“It’s OK to quit when things get tough” -The message Simone Biles sends to little girls

Her list of accomplishments is way longer than mine, all I can do is admire her hard work and dedication. She is now over 20 and has been doing this since ?yrs old?

flyingfrog wrote:

Her list of accomplishments is way longer than mine, all I can do is admire her hard work and dedication. She is now over 20 and has been doing this since ?yrs old?

Being GOAT is more than your medal or championship count. It’s a certain attitude, winning under pressure and against the odds, rising to the challenge etc.

GOATs just don’t walk away on the biggest stage bevy they feel pressure.

ultramarine wrote:

flyingfrog wrote:

Her list of accomplishments is way longer than mine, all I can do is admire her hard work and dedication. She is now over 20 and has been doing this since ?yrs old?

Being GOAT is more than your medal or championship count. It’s a certain attitude, winning under pressure and against the odds, rising to the challenge etc.

GOATs just don’t walk away on the biggest stage bevy they feel pressure.

yeah, she's done all of that, many many many many times over

whereas you're just some dumb internet coward taking shots at someone infinitely more talented and dedicated than you

She was sexually abused by Larry Nasser and the only one left standing and competing. She already came from adversity to rise to the level she achieved and now she is showing that you do not have to give in to what everyone else thinks you should do. You don't know what she is dealing with, especially after the Nasser case and all the attention it called to USA gymnastics, including Simone herself. She showed grace. You on the other hand seem to dismiss everything she has already done and only want to judge her based on a decision she made (OH NO A WOMAN MADE A DECISION THAT BENEFITS HER AND NOT YOU). You petty little turd.

you eh eh wrote:

ultramarine wrote:

Being GOAT is more than your medal or championship count. It’s a certain attitude, winning under pressure and against the odds, rising to the challenge etc.

GOATs just don’t walk away on the biggest stage bevy they feel pressure.

yeah, she's done all of that, many many many many times over

whereas you're just some dumb internet coward taking shots at someone infinitely more talented and dedicated than you

+1.

Maybe the message could also be, "victims of serial sexual abuse can and do excel. But, they can and should focus on their mental health even when it is inconvenient for garbage humans on letsrun."

BTW, many of the people who looked the other way while Larry Nassar was abusing hundreds of young girls are still in positions of power within USA Gymnastics.

Biles had the following on her shoulders coming into the OGs:

1. Larry Nassar sexual abuse

2. Public fight with US Gymnastics over response (or lack thereof) to Nassar scandal

3. Massive COVID restrictions at the games

4. Being 24 in a sport where gymnasts are pretty much used up by age 18.

5. Overwhelming media speculation that Biles was going to lap the field and lead the US to a guaranteed gold in the team event

From very early on in the qualifiers, it was clear that Biles was not right. And there were signs at US nationals that she was not right. She had a fall of the balance beam early, which is something that was almost unthinkable for her. She was able to recover and win the US championship, but similar mistakes started cropping up in her performance at the OGs, from stepping off the mat in the floor to the terrible vault in the final. She was breaking down mentally and couldn't get back her focus. She didn't quit. She did what many team athletes never do. She had enough self awareness to know that she was breaking down and would pull her team down with her if she continued.

ultramarine wrote:

Oh what a role model!

Oh what a GOAT!

Yeah. This is like Tom Brady bailing in the middle of a game when his team is losing.

She's one of the all time greats but I think this is a big mark against her in my book and prevents her from achieving legend status.

you eh eh wrote:

ultramarine wrote:

Being GOAT is more than your medal or championship count. It’s a certain attitude, winning under pressure and against the odds, rising to the challenge etc.

GOATs just don’t walk away on the biggest stage bevy they feel pressure.

yeah, she's done all of that, many many many many times over

whereas you're just some dumb internet coward taking shots at someone infinitely more talented and dedicated than you

It doesn’t mAke what I wrote any less true,

Actually

The message she sends is

Be born with the exact genetic proportions to excel in a very niche, privileged sport, have parents who can drop hundreds of thousands over a decade to support your pursuit, work hard and you can get a gold medal

roller coaster wrote:

ultramarine wrote:

Oh what a role model!

Oh what a GOAT!

Yeah. This is like Tom Brady bailing in the middle of a game when his team is losing.

She's one of the all time greats but I think this is a big mark against her in my book and prevents her from achieving legend status.

+1

ultramarine wrote:

flyingfrog wrote:

Her list of accomplishments is way longer than mine, all I can do is admire her hard work and dedication. She is now over 20 and has been doing this since ?yrs old?

Being GOAT is more than your medal or championship count. It’s a certain attitude, winning under pressure and against the odds, rising to the challenge etc.

GOATs just don’t walk away on the biggest stage bevy they feel pressure.

She's dealt with the pressure numerous times, and continued fighting when results weren't always good. Even GOATS end up losing, injured and/or bowing to the pressure of expectations eventually.

Yawn^9 wrote:

roller coaster wrote:

Yeah. This is like Tom Brady bailing in the middle of a game when his team is losing.

She's one of the all time greats but I think this is a big mark against her in my book and prevents her from achieving legend status.

+1

Yup. Suck it up buttercup.

It's sports.

What have you done for me lately?

do you call yourself ultramarine because you think you're some sort of badass?

Biles said that her head wasn't in it, so she stepped out of the team competition in order for her team to still be able to medal -- instead of her staying and likely screwing it up for the whole team.

What's wrong with that?

Wouldn't it just be arrogant and selfish to stay when you know you are not at your best, and then knock the team out of medal contention? Good thing Biles didn't do that! Sounds to me like she made a solid decision.

Gymnastics isn't like running ... if your head isn't in it you can really get injured with all the flips and whatnot. She could have stayed, then screwed up USA's team competition, plus injured herself out of the individual competition, and possibly suffered a career-ending injury.

Tom Brady throwing a football takes FAR LESS athletic skill than an Olympic gymnast, so saying that he wouldn't have quit is just a dumb comparison.

And, Michael Jordan quit basketball for a year and a half due to mental issues.

So yeah. Duh, guys.

You must not know how scoring works, one athlete cannot negatively impact a team because only the top 3 scores in each event are taken.

I’m sure her teammates support her and wish her well, and maybe even encouraged her to not compete. But on some level, they have to be disappointed to not win gold. They would never say Biles let them down, and they probably don’t fully believe she did either, but like, c’mon, you can’t ignore the reality that you would’ve won a gold medal if your teammate would’ve just competed. And for the sake of her teammates mental health, I think they need to be able to express their frustration in a healthy way rather than just pretend everything’s good.

I have to feel bad for Biles too, because I know if I was her, for the rest of my life I’d have to deal with feeling like I let my teammates down. Winning a gold medal isn’t the epitome of life, but these girls probably train together like 8 hours a day.

I’m not saying Biles made the wrong decision, I’m just saying that at some point in time, she’s going to be tempted to ‘regret’ that decision because it was a detriment to her teammates gold medal chances. Hopefully she has the support necessary to handle that when those dark thoughts come.

ultramarine wrote:

Being GOAT is more than your medal or championship count. It’s a certain attitude, winning under pressure and against the odds, rising to the challenge etc.

GOATs just don’t walk away on the biggest stage bevy they feel pressure.

Imagine if prime Kobe, about to take the final shot in a close game with the clock winding down, just set the ball on the floor and walked off...then told the media it was because he needed to take some time to de-stress (and sorry team! sucks to suck!).

That's right. Never would have happened.