Simone Biles - Quitter or Wise?

[adrina]

Do you think Simone Biles is a quitter or that she was wise to make the decision to pull out of the competition?

 

[Dribble]

Wise.

Odd how those complaining about her personal choice are the same ones screaming about its a personal choice to not get vaccinated

 

[Champakian]

Wise.

Odd how those complaining about her personal choice are the same ones screaming about its a personal choice to not get vaccinated

Really? REALLY? REALLY???


Can you provide any fucking proof of that?

 

[silver gurl]

Seeing that people are calling her a snowflake, I assume that it’s coming from the same people who are yapping about the vaccine.

Same tone.

 

[Champakian]

I once competed with a 102º fever.
I had to because like NASCAR, it was a point-based season.

In the heavyweight division, I lost to some schlubb that had never beaten me before.
Well, he ran all around the gym a hootin' and a hollerin', bragging about his great accomplishment.

Did I quit? No, I was still able to compete in the executive division, which I won handily.

Then in the Grand Champion competition, I beat the lightweight winner and then faced the same idiot and spanked his ass.

AN ATHLETE, A FIGHTER, THEY NEVER GIVE UP! NEVER SURRENDER!

You dust yourself off and just get ready for the next fight.
You don't let one bad outcome turn you into a fucking quitter!

 

[Champakian]

And, I, for one have never called her a snowflake, nor have I seen it done on this board.



Don't make shit up. It takes away your credibility.

 

[dolf]

If i have an off day, i might cut my thumb, burn my hand, or spill something.
If she has an off day she might break her neck.

 

[Champakian]

PS - At some point, no matter the odds, your pride kicks in.

 

[Champakian]

If i have an off day, i might cut my thumb, burn my hand, or spill something.
If she has an off day she might break her neck.

And in the history of gymnastics, how often has that happened to top-tier athletes?

 

[rae121452]

very wise. it's the fucking olympics, ferchrisesakes. she knew she wasn't up to her best and wisely withdrew, allowing others to take her place. it took a lot of courage and humility.

 

[oggbashan]

She has been used and abused.

I am not surprised she has said 'enough' when she can't perform at her best.

 

[Dom70]

People don't realize what can happen if an athlete lands wrong from the height that they achieve on some of the maneuvers they do. It is usually the people that are ignorant of that fact that make accusations. Next time the floor ex is on...take a look at how high the athletes get on some of the tumbling passes. It is in excess of 7 feet for the ladies and 8 feet for the men. Now...go outside and jump from that height and land...and oh yeah...twist and flip as you descend!
Balance beam? What idiot thought to do THAT for an event? "HEY..Let's see if you can break your pelvis on this 4 inch wide piece of wood guys!"
Uneven bars? Can't concentrate? hmmm....
Vault? She only gets about 8 feet up on that one.
Nuf sed...it'd a safety issue. NOT a competitive one.

 

[coati]

She dropped out because she did not want to drag her team down in the competition because of her mental injury. Wise choice. Her team mate got the gold medal.

Team player.

 

[silver gurl]

And, I, for one have never called her a snowflake, nor have I seen it done on this board.



Don't make shit up. It takes away your credibility.

Where did I say it was on this board?
It’s all over social media

Lighten up.

 

[adrina]

I think one of the things that I find interesting is that so many who criticize her are forgetting the last decade or so.

She's performed at such a high level of difficulty that they can't even score her accurately. She's quite literally done things we didn't even think were possible. She's 24 years old. Her record of accomplishment speaks for itself.

 

[Champakian]

She has been used and abused.

I am not surprised she has said 'enough' when she can't perform at her best.

It's possible that it was ego-driven.
She lives in a world of hype and adoration.
She could have let one misstep put the thought in her mind,

I'm Simone Biles, I cannot fail! If I don't compete, I cannot fail anymore
(because the whole world is focused on me).


As for the above-mentioned breaking her neck,
those pads are thick and state of the art.
It's hard to have a hard landing...

I know. I've worked out with another school that held practice in a gym
and my kid was in gymnastics. I don't think she was afraid of injury.
I think she was afraid of embarrassment; a loss of confidence.

 

[adrina]

One would think that the taste for vinegar would lose its appeal over time.

 

[Champakian]

I competed in a sport that has actually killed people.

A contact sport.

I know what I'm talking about and you non-athletes have nothing
really to base your conjectures upon other than your imagination.

I'm not offering "vinegar," I'm offering insight and experience.

Get back to me when precious is breaking concrete blocks...

 

[adrina]

All you ever are is a judgemental bitter old coot.

Keep yelling at the youngsters to keep off your grass while preaching from your soapbox about how great you are. I am sure they will listen.

 

[Champakian]

This from someone who can no longer lay eggs...

 

[HisArpy]

She's an athlete. She's paid (in whatever form you want to call it) to perform. When she doesn't it's because she wants/needs to retire.

That doesn't mean she's no longer an athlete or that she's a quitter or that she's got "all kinds of problems" because of what she went through when she was younger. It means she wants/needs to retire and that's how it got revealed to the rest of us.

"Quitter / not a quitter" injects personal belief into the equation without considering the human element or that no one is invincible and we all grow old eventually.

But simple minds are required to reduce every question to "love/hate."

 

[HisArpy]

Racist!

Used the new vernacular for you.

 

[schism666]

"if i were in bile's position..."

...you'd never be in biles' position.

"i was an athlete once!"


...not on any level that even resembles the olympics.

 

[adrina]

This from someone who can no longer lay eggs...

I'm sure your intent wasn't to prove me correct. But nonetheless here we are...

 

[bobb_sledd]

And in the history of gymnastics, how often has that happened to top-tier athletes?

Text copied from an email that's going around; verified through additional sources.

Elena Mukhina was the women's gymnastics World Champion in 1978. She broke her leg and was not permitted the appropriate time to heal. Soviet gymnastics coaches pressured doctors to remove her cast early so she could start training for the 1980 Olympics.

She protested heavily, as she knew her leg was not properly healed and would not withstand the grueling training regimen typical of her sport. Trainers and coaches dismissed her concerns and forced her to continue her training.

While practicing the Thomas Salto (since banned for being so dangerous), she underrotated due to her newly weakened leg, and she landed on her chin. She broke her neck, which rendered her quadriplegic for the rest of her life. She was 20 years old at the time and died at 46.

Reports from Tokyo are that Simone Biles does not trust her own mind and body right now. Given the high level of difficulty (and danger) of the skills she performs, it is asking A LOT to expect her to continue to perform before that self-trust is restored. By pulling out of the team finals, she is listening to her body and her mind and giving herself enough time to heal so she can continue being the badass Queen she was meant to be.

Simone is doing what Elena was not permitted to do- be a voice for her own body and mental health. Anybody who would malign Simone for pulling out of the team final (and daring them to settle for the silver medal) should consider how they'd feel if, instead of reading the headline "Simone Biles pulls out of team final", they were greeted with "Simone Biles paralyzed during dismount."

And if you asked the rest of Team USA if they'd rather have a healthy Simone Biles or a gold medal, you know damn well what they'd answer, and they wouldn't have to think for a second.