and sister Adria were adopted in 2000 when the birth mother's parental rights were terminated, reports the AP. Simone remains in contact with Shanon Biles but is quick to correct anyone who calls Shanon her mother. Shanon Biles is her biological mother, she says. Nellie Biles is mom. "Mother" and "father" were also the phrases used by NBC in a profile of Biles that aired Sunday night. Shortly thereafter, Trautwig said on the air that Simone "was raised by her grandfather and his wife and she calls them mom and dad." A woman on Twitter then urged Trautwig to stop calling Ron and Nellie her grandfather and his wife. "They are her parents," she wrote. But Trautwig replied in his since-deleted tweet: "They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents." NBC ordered Trautwig to delete his tweet as #FireTrautwig began to appear on Twitter, reports USA Today. "To set the record straight, Ron and Nellie are Simone's parents," Trautwig said Monday.