Simone Biles

[Dawgg]

This is sports. You do your best and compete. It actually can be quite cruel because it exposes weakness, but that doesn't make you tough and brave simply because you take part in sports, that in and of itself is a privileged position.

What do you mean "privileged position"?

She didn't just get plucked from obscurity to become an Olympian, much less a multiple time gold medalist.
There wasn't some raffle or lottery that just made Dak the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
Red Auerbach wasn't just driving around French Lick, Indiana and said "hey, let's make that random skinny blonde guy a Boston Celtic."
Nolan Ryan didn't just wander onto the field one day and become a Cy Young winner.

These people worked to get into the positions they're in. It's not privilege just because you don't have the will to do it.

 

[Nunya.sixpack]

It's clear some folks have a bigger problem with Simone Biles than they ever did with Larry Nassar. Curious.

Are you really wanting a Larry nassar thread today? His trial was 4 years ago and it's pretty damn well cut and dry. No, well, he did it because......or might have....nah. he committed crimes. It's odd that you and the other guy want to bring him onto the board and want a thread about him. Suspect at best.

 

[o_Hot Rock]

What the hell is going on with her withdrawal? One of the strangest sports stories I think I’ve ever seen.

We still don't know and we probably never really will know but:

I personally think more of her for telling the truth of why she didn't compete rather than telling a lie to save face. You know she would have had fewer critics.

Why I think like this came from my personal experiences that I don't feel like sharing right now. Let's just say I understand how mental health issues can cause one not to be able to concentrate. What she does is tough and it can be dangerous. She did not need to be competing if she can't focus. Just like a pilot does not need to be flying a plane if they are in the same boat.

 

[dorndawg]

Are you really wanting a Larry nassar thread today? His trial was 4 years ago and it's pretty damn well cut and dry. No, well, he did it because......or might have....nah. he committed crimes. It's odd that you and the other guy want to bring him onto the board and want a thread about him. Suspect at best.

Yeah I'm ok with the working theory that Simone Biles mental health struggles COULD have something to do with the fact she was molested, in fact by the team doctor of her current team, the former leadership of which tried to cover up said molestation.

 

[dawglawz]

Exactly. "Hero" has honestly lost all meaning, but "brave" is accurate. Look no further than this thread for individuals who don't believe that she could be experiencing something that 1) they simply don't understand and 2) prevents her from competing at the level she needs to and/or risking physical injury.

She and her people know the stigma attached to speaking up about your mental health. She knows this because anyone with mental health issues knows this. Suffering from anxiety and depression, I have first-hand experience with it. It's brave because she's catching unwarranted **** and she knew she would. Anyone that suffers from mental illness knows that you can't just speak up about what you're going through and expect everyone to understand like they would with a sprained ankle. This thread is proof.

 

[aTotal360]

So don't compete unless it's your day? It's no wonder why a segment of this country struggles with adversity.

 

[dorndawg]

So don't compete unless it's your day? It's no wonder why a segment of this country struggles with adversity.

It's certainly true everybody struggles with something, and much of the time we can't even understand what other folks are going through.

 

[dawglawz]

When did I ask for a thread on Larry Nassar? I made an observation.

 

[dawglawz]

Equating mental illness to "it just not being your day" is pretty sad. I encourage you to learn more about it and try to find some empathy for people who might be dealing with something you can't see.

 

[anonymous.sixpack]

We still don't know and we probably never really will know but:

I personally think more of her for telling the truth of why she didn't compete rather than telling a lie to save face. You know she would have had fewer critics.

Why I think like this came from my personal experiences that I don't feel like sharing right now. Let's just say I understand how mental health issues can cause one not to be able to concentrate. What she does is tough and it can be dangerous. She did not need to be competing if she can't focus. Just like a pilot does not need to be flying a plane if they are in the same boat.

The most well thought out post in this thread.

There are always a few (the usual suspects, if you will) that will always default to the low road in discussing topics like this.

We should all be thankful for people like you who take the high road.

 

[aTotal360]

Why was she over there in the first place if she was in such bad condition? Can we place blame on the coaches and her family for not recognizing symptoms?

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

We still don't know and we probably never really will know but:

I personally think more of her for telling the truth of why she didn't compete rather than telling a lie to save face. You know she would have had fewer critics.

Why I think like this came from my personal experiences that I don't feel like sharing right now. Let's just say I understand how mental health issues can cause one not to be able to concentrate. What she does is tough and it can be dangerous. She did not need to be competing if she can't focus. Just like a pilot does not need to be flying a plane if they are in the same boat.

I agree with this but I also think it doesn't need any more discussion or debate. It's taking away from the rest of the stories of the athletes still competing.

 

[RocketDawg]

I didn't see it but I did see a flood of advertisements for the Olympics and products that featured her. It may have been over exposure for her mental state. You need serious focus for those routines. Some folks can't handle that kind of exposure then turn it all of and focus on the routines. Sort of like a coach working their team too hard before the championship and they perform like ****.

Can you cite an example of that? **

 

[olblue.sixpack]

Can you imagine Michael Jordan saying he is mentally not prepared in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and then not playing?

Can you imagine Tom Brady saying he is mentally not prepared the Superbowl and then not playing?

^^^Little Clay Travis

 

[BulldogBillyCrash]

They could easily come out and say that, if it were true.

Surprise they just came out with it

 

[gwadSIG]

What do you mean "privileged position"?

She didn't just get plucked from obscurity to become an Olympian, much less a multiple time gold medalist.
There wasn't some raffle or lottery that just made Dak the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
Red Auerbach wasn't just driving around French Lick, Indiana and said "hey, let's make that random skinny blonde guy a Boston Celtic."
Nolan Ryan didn't just wander onto the field one day and become a Cy Young winner.

These people worked to get into the positions they're in. It's not privilege just because you don't have the will to do it.

It's athletic privilege.

 

[Irondawg]

This article paints a better picture of the situation

https://www.wsj.com/articles/simone-biles-olympic-withdrawal-11627473098

The press conference did her no favors with some people like myself. She basically got the yips and I think more people would have been more sympathetic to that because while it’s a mental thing, it basically makes you not be able to compete physically without danger of really hurting yourself in this sport.

That didn’t really come across in the press conference to me? Anyone that saw the presser agree or disagree?

 

[thekimmer]

I agree with you on being truthful.....

It is pure speculation that is the basis for anyone's opinion on this matter. I am glad she came out with her true feelings or reasoning in what she did and did not hide behind some fake injury. It is impossible to know whether she reached the actual breaking point or not. Therefore it is impossible to know if she "quit on her team" or made the right choice. What I will say is she obviously wasn't prepared. Preparation for the Olympics 5 years ago was a totally different animal than this time. I wonder if her team adapted to this whole new fame and expectation monster properly to prepare her for these anxieties she obviously accrued this year. This way it could be a lesson for future competitors in a similar situation. Michael Phelps talked about it. He worked on acceptance of the situation and found a way through.

In talking with my daughters (in their 30s) they were way more accepting and defensive for her. In our discussion I admitted to being old school in that life can be very hard and at times you do need to fight through and overcome even when it seems impossible. My one daughter said sometimes that is not doable. I then said it can become NEVER doable if you don't try.

Now maybe Simone hit that point in these Olympics at that time. Maybe they did try to prepare her for all this and it still happened at this moment and stepping away was the right move. I just hope the take away is not when things get really tough it is fine to walk away. People still need to try the impossible to move forward.

I respect her much more being truthful especially since the truth opened her up to way more criticism than if she had taken the easy way out faking an injury. With that said I too am kind of old school in that its difficult for me to process an athlete of that caliber dropping out of a competition of that magnitude with a perfectly sound body. The only way it makes some sense to me is if she was motivated by the conviction that her mental state made her a clear liability to her team. That's just me though with full admission that I am an old guy with an old guy perspective.

 

[thekimmer]

What do you mean "privileged position"?

She didn't just get plucked from obscurity to become an Olympian, much less a multiple time gold medalist.
There wasn't some raffle or lottery that just made Dak the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
Red Auerbach wasn't just driving around French Lick, Indiana and said "hey, let's make that random skinny blonde guy a Boston Celtic."
Nolan Ryan didn't just wander onto the field one day and become a Cy Young winner.

These people worked to get into the positions they're in. It's not privilege just because you don't have the will to do it.

Point of order. Nolan Ryan never won the Cy Young award.

 

[WilCoDawg]

Can our football team back out of the Bammer game due to the same reasons? I can’t wait for them to be called “brave”!

 

[Dawgg]

Point of order. Nolan Ryan never won the Cy Young award.

What the actual 17?!?

My mind is blown. Usually I fact check things like that before I post, but I felt like that was a no-brainer.

Guess I should have said “Nolan Ryan didn’t just wander onto the field and start throwing no-hitters.”

 

[dog12]

Yeah I'm ok with the working theory that Simone Biles mental health struggles COULD have something to do with the fact she was molested, in fact by the team doctor of her current team, the former leadership of which tried to cover up said molestation.

So you're talking about Simone's mental health struggles from the perspective of her overall life, right?

 

[aTotal360]

Here's a great video on the subject.