Following Simone Biles' shocking withdrawal from the team gymnastics competition at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday, many have applauded her for focusing on her mental health. But conservative talk radio hosts Clay Travis and Buck Sexton had little compassion for the star athlete, indicating on their Tuesday show that Biles' decision was selfish.
“We all have emotional and psychological struggles,” Sexton said. “That’s just a constant of being a human being. But what about your teammates?”
Travis wondered how fans would react if Tom Brady or LeBron James did something similar by pulling out of a major game because they couldn't handle the stress.
I’m sure we have all seen this by now. The most talented gymnast in the world, and perhaps the most talented of all time, quit during the Finals of the gymnastics team competition.
I’ve got to say, I think this massively diminishes her legacy. Part of being an athlete is being able to handle the mental crucible. Choking on the big stage, where in this case quitting, has to be evaluated when judging an athlete. It’s like Ben Simmons. Nobody cares if he can drill 100 three pointers in practice, if he is going to choke in actual games.
It doesn’t make her a bad person. It doesn’t take away from her amazing skills. But I do think it takes her out of the conversation regarding best gymnast of all-time.
I don't know, this Olympic Games aren't normal and perhaps (god willing) will be the only one of its kind.
Being black i'm sure she's dealt with her fair share of racism but I hate to think how much she'd receive on social media and without any friends or family around, it would be taxing.
I believe what she gave as the reason for dropping out was that she knew after her first attempt she wasn't right, so by stepping aside she was actually helping the team not hindering it...which makes sense.
I don't think Biles can be contrasted with Brady or LeBron because their sports are completely different beasts. If Brady throws one interception it's not the end of the world... in gymnastics one major error can cause them to go from 1st to 5th place.
In say all that, I can't really understand why elite athletes have social media, or at least interact with it. It's so toxic on your mental health, especially for a public figure. For what I can gather Tom Brady has a social media team to post things to keep up his endorsement obligations but don't use it himself.