re: Simone Biles with a message for all the girls out there

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No, she is playing a sport to represent her country in a competition against other countries

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So? Does that mean that she can’t walk away if she wants?

Sounds a lot like what you leftists did on the plantations a few centuries ago.

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This is Phelps pulling himself out of the pool halfway through a swim because he is behind.

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Actually it is not like this at all. Phelps won't drown if he has issues when swimming. I can tell that no one on this board knows anything at all about this sport. Do you ever watch it besides the Olympics? Have you coached it, done it, or had a child do it at a competitive level? Hmmm, I thought not!

Anyone who knows gymnastics could see she was totally lost in the air when she did her vault in finals. She bailed out of it too soon because she didn't know where she was. That's why you see her arms coming out to the sides. She had a whole 'nother twist she didn't do. He arms would have staying into her body. It's sort of like when the figure skater gets worried about making their jumps and turns a triple into a single...only in gymnastics, making that decision when you are 15 feet in the air (that is truly how high up Biles is!) is extremely dangerous. You all may not know this, but many girls have gotten paralyzed on vaults gone wrong. This could be the case on any tumbling or gymnastics skill where you truly get lost. It's worse for Olympic level, because they are so high up and traveling so fast.

I seriously doubt that Simone's teammates feel she let them down. They know how dangerous the stuff they do is. They just try to not think about it! She made the right decision to withdraw because well, walking for the rest of your life is important!

My daughter did gymnastics for 7 years. I have known many high level gymnasts and coaches. Not a single one thinks she made the wrong decision. It's really about gymnastics and safety, not about mental health.

Maybe y'all should stick to something you actually know about.

Downvote away!

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I think there are two separate narratives. Personally - and I suspect many share my POV - it is not a personal animus towards her. It is a reaction to how she is being praised for quitting and praised only because she's African-American.

It was not long ago that we praised Kerri Strug for competing on a hurt ankle to lead TeamUSA to victory. Her courage to compete in the face of adversity inspired a nation.

Today, we're celebrating an elite athlete who had a bad performance and then quit on her team because she could not face the pressure. She's being praised for her bravery for standing up for "mental health" and her courage NOT to compete because she's butthurt.

This is just another symptom where "violence is silence" and the further emasculation of America. Athletics is mental and physical. The world is littered with physical specimens that lacked the mental toughness to win (Jeff George anyone). The fact that failure is now celebrated says a lot about our culture.

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That has been the best explanation I've seen so far.

I don't agree with all of it but I can see how some can feel this way.

Very interesting take...and, if Biles said those words, there would be less criticism of her.

However, her actions and language are different than what you wrote. So, while you may be correct in the danger, and I do not disagree, it is something she has done thousands of times without injury or danger. Just admit that she quit. She quit on herself, she quit on her teammates, her fellow us competitors that could not qualify because she took their spot and she quit on her country and her sponsors.

I'm ok with that because I'm not watching a minute of this.

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It was not long ago that we praised Kerri Strug for competing on a hurt ankle to lead TeamUSA to victory. Her courage to compete in the face of adversity inspired a nation.

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The irony is that Kerri did not need to do that vault to get gold, and it basically ended her career. The US coaches were abusive (they were fired) and both Kerri and Simone Biles were sexually abused by the team doctor Nassar.

Grant Hill didn't quit on a busted ankle in a 1st round matchup and it nearly killed him.

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She made the right decision to withdraw because well, walking for the rest of your life is important!

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Then why didn't she just drop out in time for another gymnast to compete?

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Because it hit her DURING competition. She hadn't felt exactly right. But she had never bailed on a skill. She bailed and was lost on the vault she competed. At that point, she knew the team was better without her.

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They don't have alternates available? I've never seen this before in decades of watching the Olympics. Not buying it.

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Biles did NOT let anyone down or send a bad message to anyone. She is playing a sport for OUR ENTERTAINMENT! That is it. She worked hard to get where she is and then decided she didn’t want to do it anymore.

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Then she could have done that before Olympic trials thereby allowing the next qualified athlete, who also had worked years and years to be good enough to make the team, a chance to compete and fulfill their own dreams.

What she did by not doing that was incredibly selfish...long before what you may or may not think about her quitting mid competition.

As for that, let's be honest...people are flaking for her because she's a woman. That's it. Had this been another athlete who were calling THEMSELVES the GOAT and they quit mid competition and that athlete had a penis, the public would rightfully be calling them out.

Either women are strong and brave and powerful and should be treated equally, or they shouldn't. Pick one.

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Oh wow. She is a terrible role model. And MAINLY because she is black, probably liberal, and somehow linked to Kamala Harris.

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you are literally the only one that made it a race thing.

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People withdraw all the time. She was just high-profile and a sure-thing...so she made headlines.

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Yeah, for injuries.

She went through this before, during the world gymnastic championship in Germany 2019. She should've known this would happen in Japan 2021.

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