Simone Biles

[RileyHawk]

She hasn't shied away from social media or interviews. That makes it hard for me to believe her and others say she's be honest and brave. I would argue if true about her mental health she's done nothing but put more pressure on herself with the social media posts and her claims of being the GOAT. She's adding fuel to that fire. As another poster said this is self-diagnosed which is a big problem for me. I don't like that these athletes crave all the attention when times are good but play the victim when they hit a little bit of adversity.

She's been facing the media instead of hiding from it during this very difficult time. The descriptions of her issue has been confirmed by other gymnasts and athletes and demonstrates even the best can succumb to mental issues. For me, it's like getting the "shanks" in golf - you have no idea why you can't hit the ball any more and the more you try to fix it, the worse it gets. Standing securely on a tee box having that happen is FAR different than flying through the air, twisting and flipping.

These athletes don't "crave" the attention - the attention follows them because of their prowess.

 

[thewop]

I understand all of your bickering here, but I really just have 2 things I wonder about.

1. How will Simone Biles be remembered 20 years from now? The only thing any of us likely remember about Kerri Strugg's Olympic performance was the final vault, which was magical. Will we remember Biles previous triumphs or will we remember her bringing awareness to mental health? Or just that she pulled out?

2. What would have been different if her parents had been allowed to be there with her?

Right now it's too fresh to say what her legacy will be.

 

[FlickShagwell]

 

[mnole03]

Suni Lee won the all-around. She’s Hmong-American, which must really burn the Chinese. Win-Win.

 

[Joes Place]

Suni Lee won the all-around. She’s Hmong-American, which must really burn the Chinese. Win-Win.

Probably burning the MAGA anti-immigrant white nationalists, too....

 

[ghost80]

You guys do not understand how shitty the Olympic experience is right now. These athletes have been sequestered in hotel rooms for the last year. You train, you go to your room, your food is delivered to your room, you wake up, wash and repeat. You feel isolated and you are pulled away from your support groups. Many of these people are putting real life on hold to train. They go into debt, put off their careers. Fight through pain and injuries and often eschew intimate relationships because they are just too focused to keep them going. It sucks. My daughter could have been training with the U.S. Team this year and she noped out because of the shitty environment, she just said it is mentally not healthy.

Boo Hoo….how many of these people are forced to do this? Somewhere along the line was an "Olympic Draft" formed and if your number was drawn you must go?

It is voluntary but if you do it there are conditions. Part of that would be you are representing your whole country and not just yourself. When you decide to quit and not even try you have dumped on the whole country. Only difference now is that some Amercians seem to like being covered in feces.

 

[TylerJ76]

Boo Hoo….how many of these people are forced to do this? Somewhere along the line was an "Olympic Draft" formed and if your number was drawn you must go?

It is voluntary but if you do it there are conditions. Part of that would be you are representing your whole country and not just yourself. When you decide to quit and not even try you have dumped on the whole country. Only difference now is that some Amercians seem to like being covered in feces.

You're such a pussy

 

[THE_DEVIL]

Boo Hoo….how many of these people are forced to do this? Somewhere along the line was an "Olympic Draft" formed and if your number was drawn you must go?

It is voluntary but if you do it there are conditions. Part of that would be you are representing your whole country and not just yourself. When you decide to quit and not even try you have dumped on the whole country. Only difference now is that some Amercians seem to like being covered in feces.

I salute you sir. This is one of the better troll jobs on HROT in a long time. Well done. I award you 17 points.

 

[gonegolfing]

Good to see not all members of the gymnastics team are weak-minded. Way to go compete Suni. Congratulations!.

Because this board is dominated by weak-minded liberal pussies, one could get the feeling that many of the easy way out decisions we've seen in athletics recently is acceptable. Everyone knows deep down it's not.

Again congrats Suni.

 

[dirtypool]

Boo Hoo….how many of these people are forced to do this? Somewhere along the line was an "Olympic Draft" formed and if your number was drawn you must go?

It is voluntary but if you do it there are conditions. Part of that would be you are representing your whole country and not just yourself. When you decide to quit and not even try you have dumped on the whole country. Only difference now is that some Amercians seem to like being covered in feces.

Cry about it more, snowflake

 

[TylerJ76]

Good to see not all members of the gymnastics team are weak-minded. Way to go compete Suni. Congratulations!.

Because this board is dominated by weak-minded liberal pussies, one could get the feeling that many of the easy way out decisions we've seen in athletics recently is acceptable. Everyone knows deep down it's not.

Again congrats Suni.

You're also a pussy

 

[torbee]

Suni Lee won the all-around. She’s Hmong-American, which must really burn the Chinese. Win-Win.

I once pitched a news series on all the Hmong who settled in Wisconsin and Minnesota post-Vietnam. My editor was not amused by my suggested series title:

“The Hmong Among Us”

 

[Herky T Hawk]

She needs to do what is best for her health and best for the team. If she had participated, she may have fallen and scored low enough to drop us down below the silver medal in the team competition. Her vault score was so low that it did negatively impact us in the final. So I totally understand her withdrawal from the competition.

What I will be interested to see is what is her reputation 20-30 or more years from now. She's been encouraging the GOAT convo by wearing a sequined goat on her uniform before. If she had gone out there and led her team to the gold medal and followed that up with an individual gold medal, there's no doubt that she would be considered the greatest for many decades to come. It would be like when Jordan did the double threepeat 20+ years ago and finishing his career with no losses in the finals, just such an insurmountable lead that even someone like Lebron isn't universally considered as the better basketball player.

But, she's left an opening in her legacy now where some future athlete could come along, do amazing things, and have people say that the new athlete is better than Simone. If someone wins back-to-back individual golds while leading their team to golds too, they'd have a good shot at claiming to be better.

 

[ghost80]

Cry about it more, snowflake

Not crying....I just don't like being covered with goat shit.....which apparantly isn't a problem for you and a few others....but please feel free to wallow in it.

 

[herkyhawk00]

She hasn't shied away from social media or interviews. That makes it hard for me to believe her and others say she's be honest and brave. I would argue if true about her mental health she's done nothing but put more pressure on herself with the social media posts and her claims of being the GOAT. She's adding fuel to that fire. As another poster said this is self-diagnosed which is a big problem for me. I don't like that these athletes crave all the attention when times are good but play the victim when they hit a little bit of adversity.

My feeling is if you are going to refer to yourself as the GOAT, going to get a picture of a goat on a leotard, and embrace that description, though mental lapses can occur, you fight like hell to endure and overcome. I recall Brett Favre throwing 4 td’s on MNF the day after his father died. There are many stories of athletes overcoming mental barriers. Some may not always come out on top, but fighting that adversity is part of competing, especially if you are self proclaiming you are the GOAT.

 

[dirtypool]

Not crying....I just don't like being covered with goat shit.....which apparantly isn't a problem for you and a few others....but please feel free to wallow in it.

Someones got their feelings hurt because they cant deal with a young woman making a decision for themselves.

i feel sorry for your daughters

 

[BigDelHawk]

Not true.

Athletes didn't even start going over there until a couple weeks ago.

This is how the training camps here is n the USA have been run. COVID protocol laid out by the USA Olympic Comittee.

 

[WisestIowan]

Sorry, the word you misspelled in ALL CAPS. Better snowflake?

Much better. Thank you. I don't think you know what 'snowflake' means in the context in which you used it. But that's ok. We're all used to you regurgitating what you hear on MSNBC.

 

[BigDelHawk]

Boo Hoo….how many of these people are forced to do this? Somewhere along the line was an "Olympic Draft" formed and if your number was drawn you must go?

It is voluntary but if you do it there are conditions. Part of that would be you are representing your whole country and not just yourself. When you decide to quit and not even try you have dumped on the whole country. Only difference now is that some Amercians seem to like being covered in feces.

BS, you have no idea how emotionally invested these athletes are.

 

[SoProudNole]

Good to see not all members of the gymnastics team are weak-minded. Way to go compete Suni. Congratulations!.

Because this board is dominated by weak-minded liberal pussies, one could get the feeling that many of the easy way out decisions we've seen in athletics recently is acceptable. Everyone knows deep down it's not.

Again congrats Suni.

You're a clueless ****. You couldn't achieve a fraction of what Biles has. And I guarantee she's got more toughness and fortitude than you can comprehend.

 

[ghost80]

My feeling is if you are going to refer to yourself as the GOAT, going to get a picture of a goat on a leotard, and embrace that description, though mental lapses can occur, you fight like hell to endure and overcome. I recall Brett Favre throwing 4 td’s on MNF the day after his father died. There are many stories of athletes overcoming mental barriers. Some may not always come out on top, but fighting that adversity is part of competing, especially if you are self proclaiming you are the GOAT.

Doesn't matter if you are talking about Olympic athletes or everyday life everyone needs to

BS, you have no idea how emotionally invested these athletes are.

Then that is unhealthy, beyond their control, and shame on the families/coaches for being so reckless for allowing it to continue.

 

[SoDakHawk]

Suni Lee won the all-around. She’s Hmong-American, which must really burn the Chinese. Win-Win.

Suni Lee once competed at Nationals while her father was in surgery after a serious accident which left him paralyzed. She channeled her energy and went on and performed. That's being mentally tough. That's performing under pressure.

Suni Lee deserves her own thread.

 

[Finance85]

I've given this a lot of thought. I've never competed at that level, so I can't pretend to know the pressure she feels. That said, I have competed at a high level, and I don't think it's possible to put any more pressure on myself, but there's no way to know.

I have no issue with her deciding not to compete for any reason that she might have. She's responsible for her own health, physical and mental. She certainly puts herself at physical risk if she's not 100% mentally ready.

I do think that if she had any misgivings before the Olympics, she should have dropped out then.

Every person who's criticized her for dropping out is an @$$hole.

All that said, some people are trying to make her into a hero for dropping out to protect her mental health. No, she's not a hero either. She's simply protecting herself. That's it. Taking an action in the face of criticism doesn't automatically make someone a hero. She hasn't done anything above and beyond what's expected of her.

 

[mnole03]

Suni Lee once competed at Nationals while her father was in surgery after a serious accident which left him paralyzed. She channeled her energy and went on and performed. That's being mentally tough. That's performing under pressure.

Suni Lee deserves her own thread.

When Suni Lee was in school, the teachers raised their hands to talk to her.

 

[BelemNole]

Perspective | Simone Biles was abandoned by American Olympic officials, and the torment hasn’t stopped — The Washington Post

Simone Biles has been frank about her profound lingering distrust of USA Gymnastics and the USOPC, and her conviction they will not do right by her and other athletes of their own accord.

apple.news

 

[BigDelHawk]

Doesn't matter if you are talking about Olympic athletes or everyday life everyone needs to

Then that is unhealthy, beyond their control, and shame on the families/coaches for being so reckless for allowing it to continue.

These are people who love what they do, and have set goals to reach the pinnacle of the sport. That for many is the Olympics.. they only are held once every four years. If they miss a year, they have to wait a cycle. But you say, eh, walk away from a goal you have been working towards for a decade. You sir are obtuse!

 

[BelemNole]

I've given this a lot of thought. I've never competed at that level, so I can't pretend to know the pressure she feels. That said, I have competed at a high level, and I don't think it's possible to put any more pressure on myself, but there's no way to know.

I have no issue with her deciding not to compete for any reason that she might have. She's responsible for her own health, physical and mental. She certainly puts herself at physical risk if she's not 100% mentally ready.

I do think that if she had any misgivings before the Olympics, she should have dropped out then.

Every person who's criticized her for dropping out is an @$$hole.

All that said, some people are trying to make her into a hero for dropping out to protect her mental health. No, she's not a hero either. She's simply protecting herself. That's it. Taking an action in the face of criticism doesn't automatically make someone a hero. She hasn't done anything above and beyond what's expected of her.

The talk is about her bravery for taking agency for herself in a sport where that was never allowed. She was the one who really blew up the sex scandal and outed the US team for not protecting the girls, in fact being part of the abuse. People are proud of her for continuing that bravery of looking out for herself in a sport that has a long history of treating the girls as a disposable resource.
So no, she's not a hero for dropping out, she's a role model for her continued bravery.

 

[torbee]

This article is the best summation of the “controversy” I’ve seen:

 

[Finance85]

The talk is about her bravery for taking agency for herself in a sport where that was never allowed. She was the one who really blew up the sex scandal and outed the US team for not protecting the girls, in fact being part of the abuse. People are proud of her for continuing that bravery of looking out for herself in a sport that has a long history of treating the girls as a disposable resource.
So no, she's not a hero for dropping out, she's a role model for her continued bravery.

That's part of it. But many people are making more of it than that.

 

[BelemNole]

That's part of it. But many people are making more of it than that.

Well, if people are going to err in one direction or the other I'd prefer they err in that direction. There are more than enough trolls out there (and in here) calling her a loser/quitter.

 

[ghost80]

Well, if people are going to err in one direction or the other I'd prefer they err in that direction. There are more than enough trolls out there (and in here) calling her a loser/quitter.

.

You forgot calling Bowels a bedshitter.

 

[BelemNole]

You forgot calling Bowels a bedshitter.

Incel gonna incel.

 

[notlongago]

Boo Hoo….how many of these people are forced to do this? Somewhere along the line was an "Olympic Draft" formed and if your number was drawn you must go?

It is voluntary but if you do it there are conditions. Part of that would be you are representing your whole country and not just yourself. When you decide to quit and not even try you have dumped on the whole country. Only difference now is that some Amercians seem to like being covered in feces.

Ill say it again, you have the most warped view of this topic.

 

[QChawks]

 

[Car-go]

My feeling is if you are going to refer to yourself as the GOAT, going to get a picture of a goat on a leotard, and embrace that description, though mental lapses can occur, you fight like hell to endure and overcome. I recall Brett Favre throwing 4 td’s on MNF the day after his father died. There are many stories of athletes overcoming mental barriers. Some may not always come out on top, but fighting that adversity is part of competing, especially if you are self proclaiming you are the GOAT.

Exactly my thoughts. All this talk about her being under an immense amount of pressure, yet amplifies it herself by wearing a goat leotard. I don’t believe her twisties excuse for a second.

 

[BelemNole]

Exactly my thoughts. All this talk about her being under an immense amount of pressure, yet amplifies it herself by wearing a goat leotard. I don’t believe her twisties excuse for a second.

I’ll alert the media.

 

[RileyHawk]

Exactly my thoughts. All this talk about her being under an immense amount of pressure, yet amplifies it herself by wearing a goat leotard. I don’t believe her twisties excuse for a second.

That's because you're an idiot.

 

[anon_b29nm7v7dwp6r]

I am incredibly happy that Simone Biles didn’t get injured…HOWEVER no, I don’t think we should be celebrating her. I think instead we should be celebrating Suni Lee.

Simones legacy will always have this what if next to it. For better or worse. And I am definitely not a Trump fan.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

I understand all of your bickering here, but I really just have 2 things I wonder about.

1. How will Simone Biles be remembered 20 years from now? The only thing any of us likely remember about Kerri Strugg's Olympic performance was the final vault, which was magical. Will we remember Biles previous triumphs or will we remember her bringing awareness to mental health? Or just that she pulled out?

2. What would have been different if her parents had been allowed to be there with her?

Right now it's too fresh to say what her legacy will be.

Watch Strugg's vault today knowing:

1. Karolyi pressured her to make it, "Kerri, we need you to go one more time. We need you one more time for the gold. You can do it, you better do it."

2. It wasn't actually needed for the gold though it did clinch it

3. It was the last time she competed - her 3rd degree sprain with tendon damage ended her career at 18 years old

It's impossible to feel good about it as far as I'm concerned.

 

[herkyhawk00]

Watch Strugg's vault today knowing:

1. Karolyi pressured her to make it, "Kerri, we need you to go one more time. We need you one more time for the gold. You can do it, you better do it."

2. It wasn't actually needed for the gold though it did clinch it

3. It was the last time she competed - her 3rd degree sprain with tendon damage ended her career at 18 years old

It's impossible to feel good about it as far as I'm concerned.

You don’t see a lot of female gymnasts in there 20’s competing in the Olympics. Truth is, they have been doing it their entire lives and it is hard on their bodies. I recall Mary Lou Retton winning the Gold medal for all around gymnast after undergoing knee surgery 5 weeks prior. If athletes only competed when they were 100%, you wouldn’t see many competitions in any sport.