Simone Biles

[th87]

kind of shocked she has anxiety issues when nba is literally world champions theres no bigger stage. to make it worse, theres 0 crowds so its one of the easiest environments as well. i suspect its from internally maybe shes getting bullied.

I didn't see the interview for myself but when I briefly talked about this with my buddy he mentioned a recent interview where Biles was saying all the other girls make fun of her for being "old" and call her grandma and she seemed legit bummed about it.

It's a good thing she doesn't play a more popular sport if being called old throws her off mentally.

Jackie Robinson received death threats. Even recenrly, Ben Simmons got destroyed for simply not shooting. Giannis was being called Robin despite averaging only 30+

And none of them were sexually assaulted by their trainer.

[spacemonkey]

Imagine thinking that pulling out of likely the last Olympics of your athletic career was strategized to "boost your future career". Just galaxy brain stupid.

[Sedale Threatt]

Kirk is right the Russians are having a field day clowning us behind closed doors right now.

lol, who cares? Their athletes can't even compete under the Russian flag because of their relentless cheating.

[infinite11285]

Kirk is right the Russians are having a field day clowning us behind closed doors right now.

The only way anyone can assert something that ridiculous is if that individual is abreast of Russian media, which says more about that individual than the target of their misplaced venom.

We should really stop using Russia as a litmus test to stoke division, but that's a completely different topic all on its own.

[lobosloboslobos]

I have mixed feelings on it all.

On one hand I understand it, it's tough to compete under that pressure and she wasn't at her best. And her mental health is what matters most.

On the other hand, it hurts to see them win silver when they should have been bringing home the gold. And Russia of all countries wins the gold.

They weren't going to win the gold anyway. That's probably why she dropped out. She knew it wasn't going to happen.

So you have a Black Lives Matter sig and a Georg Floyd avatar and this is how you disrespect a Black woman who has achieved more than anyone else in her sport's history when she takes a bold step to protect herself? And after she has been abused for years while winning multiple gold medals and world championships?

I thought Black Lives Matter? Or is it that only Black Men's Lives Matter? sure sounds like it from a lot of the comments in this thread...

[DCasey91]

Imagine if Lebron decide to quit in the nba finals due to mental health. Dude would be blasted not called a hero. Mental health is only taking serious when it's females but when its a man everyone laughs

At the very worse case scenario if a gymnast is off their game is wheelchair bound or a catastrophic injury.

Pressure aside which would be enormous obviously

There’s more danger and serious consequences involved.

[th87]

She probably knew she was losing her grip mentally (due to any number of insane stressors), but thought she could power through it.

Upon trying to do so, she became overwhelmed and realized she couldn't, and had to bow out.

This reads exactly like the Anthony Davis situation, except with his groin. And the whole if she's not 100% mentally, she could die.

I don't see what the butthurt is.

[heezyo2o]

JT knows what's up.

Read on Twitter

Being a hero is self sacrificing to help your team and rising through adversity. It definitely isn't "Things seem off, I'm outta here. Good luck the rest of the way. Deuces."

What an idiot that Charlie Kirk guy is. This is a talk show host talking about an olympic multi time gold medalist with records at her young age?

She probably has worked harder in one month (and that's probably every other month for 7 or 8 years) than he probably has his entire life. Weak? What he's saying is weak. Extremely weak.

Not supporting him or even watched it, but is it any different from people on here commenting on NBA players

[bwgood77]

Being a hero is self sacrificing to help your team and rising through adversity. It definitely isn't "Things seem off, I'm outta here. Good luck the rest of the way. Deuces."

What an idiot that Charlie Kirk guy is. This is a talk show host talking about an olympic multi time gold medalist with records at her young age?

She probably has worked harder in one month (and that's probably every other month for 7 or 8 years) than he probably has his entire life. Weak? What he's saying is weak. Extremely weak.

Not supporting him or even watched it, but is it any different from people on here commenting on NBA players

Depends on what they are saying exactly.

[The_Hater]

Americans should be disgusted with the actions of many of their brotherhood today. The vile attacks on a decorated gymnast that has overcome every possible adversity during her life. Just shameful.

[minnytola1960]

I'm in the middle as well. On one hand, as big a stage this was, gymnastics is just a sport, a game. If pulling out is truly going to result in the betterment of her life and well being, I support her decision, regardless of what others may say. There's no need to wreck your life over what, at the end of the day, is just a game.

On the other hand, I wouldn't go as far to call her "strong" or a "hero" for this decision as some people seem to be suggesting. At the end of the day, she simply wasn't mentally strong enough to perform. Like it or not, that's weakness, not strength. True strength would have been winning the competition.

[Elnegron]

The same mfs crying about USA not being equal are the same crying about Simone sitting out. My mental health worth more than a piece of metal on a string

[K For Three]

I have mixed feelings on it all.

On one hand I understand it, it's tough to compete under that pressure and she wasn't at her best. And her mental health is what matters most.

On the other hand, it hurts to see them win silver when they should have been bringing home the gold. And Russia of all countries wins the gold.

They weren't going to win the gold anyway. That's probably why she dropped out. She knew it wasn't going to happen.

Was it technically impossible? I apologize if I was wrong in my original post (I had posted this thread on the Olympic forum btw and it got moved here too).

I was hoping they would win the gold. Maybe getting the silver was the best outcome in all of this and her dropping out helped the team without any of her potential mistakes?

[djsunyc]

Curious, what's the reaction if Lebron decided not to play in a Game 7 of the NBA finals, citing mental health issues?

I understand that context matters and it's not fair to compare. I'm just genuinely curious what people's thoughts are.

i think more of today's athletes (and people in general) are more in tune of emotional and mental well being. i think if anyone feels they are unwell then we should be empathetic towards them. we are all guilty of placing more importance on celebrities b/c of their popularity and net worth...therefore criticisms are way more harsh. there's a lack of empathy which, imho, stems from a place of jealousy and anger.

to me, if lebron said he can't deal with stuff mentally and has to sit out...a game 7, then obviously there is something wrong with him and we should understand and empathize with it.

there is really no reason to be upset about any of this. folks going at her are making things worse and is really incomprehensible. the issue is with that individual and not with biles.

[BostonCouchGM]

she probably saw how good this was for Namoi Osaka's brand so she followed suit rather than just fail like everyone else who doesn't have it for a particular competition or game is forced to endure. The disingenuous apologists comparing MJ retiring or Lou Gehrig stepping aside, to this, is embarrassing. The only comparable thing I can remember of this magnitude is "No Mas" by Roberto Duran in the Sugar Ray Leonard fight but that didn't affect anyone else since it wasn't a team sport....and to a much lesser extent, Pippen refusing to go into the game because he wasn't getting the last shot. In both those instances, they were excoriated. Why are so many blue checkmarks bending over backwards to defend this?

[Plossum]

People bagging Biles are absolute clowns. You have no idea what it takes to make it to the truly elite level she is at and the pressures she has to go through to stay on top.

Easy to be a tough talker when your crowning athletic achievement is bashing your keyboard day after day.

Biles is a legend and she deserves better than the jealous haters just itching to tear her down every chance they get.

[djsunyc]

People bagging Biles are absolute clowns. You have no idea what it takes to make it to the truly elite level she is at and the pressures she has to go through to stay on top.

Easy to be a tough talker when your crowning athletic achievement is bashing your keyboard day after day.

Biles is a legend and she deserves better than the jealous haters just itching to tear her down every chance they get.

they probably have mental issues as well so we need to empathize with them too

[Jedi32]

Soft move. Competition got tough and she folded simple as that.

i wonder if people really believe bs like this?

[Bergmaniac]

Soft move. Competition got tough and she folded simple as that.

i wonder if people really believe bs like this?

Sadly, yes.

[Dupp]

99% of people criticising her could never live her life. Both live with the pressures and the workload.