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For Simone Biles, hubris persists in humiliation
jmyrlefuller:
Simone Biles is human.
I'm not sure if she will acknowledge that.
Coming into this year-delayed 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the hype around Biles, figurehead of an American gymastics team that was a rare glimmer of optimism in one of the weakest and most controversial Olympic lineups our country has put forth in decades, was so strong that social media made snide remarks to the effect that she was indisputably the greatest gymnast in the world, and that she was a shoo-in for the gold medal. When the International Olympic Committee noted that Biles's routine had crossed a boundary from talent into reckless danger, noting a gymnast could easily injure herself attempting the moves Biles was attempting, her defenders cried foul, claiming that only other gymnasts would get hurt, and it was only further proof that she could do what no other gymnast could and was The Greatest. While social media bragging about celebrities is nothing new (just ask Chuck Norris!), the dread seriousness most of Biles's defenders have expressed is matched only by the arrogance of Biles herself, whose famous quote is "I'm not the next Michael Phelps. I'm the first Simone Biles."
There is a colloquialism, "don't write checks you can't cash." In other words, if you are going to feed and make grand claims about yourself, you had better be able to back yourself up when it is your turn. Well... to put it simply, she didn't.
Biles went out onto the mat and stumbled, then she quit on the rest of her team. She then pulled out of the Olympic Games altogether, claiming "mental health." If that sounds familiar, it's because it has echoes in the actions of an unrelated competitor, tennis player Naomi Osaka, who withdrew from the French Open earlier this year and opted not to contest Wimbledon due to mental health issues. Yet for Osaka, the issue was unrelated to tennis: it was her dispute over requirements to be made available to a sports media that is often hostile and unpredictable. For her to drop out of competition was her right, and I will note that she is representing her country in tennis in the Olympics as we speak—an implicit recognition that, at least in principle, representing your country in the Olympic Games means you are representing something bigger than yourself.
In light of that, and the full knowledge that the American sports media fawns on Biles as one of the great superstars of sport, her claims of "mental health" ring hollow. Perhaps she is having mental health issues, but they are at least in part of her own doing. Let's make this clear: quitting on your team after a bad performance is not an honorable thing to do, and hiding behind "mental health" to cover for your failures is cowardice, not courage—despite the continued hubris coming from her defenders on social media, and the desperation to make excuses for her, ranging from the IOC judges to Larry Nassar. Simone Biles encouraged the writing of checks on her account that she ultimately could not cash, and in doing so embarrassed a United States of America that is in need of good role models that demonstrate strength, humility and perseverance. Biles's teammates on the gymnastics team showed those traits and salvaged a silver medal from the competition, for which they should (and will likely) be commended. In short, it is time for her and the countless defenders of this disgrace to admit what most average Americans already know about ourselves:
Simone Biles is human.
And that's OK.
DCPatriot:
@jmyrlefuller
Did you write that? Wow!! :beer:
jmyrlefuller:
--- Quote from: DCPatriot on July 29, 2021, 12:54:27 am ---@jmyrlefuller
Did you write that? Wow!! :beer:
--- End quote ---
Indeed I did. Thank you! :beer:
mystery-ak:
@jmyrlefuller
WOW is right...loved it!
skeeter:
Excellent essay.
The 'greatest of all time' never, ever up & quit for no good reason. So we can put that little canard to bed.
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