Olympics- Simone Biles quits and Russians win gold

[superjohn]

I'm a fan or her as a person and athlete, this is a bit sad/disappointing to see.

 

[krinklecut]

I'm a fan or her as a person and athlete, this is a bit sad/disappointing to see.

she should have thought about how disappointed you would have been instead of her own mental health deteriorating due to the pressure of being the greatest of all time.

 

[Chin Diesel]

This thread should go sideways by the first response.

First, Russia isn't even competing in these Olympics.

We are about one more athlete in any sport citing mental health from this becoming a caricature. Athletes at the highest level have always had to be a bit whacked to put in the time and energy to compete at this level. Somewhere MJ is laughing at all this. Lebron should be tweeting his support at any second.

Elite competition has always been harder on women since their bodies develop earlier and can compete at the world level while still in their teens- gymnastics, swimming, tennis, golf,......... It's almost unheard of for men to win medals as teenagers, for women it's the norm. No way their minds can consistently keep up with their bodies. Pressure of social media following them from their pre teen days prolly doesn't help. Remember this with NIL.

I wish her well. In no way do I feel like she let down herself or her country. This too shall pass.

 

[nomar]

she should have thought about how disappointed you would have been instead of her own mental health deteriorating due to the pressure of being the greatest of all time.

I didn't read Superjohn's post as being critical of her.

It is disappointing to her and her fans. If she had broken an ankle, you would describe it as disappointing, right?

 

[nomar]

This thread should go sideways by the first response.

First, Russia isn't even competing in these Olympics.

We are about one more athlete in any sport citing mental health from this becoming a caricature. Athletes at the highest level have always had to be a bit whacked to put in the time and energy to compete at this level. Somewhere MJ is laughing at all this. Lebron should be tweeting his support at any second.

Elite competition has always been harder on women since their bodies develop earlier and can compete at the world level while still in their teens- gymnastics, swimming, tennis, golf,......... It's almost unheard of for men to win medals as teenagers, for women it's the norm. No way their minds can consistently keep up with their bodies. Pressure of social media following them from their pre teen days prolly doesn't help. Remember this with NIL.

I wish her well. In no way do I feel like she let down herself or her country. This too shall pass.

Also: Larry Nassar

I would say that recognizing a reality and giving it a name doesn't make it a caricature.

 

[krinklecut]

I didn't read Superjohn's post as being critical of her.

It is disappointing to her and her fans. If she had broken an ankle, you would describe it as disappointing, right?

with the tone of the title and the post OP is making it sound like it's Biles fault that the ROC won and that he is disappointed in her. That's what it sounds like to me. /shrug

 

[nomar]

with the tone of the title and the post OP is making it sound like it's Biles fault that the ROC won and that he is disappointed in her. That's what it sounds like to me. /shrug

I suppose "quits" is pejorative but the post itself wasn't critical.

 

[superjohn]

Also: Larry Nassar

I would say that recognizing a reality and giving it a name doesn't make it a caricature.

That monster (Nassar) is the first thing I thought of when she quit.

 

[alexd]

First, Russia isn't even competing in these Olympics.

The name and flag and anthem are different. But they are most definitely there. The IOC's definition of "Banning" is a freakn joke

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

When someone says that the happiest moments of a career in which they were the best in the history of their chosen sport were their times away from the sport you know something's up.

I think she's mentioned that the only reason she's still competing is that she's the last active Nassar accuser and her absence would make it harder to press for reform of whatever the governing body is.

 

[krinklecut]

When someone says that the happiest moments of a career in which they were the best in the history of their chosen sport were their times away from the sport you know something's up.

I think she's mentioned that the only reason she's still competing is that she's the last active Nassar accuser and her absence would make it harder to press for reform of whatever the governing body is.

I can't imagine being in that position. Insane. People in this thread comparing it to some perceived mental fortitude of Michael Jordan are a joke.

 

[Get a Job]

I can't imagine being in that position. Insane. People in this thread comparing it to some perceived mental fortitude of Michael Jordon are a joke.

To be fair, at least @Chin Diesel's response was nuanced. He wasn't simply spouting machismo like a bunch of upcoming posts will (suck it up, participation trophies, blah blah blah).

 

[mustafa]

Being mentally tough comes with the territory.
Her brand will, no doubt, be affected. She's not the total star that we thought she was. No way around it.
Athletes who overcome all these challenges are the ones who deservingly receive high praise.
Just a disappointing situation all around.

 

[superjohn]

When someone says that the happiest moments of a career in which they were the best in the history of their chosen sport were their times away from the sport you know something's up.

I think she's mentioned that the only reason she's still competing is that she's the last active Nassar accuser and her absence would make it harder to press for reform of whatever the governing body is.

My guess is it's all Nassar related. The pressure of not letting him win and the pressure of her representing for all his victims most likely led to this which makes it even sadder...

This isn't an athlete who couldn't just deal with the pressure of sports at the highest level or couldn't deal with media obligations, this is someone who was violated in the worst possible way and has to carry that for herself and others. At least that's my read on it. I hope she can regroup and win a gold in a couple of days but totally understand if she drops out.

 

[krinklecut]

To be fair, at least @Chin Diesel's response was nuanced. He wasn't simply spouting machismo like a bunch of upcoming posts will (suck it up, participation trophies, blah blah blah).

See:

Being mentally tough comes with the territory.
Her brand will, no doubt, be affected. Sher's not the total star that we thought she was. No way around it.
Athletes who overcome all these challenges are the ones who deservingly receive high praise.
Just a disappointing situation all around.

 

[krinklecut]

Being mentally tough comes with the territory.
Her brand will, no doubt, be affected. Sher's not the total star that we thought she was. No way around it.
Athletes who overcome all these challenges are the ones who deservingly receive high praise.
Just a disappointing situation all around.

A young athlete saying "I can't perform to the best of my abilities because I am unwell mentally and will not be able to deliver a winning performance for my teammates" deserves all high praise in the world. She's certainly the total star I thought she was.

 

[mustafa]

My guess is it's all Nassar related. The pressure of not letting him win and the pressure of her representing for all his victims most likely led to this which makes it even sadder...

This isn't an athlete who couldn't just deal with the pressure of sports at the highest level or couldn't deal with media obligations, this is someone who was violated in the worst possible way and has to carry that for herself and others. At least that's my read on it. I hope she can regroup and win a gold in a couple of days but totally understand if she drops out.

Then she should have stayed home.
The Nasser stuff is old history. Devastating and terrible, YES. But not recent.
She simply should have stayed home rather than quit on the biggest stage. Perhaps, the next star could have been on the team rather than Biles. Instead Biles goes tot he Olympics and then says its all just too much when her team needed her the most.
Its all about endorsements and money. If she stayed home rather than go to the Olympics, it would have cost her millions. So she goes to the Olympics and all of a sudden, its all too much for her? Come on.

 

[krinklecut]

Then she should have stayed home.
The Nasser stuff is old history. Devastating and terrible, YES. But not recent.
She simply should have stayed home rather than quit on the biggest stage. Perhaps, the next star could have been on the team rather than Biles. Instead Biles goes tot he Olympics and then says its all just too much when her team needed her the most.
Its all about endorsements and money. If she stayed home rather than go to the Olympics, it would have cost her millions. So she goes to the Olympics and all of a sudden, its all too much for her? Come on.

You seem to have a really good handle on trauma and mental health!

 

[Waquoit]

I didn't read Superjohn's post as being critical of her.

He called her a quitter in the heading.

 

[Chuck]

Some of the reactions I've seen (on the internet, not this thread) are shocking. I'm not shocked that it's what people believe, and I guess I'm not shocked that people say stuff anonymously, but it's shocking nonetheless. I've seen racist messages, but those people would attack her about anything. The worse stuff is about how soft athletes have gotten and that she's a loser, etc. I'm sure she feels horrible about letting her teammates down, but this isn't a woman that I've ever read bad stuff about. She doesn't appear to be a selfish, entitled, person and seems to have been a supportive teammate in a sport that requires teammates to compete against each other.

If Simone was your daughter, sister, friend, etc. would you give her crap about her decision, or would you support her? Her inner turmoil must be unbearable. The way I look at it is she doesn't have to be lauded for her decision, but she should not be mocked or attacked. If she broke her ankle in prelims nobody would fault her for dropping out. Instead, her mind is injured and that's an important part of an athlete's strengths.

 

[LIuconn]

Next person up

 

[superjohn]

Then she should have stayed home.
The Nasser stuff is old history. Devastating and terrible, YES. But not recent.
She simply should have stayed home rather than quit on the biggest stage. Perhaps, the next star could have been on the team rather than Biles. Instead Biles goes tot he Olympics and then says its all just too much when her team needed her the most.
Its all about endorsements and money. If she stayed home rather than go to the Olympics, it would have cost her millions. So she goes to the Olympics and all of a sudden, its all too much for her? Come on.

My guess is she thought she could handle it and no the Nassar thing isn't old news for her or any of the hundreds of other girls/women, they'll be dealing with that in some form for the rest of their lives.

 

[ucawn]

I'm a fan or her as a person and athlete, this is a bit sad/disappointing to see.

I’m not so disappointed that she quit... and hey maybe it did benefit the team like she wanted it to.
But what I do have a problem with is people calling her the “ultimate teammate”. Your captain is supposed to lead and she goes MIA at the start of a huge meet, and leaves teenagers worried about her health and now they must figure out new routines to cover for the events.

I understand the importance of mental health but you just put “all the weight of the world” on the shoulders of an 18 and 20 year old to do your events.

 

[superjohn]

He called her a quitter in the heading.

What? I said she quit and she did quit.

 

[krinklecut]

I’m not so disappointed that she quit... and hey maybe it did benefit the team like she wanted it to.
But what I do have a problem with is people calling her the “ultimate teammate”. Your captain is supposed to lead and when she goes MIA at the start of a huge meet, and leaves teenagers to figure out new routines to cover for the events she’ll miss AND in the postgame interviews her teammates were clearly worried bc they did not know what happened.

When Brady & the Patriots were down 28-3 you don’t think Brady was feeling the pressure? Throws that pick-6 and says to Bill “eh I guess I just don’t have it today.” I understand the importance of mental health but you just put “all the weight of the world” on the shoulders of an 18 and 20 year old to do your events.

can we all please collectively stop with this false equivalency garbage?

 

[Kenny11]

Being mentally tough comes with the territory.
Her brand will, no doubt, be affected. She's not the total star that we thought she was. No way around it.
Athletes who overcome all these challenges are the ones who deservingly receive high praise.
Just a disappointing situation all around.

I'm disappointed too but I've followed her for years now and she has been one of the most mentally tough athletes I've ever seen. She has been winning world championships ever since she was a teenager and had multiple gold medals in the olympics 5 years ago. All of these were also under incredibly difficult circumstances and loads of pressure. Gymnastics in general, has to be one of the most mentally taxing sports, which I know as a father of a gymnast. The fear of being all alone, literally being judged and feeling the need to be perfect, the insanely high chance of being injured and the fact that they are always injured anyway is pretty tough...but again, she has overcame that countless times before.

Maybe this situation is just different from anything we could compare it to with other athletes in the past because of her being the face of the Olympics, no spectators or family, the chance of being told any minute that you tested positive for covid and can't participate, and the Nassar situation and everything that came along with that.

 

[arch]

Can we assume that none of you folks will be less supportive if she ”recovers” in time for individual competitions?

 

[krinklecut]

I'm disappointed too but I've followed her for years now and she has been one of the most mentally tough athletes I've ever seen. She has been winning world championships ever since she was a teenager and had multiple gold medals in the olympics 5 years ago. All of these were also under incredibly difficult circumstances and loads of pressure. Gymnastics in general, has to be one of the most mentally taxing sports, which I know as a father of a gymnast. The fear of being all alone, literally being judged and feeling the need to be perfect, the insanely high chance of being injured and the fact that they are always injured anyway is pretty tough...but again, she has overcame that countless times before.

Maybe this situation is just different from anything we could compare it to with other athletes in the past because of her being the face of the Olympics, no spectators or family, the chance of being told any minute that you tested positive for covid and can't participate, and the Nassar situation and everything that came along with that.

On top of the Nassar stuff, she's also spoken about how dangerous gymnastics is (certainly one of the more dangerous sports out there) and how when she was younger she could brush that off, but getting older the reality of it has a large impact on her mental wellbeing.

There is a festering cauldron of reasons Biles could have been driven to the point of needing to sit an event out. Any of the explanations for her mental state are valid, and it's valid even if there are no underlying reasons.

I'd prefer my child look up to athletes like Biles and Osaka, strong women who understand when to listen to their mental health, than some of the names like Jordan and Brady getting tossed around in this thread.

 

[navery12]

Then she should have stayed home.
The Nasser stuff is old history. Devastating and terrible, YES. But not recent.
She simply should have stayed home rather than quit on the biggest stage. Perhaps, the next star could have been on the team rather than Biles. Instead Biles goes tot he Olympics and then says its all just too much when her team needed her the most.
Its all about endorsements and money. If she stayed home rather than go to the Olympics, it would have cost her millions. So she goes to the Olympics and all of a sudden, its all too much for her? Come on.

I truly hope nobody in your life has to deal with mental illness, and if they do I hope you gain some empathy to help them through it between now and then

 

[Fishy]

Basically, she got the yips in mid-air which is about as bad a place to get the yips as there can be. Someone who “doesn’t know where (she) is” in mid-air is going to get horribly injured if she tries it again, so I really don’t think she had much choice but to quit. Plus, it probably saved the silver for the team.

She hasn’t really seemed at her best lately and given the expectations, I imagine that all piled up her and she cracked. It happens - it’s just a lot more noticeable when you are spinning 12’ off the ground rather than taking an at-bat or a three at the buzzer.

I’m guessing she’ll be fine and she’ll win what she is supposed to win.