Simone Biles Quitting

[Mark TKO]

What's the take from our US (and international) members re Simone Biles quitting the team event yesterday.

I don't do gymnastics at all and could only name 4 gymnasts in history - Nellie Kim, Nadia Comeci (or whatever its pronounced), a British lass called Beth and of course Simone Biles.

I do remember seeing Simone Biles on tv a few years back and thought she was cocky but I don't mind that as when people are backing it up with results - which she obviously was - then fair enough you have every right to be. She's been dominant for a few years right ?

I also don't know the full ins and outs of yesterday but my take is she quit as things were not going her way and head not in right place. My take on that is isn't part of being a top athlete / sportsman having the mental strength to ride it out and overcome it ? Others keep going who will never get near the podium. I had a go at our own Paula Radcliffe way back when she quit a couple of races at olympics (2008?) that she couldn't win as was struggling - finish the race ffs was my general argument.

I have no idea if her quitting affected where the USA team came but hear she intends to take part in the individual event. If she gets gold in that I suspect her team mates might have a view on that - a view they may never express openly.

I'm sure we've all been hammered and annihilated in sporting events we've taken part in, at very low local levels of course, but I don't know.... quitting when you're used to winning is bullshit in my book. There may be another factor I am not aware of but just my view.

I saw Piers Morgan earlier saying he'll be writing an article on it later today for the Daily Mail - no doubt he'll be vilified for it when it comes out.

[Beanz]

What's the take from our US (and international) members re Simone Biles quitting the team event yesterday.

I don't do gymnastics at all and could only name 4 gymnasts in history - Nellie Kim, Nadia Comeci (or whatever its pronounced), a British lass called Beth and of course Simone Biles.

I do remember seeing Simone Biles on tv a few years back and thought she was cocky but I don't mind that as when people are backing it up with results - which she obviously was - then fair enough you have every right to be. She's been dominant for a few years right ?

I also don't know the full ins and outs of yesterday but my take is she quit as things were not going her way and head not in right place. My take on that is isn't part of being a top athlete / sportsman having the mental strength to ride it out and overcome it ? Others keep going who will never get near the podium. I had a go at our own Paula Radcliffe way back when she quit a couple of races at olympics (2008?) that she couldn't win as was struggling - finish the race ffs was my general argument.

I have no idea if her quitting affected where the USA team came but hear she intends to take part in the individual event. If she gets gold in that I suspect her team mates might have a view on that - a view they may never express openly.

I'm sure we've all been hammered and annihilated in sporting events we've taken part in, at very low local levels of course, but I don't know.... quitting when you're used to winning is bullshit in my book. There may be another factor I am aware of but just my view.

I saw Piers Morgan earlier saying he'll be writing an article on it later today for the Daily Mail - no doubt he'll be vilified for it when it comes out.

However trite this meme may seem it has a point.

Morgan should be vilified. WTF has he ever done? Hacked the phones of murdered kids? Walked out of a TV studio because he could not handle someone offering a different opinion?

It is nuts how people like him and Johnson, Patel etc are all tolerated by so many in this country as though it is OK to behave like utter cunts.

[Mark TKO]

If that meme is true then I take it into consideration.

He's a social commentator he won't be going anywhere soon.

I do wonder if she will actually now take part in the individual event.

[X]

My initial unguarded thought is sort of with MarkTKO.

Elite sport is about handling pressure. Look at the greats in any sport, and at least part of their greatness lies in their fortitude under pressure, and how they handle the really big moments. Muhammad Ali dealt with unbelievable pressure inside and especially outside the ring, Roger Federer never quit when things weren’t going his way (at least not yet). Cathy Freeman won her Olympic gold under extreme external pressure - carrying her team, being the face of the games, the race angle. The list goes on. My first reaction is ‘pfft, another millennial wimp who folds and moans about it to everyone. Fucking toughen up”. What about her teammates? What about the athletes who had to suddenly get prepared, psych up and perform at really really short notice to replace her?

But then, after a pause, I realise I have no idea about what’s going on in her head. I have no idea of the pressure she is specifically under in this particular situation. The greats I mention earlier didn’t have social media and the internet to contend with. I have no idea of what has happened in her personal or professional life. No clue whatsoever.

So like most things, I realise I’m better off shutting up and not parading my half formed and I’ll informed opinions on the internet - which is possibly one of the things that drover her over the edge?

Im conflicted!

[Mark TKO]

Don't be afraid to speak up. That's what's going wrong with the world.

Then again I keep quiet at work now rather than say things a couple of years ago I wouldn't even pause without coming out with it. You never know where it might lead.

I'll go silent now till the individual medals events....

[Memphis]

It's funny isn't it. How many times have we heard the cliche "it's X percent physical, Y percent mental". We'll accept a physical breakdown but we wont accept a mental one. The bottom line is we think of this with a narrow mind because we generally have very little understanding. We assume that any mental health issues she is having are solely related to her performance or lack there of on the mat or vault etc. That! She should as an elite athlete be able to cope with or push through. I think that's fair to say. But who knows whats going on in her head or outside of gymnastics?

Broken bone, no problem. Broken mind, unacceptable. It's wrong isn't it.

She could come back for individual events which will of course fuel the quitter fire. Again we accept that a broken bone is six weeks in a cast or whatever it is these days. We don't or wont accept that her mind could be fine tomorrow.

Piers Morgan quit when a weatherman gave him a bit of stick.

[Mark TKO]

I'm waiting for someone to suggest a bloke wouldn't have quit and would've kept going regardless.

Hello?

[Master]

I think she did the right and strong thing to do.

If we had more people being open and honest about their mental state then we would have less (sports) people ending up mentally ill, gambling, drug addicts, homeless, broke and dead.

[X]

A bloke wouldn’t have quit, and would have kept going regardless

[Spicoli]

Posted something in another thread yesterday as it was unfolding. Won't lie I'm of two minds a bit. First, what happens way too often now is 'we' try to get into someone's head when they make a personal decision and lose sight of the more boring less colorful facts. We go after people with innuendo, conspiracy, generalities and lot's of time just a big pile of uninformed horseshit from the sideline that fits our own biases. It didn't take but 24 hrs for even this to be turned into politics among some Stateside. The whole BML and 'woke generation' bs dragged right into it by a few. Anyone questioning an athletes "toughness" from the comfort of a sofa needs to firstly just stfu. Majority of athletes at the highest level have been there and done just that and sustain many we are never ever aware of. It didn't take long for flashbacks of Kerri Strugg in the 1996 Olympics to be used as a dividing rod vs Simone Biles. That year Gymnast Strugg opted to go for a second vault, one they didn't even need to secure Gold, literally on one foot. She had badly injured her foot and when she landed the vault she was literally hopping around on one foot, stuck the high score and then had top be carried off of the mats. Honestly when it comes to memorable U.S Olympic highlights that made your chest swell..that was one! She became the face of the Nation. But you know what else...she would never compete again. Career over. She has come out in support of Biles and while some use the comparison as a negative to make a case you can also look at it as progress made no? Hindsight is 20-20 and we ALL think we're invincible in youth and are taught to rub some dirt on our wounds, zip your lips and soldier on as it were. But does anyone think or stopped to ask Strugg if she would do it again? Pride and pressure can be a brutal two edged sword.

Now on the flip side ...a leader doesn't abandon their literal team at the first sign of adversity in the middle of a fight. You just don't do that and it's not only a Biles thing. Had this been the individual portion of the competition rather than the TEAM portion I can very well see it differently. She was the face and the very first out of the gate. But she made her first vault, it wasn't great and that was it. She bounced out while the other three members and a now TBA replacement had to come in and try to catch Russia and secure a medal. Now what kind of pressure and strain do you think that puts on those who look to such highly earned leadership and yet still have to preform? And in doing so with the press post conferences etc it became to ultimate irony and caused exactly what she said she intended to avoid. She said she wanted to take a backseat, step back and let her teammates shine as it were. She didn't want to be a distraction so on and so forth. All I know is since then every single article, interview, promo and news bit has led with her move to leave. Literally all. Became the literal lone story while the team that stayed and plugged through..and took the Silver medal win..just as quickly faded to the background without a mention hardly at all. Can anyone name them because I can't. I have not seen a single mention of their names or their stories and new victories. Now instead of waiting for the individual competitions and putting those girls in the spotlight as they vie for Gold, all is center focus of Biles being the bravest and the strongest and the goat. Vicious circle. Being honest and we've all seen it..had a boxer gone out and fought the first round, lost it and then inexplicably quit in the corner we would mercilessly ravage them. It's just all mucked up for the team as a whole. Alright I need to get off my idle arse and make a sammich then go criticize random boxers .

[Kirkland Laing]

https://twitter.com/its_whitney/stat...61599007117315



When you're doing shit like this, when you're doing moves only you can do that have been named after you, if you're not a hundred percent you can paralyse yourself. That goes for any gymnast but doubly so for her because she's pushing past physical limits that literally nobody on earth has done before. So let's give the girl a break eh.

[TitoFan]

I would imagine not everyone who has dared to criticize Biles for quitting is doing so out of sheer disregard for her health, or because they're habitual armchair wannabes. I imagine some people out there are just used to seeing athletes push themselves to compete even when they're not 100%, and faced with the certain specter of defeat. The fact that elite level gymnastics is a sport that can render you critically injured with one mishap, is probably unknown to some critics, many of whom again, do not wish ill on Biles or any athlete.

If Biles pulled out of the team competition due to mental issues and basically the fear that she could be seriously injured performing one of her mind-boggling feats... then IMO the right thing would be to withdraw from competition at these Olympics altogether. Which is probably what she has done. Once given the facts about the sport, I seriously doubt there's anyone out there still thinking of her as a quitter or anything of the sort.

There are, however, instances when an athlete just gives up and decides it's just not worth it... inciting the anger and disappointment of the fans. Boxing had its own "no más" with the great Roberto Duran. He was horribly criticized even among Panamanian fans, and with just cause. Fortunately he came back from that. Other athletes have just "quit" in mid-competition, and just "mailed it in." Having been exposed to that, fans tend to be a bit sensitive to the word "quit."

The following article does a pretty job explaining some of the technicalities that go along with being a world-class gymnast, and the jitters they go though.

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/28/u...lth/index.html

[SlimTrae]

Initally I was with the Mark TKO, But beanz post kind of nullifies that. Then Memphis' analogy on physical vs mental, wow, guess I am right back where I started; unsure.

[SlimTrae]

There are, however, instances when an athlete just gives up and decides it's just not worth it... inciting the anger and disappointment of the fans. Boxing had its own "no más" with the great Roberto Duran. He was horribly criticized even among Panamanian fans, and with just cause.
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/28/u...lth/index.html

I thought about Erik Morales trilogy with Pac. Sat on his ass looked at his corner- I saw it we all saw it - before he got up he said with his eyes
"Fuck this...this dude bounced me off the ropes on to the canvass & he aint even got warmed up yet."

[SlimTrae]

Biting both ears is the ultimate copout. Today we still love him.