Simone Biles withdrew from the team competition after struggling on vault, ending whatever chance the U.S. women had to win their third consecutive Olympic title. They finished with silver, the first time since the 2010 world championships that the Americans did not win the team title at a worlds or Olympics.
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#Gymnastics #SimoneBiles #Olympics
So proud of them all especially Suni Lee.
And Grace, who is always so quiet and on the background, but who always delivers a decent performance
Or Jordan, who bounced back from a troubled qualification…
Very proud of them all EXCEPT simone, that is just wrong.
If you took a shot every single time they said Biles is the “best in the world” and the “goat” you’d have been drunk in about 3 seconds. This woman had way too much pressure put on her. She’s only human.
@Linda Lambert I guess the crew is “on code”. I really do like Biles, she’s the best gymnast ever. But I don’t love the trend I’m noticing. To be honest, Serena has been shooting herself in the foot since like 2009. Osaka, now Biles. Sloane Stevenson basically blew up her career. Former Junior #1 Taylor Townsend, tanked her career and is an unmarried single mom in her mid 20’s. Even outside of the sports realm, it’s like new trend for women like these jump in front of a camera and pander for help and sympathy. When you live in your own head and convince yourself that the entire world is against you, it’s hard not to become depressed and mentally weak. Keeping it 100%, Martina Navratilova came out of the closet…at a time when it was absolutely not okay. She remained dominant. Andre Agassi overcame drug addiction, and a divorce, to get back to number 1 in the world at an age when most players were retiring. Is Simone really under more pressure than Michael Phelps? He has been open about his mental health struggles, served a 3 month drug suspension, yet still performed. Brett Favre played the game of his life on Monday Night Football less than 24 hours after his father died…Idk, I think that embracing victimhood has consequences. Almost a domino effect. Sha’Carri Richardson was trying to do it before get tested positive for banned substances.
@Brand New So you basically used this opportunity to denigrate many of the best black female athletes in sport while only elevating the white ones. Michael Phelps was smoking pot. He just didn’t do it close enough to competition to get throw out. Agassi should have been suspended when he tested positive but they let him go. He should have been out for three years minimum but he wasn’t. These men didn’t face any real consequences. Phelps was suspended for awhile but was still able to compete in the Olympics. And none of this has to do with Simone Biles. Where any of the people you mentioned repeatedly sexually assaulted by someone they had to see regularly. Did the swim team doctor rape any of the athletes he was carrying for? Did he have to think about something like that every time he got into the water. Take a seat.
@Linda Lambert Please quit the victim act. Phelps NEVER tested positive for any banned substance in his career. He received a 3 month suspension be cause he was photographed with drug paraphernalia in his hand. Had he fought the suspension, he would have won and gotten no sanction because a photograph can be doctored with Photoshop. But unlike someone like the black girl with the tattoos and straight orange stripper wig, Phelps didn’t offer excuses. He took responsibility. His suspension was THREE TIMES LONGER than what Richardson got. He’s just smarter than Richardson, he wasn’t partying just a few weeks before his first Olympics. Michael Phelps has like more than 25 Olympic medals…Richardson has none. She was so entitled and full of herself that she thought she had a right to blatantly break the rules, before she even accomplished anything real. The real reason for concern here is that the previous generation of toxic and bitter women seems to be infecting the younger generation. They’re teaching their daughters that they are born victims. The young girls aren’t mature enough to actually look at their moms, aunts, and grandmothers objectively and ask them what they really accomplished in life at all. Cause from where the rest of the country sits that previous generation looks to be chock full of overweight women, who mill around from church to church, losing their hair, depressed, in debt, no husband in sight.
@Brand New First of all this thread is about Simone Biles. You put Phelps in it. I responded. But he never had to face the consequences that Richardson had. Richards mother passed away during that time. She was grieving. She was wrong for what she did and I never denied that. Agassi skated. If Serena failed a drug test, her career would be over. Again none of these people were sexually assaulted during their sport. She carries that trauma every time she performs. You can’t compare Michael Phelps to any of the girls in gymnastics. If Simone messes up on a vault, she could literally die. Her level of difficulty is through the roof. You don’t have people performing at drastically different levels of difficulty in swimming or tennis. And you need to stop the racism and misogyny. Townsend had a baby. So what. How many tennis players of no color became drug addicts? How many dropped out and didn’t fulfill their potential because they simply were tired of the sport. Some had a baby out of wedlock and continue to play (Azarenka). After the Williams sisters, who do we have that’s comparable. Nobody. Sofia Kenin won one major but she not playing well now and she’s not at the olympics. How many American male athletes have tattoos or have died their hair. You can’t even write a response that doesn’t drip with racism or sexism. Your no different than those racist clowns in England over the soccer match. If Black people lose you hate us, if we win you still hate us (Serena, Venus) and if we stand up for ourselves (Osaka, Kaepernick, Biles) you despise us. Black athletes can’t win with people like you so they will do what they want and take care of them selves when necessary.
Shes in the Olympics. This isn’t Junior High. She was called those things because of her previous performances. So I wouldn’t call it a “shot”, it comes with the territory. If you can’t take the pressure, maybe you’re just not the “goat”?
wtf is wrong with the description “ending whatever chance the U.S. women had to win their third consecutive Olympic title” what a lack of respect to everyone
@turnne No, you’re just projecting your own issues and personal inadequacies on to others. Your entire belief system is based on denying reality and objective truths. That’s why lftists can look at someone with a straight face and tell them that a man with male anatomy is actually a woman. It’s that same bizarre lftist thinking that drives this rce discussion.
Nothing stopped blk girls from participating in gymnastics before Simone Biles. Nothing stopped blk girls from excelling at gymnastics before Simone Biles. Nothing stopped blk girls from being inspired by any of the non-blk athletes. How about you try inspiring blk girls to think critically and to understand that the amount of melanin that a person has shouldn’t preclude you from being inspired by them? If increasing the number of blk women in gymnastics is important to you, then you would do that.
‘…in the sport.’ That’s because people like you were responsible for raising them. Your belief system perpetuates mediocrity. It teaches them that the system was designed to see them fail. Many more would’ve pursued these sports if blk families didn’t ignore these sports up until the day they saw a blk face and suddenly started feigning interest (just like we saw with golf).
‘….are lying then?’ If you actually read what I typed, you would’ve never asked that question. I said the exact opposite: ‘I’m sure there are quite a number of blk girls that think rce is an important factor in finding idols’. What did you think that meant?
A yt Elementary school girl went to a Milwaukee Bucks game with a sign that read ‘Bucks you are my inspiration’. If a 4 foot tall blonde, blue-eyed, yt American Elementary girl can be inspired by a 7 foot West Afrcan blk male player, then blk girls can get inspired by non-blk gymnasts. Stop being rcists and learn to appreciate the things we share.
@Perfect Jelly1 misogyny isn’t cute, take yours to therapy to work on and get it the hell away from everyone else
@Michael Thomas No…I have the life experiences of living in black skin for 57 years. Thats just a fact
What inadequacies have I stated?…What have I said about accepting mediocrity ?
Did you read my post or were you confused with someone else’s?
If you read many of the posts in this thread…some are very frightening and prove my point 100%
@Marvel 2722 That’s only if Simone did well on her events. If she performed as badly on them as she did her vault we could not only have lost to the Russians, but lost out on a medal altogether. Simone performing badly could have been insidious and led to mistakes by the other ladies. It’s better she pulled out of the final instead of letting a bad mental state affect the rest of the team.
@tesina21 I’ve seen true greats become paralyzed, compound fracture their legs, break their necks, dislocate their shoulders, etc. all under pressure because mental health was not a consideration in their day. Maybe if they had been allowed to withdraw when they knew they were dangerously unfocused, those gymnasts would not have suffered as they did.
After all of this, I just hope that Simone is okay. I’m really concerned for her!❤️😭
Reading some of these comments are kind of heart breaking. Everyone can love her and watch her in awe for a decade, but she has 1 time she has to put her mental health first and she’s scrutinized????
What she’s done for this sport is immeasurable! Not just physically, but what she’s done to help change the culture after Larry Nassar to contribute to making USA gymnastics a safer healthier place for all the up and coming gymnasts is incredible.
I believe people making negative comments don’t know the amount of things that have been endured by Simone and many in the sport of gymnastics. If they did, I don’t think they would be making some of these ugly comments. If you support an athlete while they are defying gravity, logic at times and what people to believe as super human abilities, then support them in a moment like this and encourage them to get back to this “superhero we love to watch”!! Simone, you’re still the GOAT and Sunisa, Grace and Jordan…. You are beautiful gymnasts, teammates who absolutely shined during being under immense pressure. You all are a joy to watch and make your country proud for not just what you do physically but for the character you all have! WELL DONE LADIES!! WELL DONE!!
@JoeGator23 I doubt you understand this sport in any way. I can tell by the way you’re talking you’ve never tried to do anything in this sport. If you did you wouldn’t be saying any of this.
@Cara molitor I doubt that you understand that the reason she walked out on her team was essentially not related to her sport whatsoever, but all about “Me” aspect and her self-entitled public arrogance lately ranting across the world how athletically great and socially woke she is. All self-inflicted BS, so whah, whah.
She then topped it off with a really trashy move that crushed her friends’ Olympic dreams due to her own pure selfishness. What if one of them did the same to her and walked off instead?
You are sticking up for a loser, albeit a talented one. She did them unforgivably wrong… for the worst of all wrong reasons- herself-ishness.
@Went There She is already the Goat if she retires now she will go in the Hall of fame, she just putting up stats now. She has advanced in a dominated sport by Asian and whites and now has taken this sport to another level for ladies that the gymnastics changed the rules because she was destroying her comp, so please. If she was white they would say nothing.
@Mrs_ KN She even said she was afraid of making another mistake that would cost ALL of them a medal. Simone told the other ladies they had worked too hard for that. She did the right thing by withdrawing. I would much prefer to see an athlete withdraw than seriously hurt themselves because they could not focus on their job. Btw, where I work an unfocused employee is considered a safety hazard even if they only work in an office setting, for those comparing gymnastics to office work.
@J B Except that wasn’t even 90% for Simone, and it could have cost even more for the team.
You could tell Simone’s head just wasn’t in the competition. She looked lost and I’m glad she decided to pull out before she wound up getting injured
@Amodh and even if that was the case your giving them the attention they want according to you🤣
I think she did injure herself. The way she landed reminded me of Mary Lou Retton.
oh? was this before, during or after she had her GOAT jacket on?
thats true but she should not get a medal for not helping the team.
@Sam T well that’s not how it work if she part of the team she gets medal and she did in the first half but something happened to she did do something
Why didn’t more of these interviewers ask Suni lee about that 15.4 on bars it was one of the greatest thing I have ever seen killed it
Trolls just comment blindly to stir the pot
She carried that team after everything that happened today! I love Simone but the media always talks about her (which I feel like they are a big factor in putting so much pressure on her calling Simone “a robot” or “not a human”) and constantly forgets about how the other girls are just as talented.
The Russian girl was just beside her in those bars. Both did an awesome job
It was a 14. Sore I think
Bingo
Sad that the whole conference is about simone’s issues instead of the other girls’ performances
That’s the nature of having the best gymnast on your team. Its sad but that’s the nature of sports
Thank you, agreed.
Simone kept trying to deflect the attention to the other girls, and that’s part of the problem.
Team mates team work 💪
She is a false idol ,therefore, offensive to God.
Yes, kudos to each one of you, ladies! That’s exactly what teamwork is all about. It’s not about the gold medal, it’s the mental strength all four of you showed and determination. Great job also to your coaches and parents, who prepare you to be where you are now!
If she had gone out there distracted, made a terrible mistake, and become paralyzed, we’d all be feeling much worse about the whole situation now. I’m glad she knew when to step aside.
@Matthew Santos All true.
But truth won’t get you anywhere with some people.
@Matthew Santos and what makes you so certain it wasn’t? It could honestly be either. My question to you is if you take the position of her being triggered and mentally unfit to compete in the team competition ( for whatever reason) then how do you explain her being mentally healthy enough to compete in the all around and individual competitions?
@L.W. Paradis oh please you’re not going anywhere. Get a grip.
@Swan Lake yes, but I’m not the one who’s using partial information to tear someone else down. I’m demonstrating another POV, whether it’s a significant layer of the story or not, to support others. Her past is deserving of some benefit of the doubt.
@Matthew Santos well I surely wasn’t trying to tear her down at all but I can see how my delivery lacked compassion. I could have gotten my POV across without sounding so crass.
The name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the name on the back
Kudos to these athletes for sitting through some of the pointlessness drivel questions. I would have gotten through half then said “okay, we’re tired: let’s rap this up guys.”
@Patrick Jayz oooooo!!!!
@Lynn Hexler-Haan your comment was all encompassing, which included Biles: thus my reply.
@Patrick Jayz sure, but when that teammate’s performances gave your team the edge to even qualify for the Olympics, you’d do well to give her the respect she earned.
@Michael Warren Absolutely not. And that’s an incredibly ignorant philosophy too, by the way. If your little belief system worked, Tom Brady can sit out the Super Bowl because he brought them there and no criticism can be had because he brought them there. You’re a clown.
The obvious thing to do would have been to say
“I would like to quit the news conference”
This whole thing is surprising, but the girls did there thing and good for them! How can you hate Simone Really, she is a hard worker and just had a moment.
@Coco oh wow are you triggered? Lol! Simone didn’t have a dang mental breakdown for crying out loud. She got mad and frustrated with herself bc of what she considered a poor performance and she quit. It was an impulsive decision not some hysterical mental break. This is a SPORT and if she was mentally unfit to be there (as you are acting) she should’ve made that decision before going, giving another woman the chance to fulfill her dream. In my opinion if she’s not mentally healthy enough to compete in the team competition then she isn’t mentally healthy enough to compete in all around or individual competition. Or are you so smart and educated that you think being mentally unhealthy has a pick and chose option.
@Jada Ani Yes. And McKayla said she was crying at times. It’s very hard on these girls. Give them some grace.
@honey lee And only a small pea brain would see it that way.
@Swan Lake Sorry, I didn’t know you had a Doctorate in Psychology.
@Coco sorry didn’t know you were either.
Have any of the interviewers heard of teamwork or teammates? It’s not all about 1 person. Give every one of these ladies their due! They all made it to the Olympics.
THANK YOU! It’s always Simone this and Simone that but nobody want to talk about how Simone was all over place at the olympic trials. It takes more than Simone to win and they are learning that the hard way.
@Elizabeth Chint right in my opinion her Olympic trials performance was a mess. I was surprised the called her first to be apart of team USA.
The media is what got to Team USA. Overly focusing on 1 individual creates gaps in the team. Tean USA should not have let fame and success get to her. It created excess pressure and anxiety. Regardless, she spoke out courageously.
This is the age of WOKE. If your skin tone is too light, you’re irrelevant.
Like most sports except for golf and tennis, Gymnastics is a “team sport”.
I think something people need to remember is that Simone competed at Worlds in Doha with a kidney infection/kidney stones. She pushed through that pain and competed because she felt like she could/had to do it. If she knows what she can handle then we should should also understand that she knows what she can’t handle.
If a person who pushed through kidney stones at an international competition says “hey, this situation is too much, I can’t handle it” then I’m going to take their word for it
@Prince I do get it !! What are you trying to say as a black person ! Especially all the anti black lives matter people around ,too !! And what you said there ,I can agree on many things with you !! But, it wasn’t right for you to put down women .As well as military so on ,those examples are oranges & apples ! I do get what you’re trying to say !
But ,the truth is all the big sports tournaments are rigged !!! Money is the root of evil !!! Only little league isn’t as the kids & their parents could care less of big corporations money & politics !! And they’ll talk !!! Lol. This world is rigged in many ways by the same people !! It’s been going that way for hundreds of years !!! Music ,fashions ,all the rivalries ( sell more = more business ) ,the Oscar’s & the Grammy are all rigged ,too ! Elections ,too!! Left & right work together !!! Even the colours of the year are set ! They think we’re steeple ! Why are all the black people struggling to get better careers & jobs & get a better educations & blacks are minority ,yet the most criminals in the jails are black !? Think !! Are black people bad from the roots & white people are all good & innocent !!? No !! There’s not such a thing ! And why do they live in the certain areas in the States or Britain !?? And the majority of them are living in poverty ?
Because it’s all fixed !!!
The sport industry isn’t an exception sadly !!!
I know these !! As I grew up in the environment with people from the entertainment business ( they are all tied together of those business ,they rig ,steal other’s works , yet claim as theirs !! They pay money to get on the music charts !!! They pay money to get their artists to get awards !! Only their family members, relatives,close friends or lovers can get in !! Talents don’t matter ! The judges of Oscar, Grammy don’t even listen ,or watch all the albums or movies ,either !! ) !!
You might think I am way off ,or out of the line !!? I am telling you ! This is why you shouldn’t accuse or disrespect the fellow black person !! I really feel for you !! I am Japanese ,not even a black gal !! Before coming to the States more than 33 years ago ,I used to think many black people were playing victims & a bit of drama kings & queens !! I WAS SO WRONG !!! You’ve got many legit opinions & criticisms there !! I agree ! Not all of them,though ! I sympathize with you trying to say as a black person !! I know that you’ve got a black pride ! And I know the powers black people got !! You guys are so strong & powerful people !!! Really talented people !! No other race can come near to what you’ve got inside !!! That is why some are feard of you ! And this world isn’t fair to black people !!! But ,that’s more why ,you need to support each other ,not to devide ,or harshly criticize some real strong talented beauty like her !!! I bet there was more to this !!! And we’ll never hear it !
Simone Biles has achieved 19 gold medals ,she is not a quitter ! That’s why I don’t accept this !! Hoping you’ll understand ! Hoping that you’re having a good day ! 💛💜🥁🐉🎤💞
@Prince Well i am disappointed with a lot of Americans for not doing their part in getting vaccine and helping the US reach herd immunity. When will these Americans step up. It’s a life and death situation. Simone just cause the US team a gold, that is not life and death. Where is your priorities?
@Prince If a baseball player has a bad day he’s not likely to break his neck or suffer a devastating fracture or be paralyzed. A gymnast can. I’ve seen them do it. It’s better that Simone withdrew before hurting herself and totally screwing up the team morale. Think we would have a team silver if Simone had gotten hurt? No. The rest of the team would have lost their focus and made more mistakes. Instead the ladies focused on ramping it up with Simone there to cheer them on. When Simone not only pops, but damn near sits a vault that should be easyish for her, you know something is wrong.
@Prince 😂 You obviously have not read much on how men crumble when they get a cold or have to take a shot….Imagine men having to give birth to a whole human!
@Counter Racist Evolving Engineer – The CREE Show she doesn’t have a cold or pregnant so what is your point. She qualified and did pre trials and quit because she wasn’t doing good . Sounds like a quitter to me
when you stop doing it for the love of the sport and it becomes a burden, no matter what level you’re at, it’s time to pause
EXACTLY….
Time to pause? Really?? You think it’s OK to suddenly ‘pause’ right in the middle of the competition?! You lefties are the “smart” party, huh?
@K 123 yeah… what’s the problem Mr. Fox News? Not being entertained? Keep ’em coming Tucker
@RichVid Wow – that certainly countered my opinion. ‘Smart’ party, right? But gosh, let me try to find common ground with you.. Now that I reconsider, it was heroic of her to quit rather than lose – even right in the middle of the competition. It demonstrated how brave and courageous she is. Simone is a role model for our youth! Quitters and cheaters are morally upstanding role models for America. If you cant win and you can’t cheat then QUIT! Take your ball and go home! -signed every lunatic leftie soft progressive, everywhere.
@K 123 you were probably that parent who dragged his kid on to the ball field no matter how much they hated playing.. you were going to show them.. because that’s what it’s all about right? You just don’t get it… And be sure to give yourself another plus one
Also what the USA Women’s Gymnastics has been through since Rio is astounding that they came back and won silver. There was a time that I thought the sex abuse scandal would carry into this Olympics.
Hi
Especially with that recent news that the FBI essentially failed to investigate sexual abuse claims immediately after they had been filed. Can’t imagine how these gymnasts felt learning that news, especially Simone, just prior to Tokyo. Maybe this setback will help keep this important issue in the spotlight, whereas a dominant team Gold may have quieted or overshadowed those discussions.
It absolutely carry over into this Olympics. I believe it played a part in why Simone withdrew from the team competition. I would not be surprised to learn that she has been having flashbacks to the last Olympics when Nassar was still there abusing them. I pray for her that she finds peace of mind and that she comes back and kicks butt and take names in the all around and the individual apparatus but regardless of what happens she is and will be for many years to come the greatest of all time because even in a culture of abuse She did the impossible and continues to do the impossible. I have major respect for her.
@FiftyFeistyandFabulous! get well soon
@Taylor Schell
Sadly, I doubt the USAG & USA Ladies Gymnastics will ever leave the mind’s of people the world over, it is synonymous with Nasser & his cohorts & their misdeeds.
It should not be Ms Biles responsibility to
” police” the team or lead a campaign on the issues that clearly still affect her. It should rest on the shoulder’s of the governing body now reconvened, reorganised & redesigned.
There is a consensus that includes Ally Raisman who believe there has not been enough done yet to iron out all the problem’s that were identified, the whole debacle seems to be never ending. It does not bode well for the future.
Suni was amazing! She outscored everyone and carried the team. She did her job through and through with no mistakes. She deserves that all around and bars gold.
Is Simone competing in the All Around? If she is, she’s the favorite still.
@Bree Minor Individual competitions — whether you win or not — are VERY DIFFERENT from TEAM competition. In individual competition, you could literally quit in the middle of a routine and it affects NO ONE other than yourself. But in a TEAM COMPETITION, when you quit in the middle of a competition, you leave your TEAMMATES in an untenable situation, because other competing teams have an NUMERICAL ADVANTAGE over your TEAM.
If you don’t understand flow charts like that, you shouldn’t even be watching or commenting on these things.
Yes, believe it or not… we all — couch potatoes, single mothers, mountain climbers, gymnasts, nations — feel pressure. It’s not only Biles or that he situation is uniquely different!
Suni Lee is only 18; now out of the blue, when the team competition was still in action, she learned she had to step up and perform without mistake or the TEAM representing the USA, as a nation, was going to lose medals everyone in the team worked their entire lives for… you don’t think Suni or another young much younger TEAM MEMBERS feel the pressure, too?
Hope Team USA can win some individual golds or medals.
@Kiab Toom Lauj you are not under the same amount of scrutiny and pressure as Simone Biles. No one would bother writing a negative comment such as yourself on a YouTube video about your pressure.
Obviously it made it harder for her teammates. No one is denying this. But if she mentally didn’t feel ready for this, especially at this world class level, then how should she be expected to succeed? Mental health is real.
Why would she sabotage herself like this? Grow up.
Reward her cowardice, by all means!
Simone left the team when they ever down 1.067 after vault. The other 3 girls did an amazing job to medal!
Sunisa Lee did GREAT JOB, Simone took the right choice.