Simon Biles goes home devastated - quits in middle of team competition

Only one issue with this post she absolutely calls herself GOAT. It's stitched in sequins on her leotard. She broadcasts it and rightfully so.

There is a huge double standard being applied by all of the big boys posting here. Ali is revered by the world and he wasn't shy about proclaiming his GOAT status "I am the Greatest" and such. He had bad days and got beat too. Nobody is jumping to take it away from him.

Her body of work allows her to call herself the GOAT. Give her a break.

OlympicMedalChaser wrote:

What bothers me the most is all the attention biles is and will get when we should all be focusing on the achievements of her far less famous teammates that just won a silver medal. I imagine deep down those teammates resent biles for making this all about her.

Imagine winning a silver medal after training for a lifetime and all the media cares about is praising your quitter teammate for being "brave"

Good insight, they have been ignored.

sheeeesh wrote:

What a sad turn of events for Team USA. What happened to the perseverance and grit? Reminds me as a kid watching the 1996 Olympics. Kerri Strug broke her ankle and still went out to clinch Gold for the team. That was inspiring.

https://www.nbcsports.com/video/kerri-strug-overcomes-pain-win-gold-1996-olympic-games

They don’t make them like that anymore. Now you have coddled, whining complainers who can’t take the heat and pressure when needed. Quitter! That’s the bottom line. Certainly not in the category of GOAT. Blew it for the whole team. Now the media will twist it to make her look like she’s a hero

Bettingfool wrote:

You have absolutely no idea about certain situations until you are in it, ask any person who has had a family member or loved one with mental health issues. From the outside you may think of ways to logically solve it or say toughen up.

I'm glad you mentioned this because the first thing I think of is the Dak Prescott situation. Of course he was put in a position where his brother sadly committed suicide which very understandably led to depression, anxiety and stress that affected his performance in sport.

So yes, sportsmen and women are human and have feelings and really big picture who gives a sh$t about throwing a football when stuff like this goes on in your life.

However, I think we need to make a distinction between instances like this and this new narrative currently prevalent in the sports world of saying "I feel anxiety and stress because of the sport and now I can't compete". Because these are totally different things. Now really I don't care if Simone Biles competes in gymnastics or not - but if I am a sponsor of hers the reality is I paying her because of her competitive ability and part of that ability is being able to handle the nerves, stress and anxiety of elite sports.

Are we now at a point where the expectation of a demographic of sportspeople (and I mean on an age level) are confused/surprised that pro sport/sport at an elite level is mentally taxing and hard? Same with Osaka - great, then don't compete Naomi. Too tough? Too much expectation? - go work at bank or get a law degree. Doesn't make you a bad person - just means you aren't cut out for professional sports because really the key differentiating factor between a top amateur and a pro in many sports isn't physical at all - it's mental.

Back to Biles - I mean there does appear to be some physical component here and we need to stop just taking athletes/coaches word for it when they give interviews/post on social media that everything is physically fine because this is all part of the game. We saw exactly the same with Donovan Brazier running on a broken foot at the trials and never mentioning it. Is it likely that Biles was in a way physically compromised and this affected her to a point where her mindset just wasn't right and she couldn't overcome it? - very. THEN JUST SAY THAT. All this nonsense gamesmanship in the end backfires because if it's really true that she just mentally folded and let her teammates down in such a dramatic way then she should consider retirement and a different career.

Wrong. She wore shoes with a goat on them. Her past resume is impressive but if she is not physically injured here it’s a big stain n her record.

ClubRunnah wrote:

She needs to remove those goats from her uni...

Quitting on your team is the last thing a GOAT would do.

I hope she isn't such a diva that she comes BACK for individual competition.

some truth to that, sadly. Cant give up, she just said today that she had already decided before the olympics that she wasnt up to it mentally. Get help, yes, but dont torpedo the whole team with no communication. Way worse than an osaka.

This is actually very smart on her part.

Withdrawing for “mental health” will get more attention and exposure for sponsors than if she were to win gold.

gavin degraw wrote:

This is actually very smart on her part.

Withdrawing for “mental health” will get more attention and exposure for sponsors than if she were to win gold.

She pulled a Megan Markle

Precious Roy wrote:

She was clearly off her game from the beginning and it only seemed to get worse and worse. She seems to have the gymnastics equivalent of the yips, which is pretty dangerous when you are throwing yourself in the air while spinning like a top.

I think her withdrawal was a selfless act. Most superstar athletes are so pumped up with their monster egos that they cannot recognize when it isn't happening and they need to sub out. How many MLB pitchers have thrown one inning too many just based on ego? Biles had the presence and self awareness to recognize that she couldn't get it done and that she needed to hand it off to her teammates so she wouldn't bring the team down.

Of all the stupid posts throughout all the threads including Covid and politics based ones, this is the worst one of 2021.

It’s selfless to take up a team spot?

It used to be a bad thing to quit. Now people like you praise it. Different sport, but Tom Brady played a whole season on a torn meniscus while fat people tried hitting him. He didn’t quit.

Obviously we don’t expect her to quit if she has a medical issue. If it’s anything mental related, kiss the goat label good bye.

Do*

Prima donna.

Could not stand not being No1

Either that or bottled it.

Very smart. Another gold medal nobody would care about. A black woman with mental health issues on the other hand will keep her interesting for most of the media for a long time. Perhaps a career in politics even

"Big stain in her record" says poster on a running forum about a multi-time gymnastics world champion who literally can do moves so difficult that even with major errors scores higher than any one else. This is the equivalent of someone winning the 1500 and 5000 for the past 4 world champs and then dropping out once. It is not a mark at all.

Olympics should be for the young.

Biles should have retired in 2016.

We all get old, comfortable, wealthy, and no longer firing on all cylinders, physically and mentally.

These Pretzels wrote:

Yawn^9 wrote:

Wrong. She wore shoes with a goat on them. Her past resume is impressive but if she is not physically injured here it’s a big stain n her record.

"Big stain in her record" says poster on a running forum about a multi-time gymnastics world champion who literally can do moves so difficult that even with major errors scores higher than any one else. This is the equivalent of someone winning the 1500 and 5000 for the past 4 world champs and then dropping out once. It is not a mark at all.

You are also wrong. It’s not like she competed and failed to measure up, which is fine because. It happens to everyone.

She went around, calling herself the goat and then couldn’t even get out onto the field of competition. She let her teammates down because she caved under the pressure she herself helped build. It’s a stain on her record.

e h wrote:

She was made an icon and elevated to such a high status by the media, I mean, she’s the face of the entire Olympic Games. it’s not like she ever asked for anything like this, and she may not be able to handle it. We can’t crucify her for that, she’s only human.

She literally wears a goat on her uniform to signify she's the best ever. She signed up to do tons of commercials and media appearances. Nobody made her do any of that. She craves attention. Be careful what you wish for.

Here come the boomers who quit in Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War lecturing everyone else on quitting.

100%

You create the life for yourself, you put yourself out there, you take all the endorsement millions, you are an Olympian, if that’s the case when the big stage arrives you have one job.

You sure as hell don’t take a fade…physically, mentally, whatever.

one job

She's no longer the GOAT. This is now her legacy and how she'll be remembered.

Until today I was defending her, but she let down her team and pulled out in the middle of the competition forcing them to finish the competition a man down. GOATs don't do that.

I have a hard time seeing how she's going to compete in the all-around or individual event finals after this. If the mental pressure was getting to her today, it's going to be even worse in those events after what happened today. Can the US switch the named competitor in those events to the next person on the list so they could still have two people in each event? Or since Simone Biles qualified would the US be limited to just one competitor in each of those events if Simone withdraws?

This reminds me a bit of when Jenny Berringer collapsed during the middle of the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships in 2009 and finished 163rd. Jenny turned things around and had a very successful career afterwards, but Simone Biles is probably at the end of her career and this is playing out on a much bigger stage so very hard to see how she just puts this behind her.