On Tuesday, record-shattering gymnast Simone Biles, evidently rattled by an unexpectedly poor performance on the vault, decided to withdraw herself from the team event for the sake of her own mental health — and the performance of her team, which she was afraid of dragging down due to a less-than-100% focus on her performance.
And let’s not kid ourselves: she was also protecting her ow physical health. She could easily have injured herself, even broken her neck, if she hadn’t been able to keep her mind in the game.
Biles, so good at what she does that she’s single-handedly redefining what gymnastics even is, won praise from empathetic observers for taking care of herself when she most needed to.
On the non-empathetic right, not so much.
Just a couple of days ago right-wingers were literally rooting against too “woke” American athletes in the Olympics. Now somehow the righties have collectively regained their sense of patriotism — because it gives them the perfect opportunity to drag Biles for her alleged selfishness in dropping out of one event.
“There’s No ‘I’ In Team, But There Is In Simone Biles,” sniffed Kylee Zempel in the Federalist. “Sorry, Simone Biles, The Olympics Isn’t About You, It’s About America,” added Federalist editor John Daniel Davidson in a second hectoring post.
On Twitter, the abrasive, much-hated Piers Morgan launched into Biles with a couple of snooty Tweets.
Professional reactionary ideologue Charles Kirk of Turning :Point USA denounced Biles as a “shame to this country.”
“You’re representing your nation, you selfish sociopath,” he snorted. “You know who has the gold medal? Russia! … I’m not okay with that!”
Kirk also suggested that “we are raising a generation of weak people like Simone Biles,” as if anything about Biles could be considered “weak.”
Meanwhile the Daily Wire’s wrong-opinion-haver Matt Walsh attacked those who showed sympathy towards Biles.
From the way that Olympic gymnast Simone Biles is being praised this week, you might think that the decorated superstar put on a heroic display during the team competition in Tokyo and led her squad to a gold medal. …
It was all perhaps the most effusive praise that has ever been heaped on a quitter.
That is what Simone Biles did to earn this exuberant applause. She gave up.
Just a few days ago, you may recall, Walsh was happily rooting against the US:
The US Women’s soccer team went on to win their next game and tie a third; they’re going to the quarterfinals.
It seems to me that maybe they’re not the embarassment here, any more than Biles is. Walsh, meanwhile, humiliates himself virtually every time he opens his mouth.
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Loathsome wretches.
Also, the Olympics is supposedly about celebrating sports bringing the world together, right? Right?
But I guess ‘sports bringing the world together’ and ‘Murica!’ is the same thing to these clowns.
It’s poisonous réactions like the ones you quoted that cost athletes their mental health. I hope this great artist and sportswoman recovers and can continue to do what she loves and push the boundaries of her discipline.
Funny how it is often the same who are comfortably sit in their couch who are whining the loudest against those who are on the field. To them, it seems that “because” you “support” someone, you are entitled to a victory/success. The kind of persons it would be awful to compete against in sport or game because of them being sore whining losers.
Well, i suppose they are the same who had whined against Naomi Osaka when she stepped off Roland-Garros.
“selfish psychopathe” projection much ? Because withdrawing from a competition is hardly ever psychopathic in any case.
(it *could* be selfish in the abstract, but not here)
Well, if you’re not okay with something, Charles Kirk, then I’m not either. Because it’s always all about you.
I wonder why these white men are so eager to feel superior to Simone Biles? It’s a mystery!
She did the right thing for her, and for her team. If she knew she wasn’t in the right headspace to be able to do well, not sacrificing the team’s success for her own ego (by staying in and doing poorly) is an honorable call.
Like, at my job, if a crane operator thinks to themselves “Eh, I’m having a real hard time focusing” we NEED them to say something and swap to a different operator, because not doing so can get people killed.
I’m glad when people are able to step down. We need more good examples of stepping down. We need to stop glorifying carrying on, even if it leads to disastrous consequences.
Admittedly, there are times and places where just pushing through is required.
But when there is a backup who is more capable at that particular time to do the task? Even if any other day you are more capable?
Pushing through when it isn’t necessary should not be as glorified as it is.
I have a lot of respect for Simone Biles, and her call here does nothing to change that.
“Russia” is not competing in this Olympics, you racist incel.
So, lemme get this straight. Piers Morgan, the man who walked off his TV show in a gilt-trimmed huff because he couldn’t take a little criticism, is sneering at an athlete who stopped before she injured herself?
To quote the movie Stick It:
People who can’t get off their couch without help are criticizing the gymnastics GOAT like they have any right. She has four gold medals. What exactly does Piers Morgan have? She has nothing left to prove to anyone. These clowns? Not so much.
If anything this makes her a better role model for kids. She knows her limits and isn’t afraid to set healthy boundaries. And as others already mentioned, not continuing when she didn’t feel up to it was likely the best for the others on her team. Not that this last aspect really matters because it’s her health and well-being and she has every right to say stop.
Plus she was the first to congratulate Melnikova after the Russian win, so yeah, definitely a fan of her.
Moggie:
Yeah, we know why!
I’ve said this before, that there are people (most specifically white men but plenty of white women get in on this too) who do nothing but sit on social media, lying in wait for Black women (any Black person in general but for some reason, Black women are their favorite targets) to do anything that’s even remotely controversial, so they can use that as an opportunity to express the things they hate about Black people, that they can’t express to our faces, or say online without looking like racists, and bigots. Above all else, this sort of person doesn’t want to be called racist, although the only time they have critiques of certain types of behavior is when it comes to Black people.
They’re really just trying to hide the fact that they’re racists, behind criticism of Black celebrities.
https://www.businessinsider.com/racist-abuse-icarly-laci-mosley-women-entertainment-racism-2021-5?utm_source=pocket_mylist
Leslie Jones, Kelly Marie Tran, Candace Patton (who has been enduring the vilest, unending, racist harassment on social media for SIX YEARS, such that her employer at CW had to come out and craft a statement about how they will refuse to tolerate it any longer!), Ana Diop, and now Halle Bailey.
It’s not just Black women either. I don’t want to leave that impression because John Boyega has been enduring much the same endless harassment since that first Star Wars trailer aired in 2014!
Seemingly this is all people are doing on social media now. We can talk to and communicate with any human being in the world, but instead, people are simply using social media to be their worst and vilest selves, and I hate to say this, but this is primarily white westerners doing it, (#notallwhitepeople), and I’m still trying to understand the why of this.
So enter gymnastics and do better than her, then, bro? *snort*
Seriously, this here chubby out of shape fucker would love to see that chubby out of shape fucker do a better job of doing backflips on a 4″ wide piece of wood. And if he can’t, he needs to stop running his mouth.
@VP : while I don’t know elite gymnasts, regular one are similar to climbers in that they look thin and all but actually have a *ton* of strength. On top of, you know, being super flexible. And quite a bit faster than you would have thought, too.
Similarly, I don’t know any SEALs, but I have talked a bit to retired foreign legionaries, and while it might be age showing, they were more impressive for their endurance and composure than for raw physical aptitudes.
(also, foreign legionaries seem to all be assholes to the last degree, to be clear. I don’t recommend ever talking to one, and if you have to, try to either be a figure of authority or have one handy)
Some Chick:
Have you noticed that the loudest people on social media are the ones who have accomplished nothing more in life than blowing hot air, eating, sh***ing and breathing…
.
This is probably because actual accomplished people are too busy accomplishing stuff to be harshly critiquing strangers online over things that don’t affect them.
Lakitha K Tolbert
Yep, and it would be funny if it didn’t have any real world implications. It’s just so…delusional. Like sure you absolutely know what she’s going through because of that one time you had to sprint to catch your flight. They really need to have their wrong opinions quietly and in private.
From what I read this morning, Simone Biles has “the twisties”, basically the same thing that is called “the yips” in many other sports, where your body stops automatically doing the things you have trained it to automatically do. In some other sports, one might choose to keep competing with reduced performance. Do to the nature of gymnastics, trying to compete like that can easily get you injured or killed when you land wrong. So she is obviously making the right choice, and those calling her out for it are basically wishing for her to be injured or worse.
It’s just like when Naomi withdrew from her tennis match for her mental health. The second a woman of color wants to take care of herself and doesn’t bend backwards to perform for others, people want to call her weak and a sociopath
@Victorious Parasol:
As someone who did gymnastics in high school, and martial arts through University, and who these days mostly just uses that to choreograph fight scenes in written stories… yeah, pretty much. Professional gymnasts are an amazing example of what the human body is capable of if someone decides to obsessively focus on something. It’s a lot harder than it looks, and making it look easy is even harder.
I still remember my reaction when a friend showed me a video of Anastasia Sokolova. She’s not a gymnast; she was a pole dancer who was on Ukraine’s Got Talent a few years back. There was one spot in which she was leaning back against the pole, had her hands over her head grasping the pole, and then just rolled her body upwards until her knees were over her head and she could wrap her legs around the pole above her, before letting go with her hands. And she made it look casual, while having a standard lean dancer’s build. And I’m sitting there going ‘Holy !@#$ the level of upper body strength needed to pull that off…’
Speaking of Charlie Kirk, am I the only one who hates that he’s (more or less) poisoned the phrase ’Turning Point’ as an organization name? Because if you do a Google search on that phrase and filter out Kirk’s group you get a ton of hits for things like domestic violence shelters, drug/alcohol rehab centers, and homeless shelters using that name. Places dedicated to helping the down and out get up, dust themselves off, and learn new healthier skills for handling their lives again. Which is a much better use of that name than what Kirk’s group is doing with it.
@ Seth S
Yeah, that was my thought too. If these guys are so upset about it, why don’t they go compete instead? Oh right, these guys would lose to the average person in a Get Over the Waist High Obstacle event…
@Jenora
My athletic efforts are limited to a few years of fencing, but I still remember what our maestro told us: “It’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye or a few pints of blood.” Then he’d usually tell us about the study demonstrating that a sharp thing only needs to be sharp for the first inch or so in order to go all the way through the human body … so if he shouted “HOLD!” because a blade broke, you knew that meant FREEZE.
Even casual sports can be dangerous. I couldn’t do what Simone Biles does even if I were in my twenties again, even if you discount the psychological stressors she’s under.
I just want to put this here, because Nique says everything I ever wanted to say about this issue. As someone who quit college for my mental health, this entire issue of Black women stoping to take care of their mental health strikes very close to home for me.
I got nothing but support for the decision that I made from my friends and family, so I don’t begin to understand why people are mad at Naomi, and Simone except under the context of Black women being everybody’s mule, and unselfishly carrying the whole world on our shoulders, and where we are called selfish psychopaths whenever we want to take care of our own needs.
https://youtu.be/V24td-RTf2I
@Jenora Feuer : aren’t pole dancers specialized gymnasts anyway ?
As a non-gymnast I can’t tell with precision if their moves are significant easier than gymnast one, but they sure don’t particulary seem so.
The arrogance and lack of compassion are grating. And I’m sure racism plays a part.
Plus, I sympathize with Biles because I’m also trying to get over a problem and balance group vs. individual needs (in her case, anyway, it seems she made the right decision for both).
I’m trying to overcome a specific anxiety: staying in a building alone. Or just being along in general, like when I walk down a street and I can’t see anybody (esp. in a place that’s not too familiar). I know it’s not logical; it’s just the idea of being alone that makes me anxious.
Lately, whenever I have to stay overnight in a place by myself, I haven’t been able to get much sleep. I can’t seem to turn off my “on alert” mode – my heart beats fast and the sensation of that prevents me from sleeping (although if I lie on my back long enough I might doze off near the morning, from exhaustion).
I only got two hours of sleep last night, so today my parents are coming back after staying 1 night away when at first they planned to stay 4 days. It’s not like they’re losing money on a planned trip or a rental, they’re just at my uncle’s cottage, but I feel bad to take them away from their vacation.
I don’t know whether I’ll need therapy again or just time/practice. I had 10 free sessions with public health the past fall, but it was just on the phone and the therapist was trained to deal with general anxiety, not to help people overcome specific phobias. Dunno if this is a phobia exactly, but it’s particularly hard to deal with now, because I just had the 2nd vaccine on Monday and low fever/fatigue might be a side effect. A larger thing is that my boyfriend is moving away this week (just to the next province, but then in January to England for a year and a half). But I have to be more independent and flexible about changes.
Anyway, this is nothing like the danger and pressure of competing in the Olympics; I just felt like venting. Sorry for the long post!