On Simone Biles and mental health

Ok before I get started I want to qualify what you are about to read. I do not watch the Olympics. I know the names of very few Olympians. What I have followed has been via either social media or a sports media app.

In addition, these are my opinions, take them as you wish. We are free to have our opinions and I will respect yours, even if I don’t agree, so please do the same. Now, on to the topic at hand.

Like many of us, I have “followed” Simone Biles since the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. And by “followed,” I mean recognize the talent and ability of the young lady. Like many, I truly believed this year’s Olympics would be where Biles solidified her spot among the all-time greats. Then, it all fell apart.

When Biles stepped out of the team competition, I (like many others, I’m sure) was shocked. Having watched the 1996 games in Atlanta when Kerrie Strugg made her world-famous one-legged landing on vault, I immediately thought Biles must have had some sort of injury that we did not know about. IT had been well-documented in the days leading up to her withdrawing from the team competition that she had struggled more than normal in these games. When word got out that she pulled out due to her mental state, many of us didn’t know whether to be relieved or not.

In the days since she withdrew, there have been numerous opinions regarding Biles’ status as “the greatest of all time.” One Texas lawmaker has gone so far as to say that Biles is an “embarrassment.” As documented as her struggles in the preliminaries were, so were the handicaps that were placed on Biles by the Olympic committee. Imagine training at the highest level possible, perfecting the moves you prefer, and being told that you would not be able to score above a certain level, “because you are too good?” Knowing that you would be judged differently than your opponents because they cannot execute the same caliber of moves that you can?

That is exactly, in a paraphrased nutshell, what the Olympic committee told Biles.

Now, I ask you this: which one of us has been under the scrutinizing eye of the entire world as Biles has? Which one of us has had to deal with the handicaps that were forced on her? I can’t imagine the toll that everything in the weeks leading up to competition had on Biles. Not to mention spending the last year in quarantine and completely changing your training regimen due to quarantining and a global pandemic. The last year has taken a toll on all of us: mentally, physically, emotionally, and psychologically. Why would the upper echelon of Olympic athletes not be affecting by the same?

Say what Biles did when she stepped away from the competition was shine a spotlight on mental health. I cannot imagine flinging my body through the air and experiencing, as Biles did, the “twisties.” This apparently is a known issue among gymnasts where they “lose” themselves in the middle of their move. Though the ailment is a mental one, it could lead to catastrophic physical concerns.

Why can’t we use this as an opportunity to normalize taking care of our mental health? I mean, we all have had to take a “mental health” day from time to time, to clear and refocus our minds. Forget the fact that it happened at the Olympics, Biles is still human. And still deserves to be able to stop and take care of herself. We have to remove the stigma from mental health issues; if we don’t there will more and more people hiding their concerns, without the comfort seeking any sort of support.

From my perspective, Simone Biles is still a champion. Not only is she an Olympic champion, but she has also become a champion for mental health, as well. Now, if we could only do the same and take the stand to take care of ourselves, lest we all begin to suffer from the “twisties.”