My Thoughts on Simone Biles…
I’m not going to write an entire article about Simone Biles taking herself out of the Team Final and Individual All-Around competitions, because so many news publications already have and I don’t want to give any more life to those headlines. As a gymnastics fan and fan of Simone Biles, I’m pretty disappointed with how she’s been treated since being at the Tokyo Olympics and even since the Gymnastics Olympic Trials in St. Louis.
I do want to acknowledge, however, that there have been many great social media posts on the topic of Simone Biles this week, from the standpoints of athleticism/being an athlete, mental health, mental health and physical health, supporting Black women in their decision-making and when they are treated badly by the media, rest, etc. I encourage you to read, and mostly importantly share, posts like these so we can all learn from this experience.
Here are a few thoughts that I have:
1. There are things that you cannot do physically without your mental health; and there are things you cannot do mentally without your physical health. They are not separate, for they are inherently linked and constantly affecting each other.
2. Think about a time that you have been at your lowest (or when others may have perceived that you were at your lowest). And think about how hard it was to heal in that moment.
Would you want all eyes on you?
3. Simone Biles is not only the most-decorated gymnast of all time — which speaks specifically to how frequently she wins — , but is also an elite gymnast at the top of her sport and a person who knows herself best.
How can anyone tell her what she’s capable or not capable of doing when 1. We don’t know her body 2. We don’t know her mind 3. She’s already shown us time and time again that there are plenty of things she can do that we didn’t think were possible?
4. Simone Biles deserves love, care, rest, understanding, and autonomy — just like any other human.
