Celebrities Flood Simone Biles With Support After She Withdrew From The Olympics For Her Mental Health

Record-smashing gymnastics prodigy Simone Biles made the difficult decision to pull out of the Olympic finals for the U.S. team after an uncharacteristic stumble on the vault sparked concern for her health and the possibility of injury Tuesday morning.

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Thankfully, the overwhelming reaction, including from her fellow celebrity athletes, has been one of support and praise for putting her health and safety over sports and medals, which are ultimately less important than bodies and minds.

The reason for Biles’ decision was first reported as being “medical,” which led to speculation of some sort of physical injury or health issue. However, subsequent comments from Biles and those close to her suggest that the issue may be mental, which can also easily put one at risk of injury in a sport as intense and physically demanding as gymnastics.

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“It’s like fighting all those demons and coming out here. I have to put my pride aside. I have to do it for the team,” said Biles. “And then at the end of the day, it’s like ‘you know what, I have to do what is right for me and focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and my well-being.”

The U.S. team ended up taking the silver medal, with team Russia taking the gold, in a highly respectable finish with a teammate taking Biles’ place to complete the event. More importantly, the gymnast’s decision to put her health before entertainment and shiny things is being held up as a great example for the rest of us, and particularly for young women and girls in sports who may feel pressure to risk themselves to live up to the expectations of others.

Not long after the announcement was made, the name of Kerri Strug began trending on Twitter as people remembered the U.S. gymnast who performed on the vault on a sprained ankle in order to secure her team’s win. Though she was hailed as a hero for this at the time, many are now condemning attitudes that young people should have to make such massive and dangerous sacrifices merely for the sake of entertainment and national pride.

You know what? If Simone Biles pulled out of the Olympics to head off further injury then good for her because watching Kerri Strug as a kid was actually pretty awful. Clearly hurt but go for the gold anyway? We really need to reframe what hero shit is in sports and in America.

— Chloe Silverado (@atotheco) July 27, 2021

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Also it was later found that the U.S. team would have won even if Strug had not taken the vault at all.

Biles wrote on Monday night on Instagram about feeling “weight of the world on my shoulders,” echoing Japanese tennis legend Naomi Osaka on the pressure of competing in the Olympics. The gymnast had also reported seeking therapy and medication to deal with some psychological issues prior to the competition, and considering what she’s been through, nobody can reasonably blame her.

Many people on social media have pointed out the trauma of sexual abuse from team doctor Larry Nassar, who was convicted of his crimes and sentenced to concurrent life sentences in prison after it was revealed that he assaulted at least 265 young women and underage girls. Biles came forward publicly as one of his victims in 2015. Trauma can have a significant negative impact on mental health and can have unpredictable effects on victims for the rest of their lives.

“It just sucks when you are fighting with your own head,” said Biles on her decision to drop out of the finals. “You want to do it for yourself but you’re just too worried about what everybody else is going to say, think, the internet.”

Whether because of this or just from getting a bit older, Biles expressed a faltering in confidence that can be dangerous in a sport like gymnastics.

“I just don’t trust myself as much as I used to. I don’t know if it’s age, I’m a little bit more nervous when I do gymnastics. I feel like I’m also not having as much fun.”

She further expressed that she was struggling with feeling like she was performing for other people instead of herself, impacting her ability to enjoy the thing she loves.

Hopefully, all the supportive tweets out there will help her feel like she can do what she wants and enjoy herself regardless of what some others might think about her personal career decisions.

Larry Nassar sexually assaulted many many gymnasts including Simone Biles .that trauma lives deep inside all survivors as ptsd and can be triggered under stress she is a hero and will always be

— rosanna arquette (@RoArquette) July 27, 2021

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I can’t imagine the pressure Simone has been feeling. Sending her SO much love. It easy to forget she’s still human. WE LOVE YOU.

— Adam Rippon (@AdamRippon) July 27, 2021

I stand with Simone Biles.
I still stand with Naomi Osaka.

Your health and peace matters. You’re reminding Black women that we can take the space we need for ourselves.

— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) July 27, 2021

Someone said it best. @Simone_Biles already won. She is a class act. Withdrew from team competion after vault… stayed and cheered on her teammates… got them chalk for their hands.. encouraged.. hugged them. She already won. Congrats on the silver medal! @TeamUSA @USAGym

— Hoda Kotb (@hodakotb) July 27, 2021

Simone Biles joins Naomi Osaka in my list of favorite athletes. It took immense courage for both to put their own health and safety first in the face of intense pressure to do otherwise. It is the opposite of weakness.

— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) July 27, 2021

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It’s sad that people even feel they are positioned to question the choices #SimoneBiles makes about her mental and physical health.

— Be A King (@BerniceKing) July 27, 2021

People go back to their lives after the game is over but these athletes struggling w/ mental health issues don’t get to switch channels. The issues don’t magically disappear. The pressure to be on & perfect all the time is immense. Sending love to @Simone_Biles & others! https://t.co/R54RxL917V

— Jaime Harrison, DNC Chair (@harrisonjaime) July 27, 2021

people crying about simone biles because she’s inarguably the greatest and quit, but did not achilles, the best of the acheans, sit out like 80% of the trojan war because he was 𝓅𝒾𝓈𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝑜𝒻𝒻? face it cons: taking your ball and going home when you’re #1 is trad as hell

— elizabeth bruenig (@ebruenig) July 27, 2021

It takes so much strength to call it when you need to, especially as a woman — my heart is with @Simone_Biles today who did what she needed to do in the face of what had to have been overwhelming self judgment and pressure. Simone, you’re the best — this only helps prove it

— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) July 27, 2021

Everyone of us who has felt pressured to use a physical excuse to get time off for a mental issue is very grateful this year for the precedents set by Simone Biles and Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka.

— Matt Haig (@matthaig1) July 27, 2021

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Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, Meghan Markle… Basically in the year 2021, we Black women are refusing to be anybody’s mental health mule. Love to see it. pic.twitter.com/E2NZcZskJt

— Liz Dwyer (@losangelista) July 27, 2021

Looking at Simone Biles, it strikes me that our most obviously vulnerable sporting stars who ignore/deny their mental health often end up dead or destroyed heartbreakingly young. Thank goodness it’s getting easier for amazing human beings like her to acknowledge their suffering.

— James O’Brien (@mrjamesob) July 27, 2021

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*First Published: July 27, 2021, 11:43 am