Simone Biles Withdraws From Competition - Thoughts? (1 Viewer)

[Sinn Fein]

Her teammates for sure. I know the argument is gonna be "well, if she did poorly, she would have hurt them worse". 

Her sponsors that invested in her

The NBC machine that put so much marketing oomph behind her.

I know the last 2 aren't exactly sympathetic figures by any means. But they invested in her and I'm pretty sure her backing out wasn't any part of their calculation.

Again....not criticizing (and I'm sympathetic to the idea of mental health being just as valid as physical health, and in this case.....they go hand in hand) but this isn't an "it only affects her" situation.  People were counting on her for various reasons and she certainly "let them down".

Teammates - If she had stepped down before the olympics, her teammates would be in the same position today - with the 7th best gymnast taking her spot, but unlikely to score.  If she was unable to compete, then she was unable to help the team win.  Stepping down and letting another gymnast step up almost certainly enhanced the teams chances.

Sponsors - I don't know who sponsors her, but none of them sponsor her during the Olympics - i.e. she Is not repping them or their gear.  She is still a fabulous role model, and probably enhanced her image when this is all said and done.

NBC - seriously?  We are putting the health of an athlete behind the profits of a broadcaster?  Really? 

 

[ChiefD]

To me it's one of the most courageous things I've ever seen.

It takes a lot of guts to make that decision knowing how much focus would be on it. Kudos to her. I respect the hell out of someone like that.

 

[DocHolliday]

If she was afraid to continue for her own safety, I don’t blame her for quitting.  She made the right choice.   I don’t think she should be praised or criticized though.  Seems dumb and weird at both ends.  This really doesn’t matter in the big picture either.  Medals do not equal life or death.  

 

[Joe Bryant]

For the life of me, I don't know why so many people on both sides are so emotionally invested in this. 

Thinking more, I do think I have an idea on why some are emotionally invested.

There are lots of reasons I'm sure.

I think one of them may be it hits on some of the deeper primal reasons sports are so popular and meaningful to people. And it's not just athletes. It's the same reason great books and movies are meaningful to people. It's because it's about the human struggle. And in particular, overcoming obstacles to succeed in the human struggle. 

It's why Kirk Gibson hobbling around the bases after the home run is so legend. It's why Michael Jordan's "flu game" has mythical status. 

I'm sure there are people way more capable than me in putting words to it, but I think that overcoming adversity angle is a big part of it. For us. And maybe that's why folks are so interested. 

 

[Nick Vermeil]

To me it's one of the most courageous things I've ever seen.

It takes a lot of guts to make that decision knowing how much focus would be on it. Kudos to her. I respect the hell out of someone like that.

And she didn't slink away to her hotel and hide.  

The vault that she executed was terrifying to watch. I'm glad she's okay physically and hopefully able to get some help for whatever else she is dealing with.  

 

[Parrothead]

voted neither criticism or praise..  shame that this may tarnish her legacy as the once GOAT who quit at the Olympics

 

[kface]

Happens to the best of us at moments.  Good for her for recognizing it.  Positive step 

 

[jvdesigns2002]

I went with much more praise.  Before Covid—I was making the mistake of sacrificing my health and well being and prioritizing my job.   I would always agree to take on more tasks at work and would constantly make up for the inefficiencies of other employees thinking that there would be some sort of beautiful back loaded result at the end.  The whole Covid situation showed me that my employer could care less about my well being and I’m nothing more than a vehicle to fill her bank account.  Since Covid broke out—I’ve been vocal that I will no longer tolerate being over-worked and taken advantage of, told my employer that I’m entitled to my free time when I’m not on the clock (my employer would routinely think that its okay to call/text/email/message me on my days off), and I’m walking 20-25k steps a day to focus on my mental and physical health.  Now—my job is nowhere near as dangerous as what Biles does—but I am all for people prioritizing their physical and mental health over a job or a competition.  Good for her. 

 

[TLEF316]

Teammates - If she had stepped down before the olympics, her teammates would be in the same position today - with the 7th best gymnast taking her spot, but unlikely to score.  If she was unable to compete, then she was unable to help the team win.  Stepping down and letting another gymnast step up almost certainly enhanced the teams chances.

Sponsors - I don't know who sponsors her, but none of them sponsor her during the Olympics - i.e. she Is not repping them or their gear.  She is still a fabulous role model, and probably enhanced her image when this is all said and done.

NBC - seriously?  We are putting the health of an athlete behind the profits of a broadcaster?  Really? 

No. I didn't say their interests were more important than theirs(they're obviously not) . Just saying that they are harmed (kinda. the ad packages are already sold, so theoretical lower ratings over the next few days may not even really hurt them in the short term) by her decision to withdraw.

 

[massraider]

This sort of caught my eye as well. Which is why I thought it might make a good discussion. Which I think it has been. 

Some people are using it to grab a little spotlight with a hot take. They are a small group, but we amplify these voices because OMG, can you believe what this guy said??

Hovering 100 feet above, this is like if Usain Bolt withdrew because he felt a hamstring twinge, and didn't want to risk further injury, and a bunch of Jamaicans called him soft, and said he let down his teammates.  We would laugh at that happening.  

She absolutely IS the GOAT, and is incredibly young to be the GOAT at anything, which I wish more people would remember.  Every single teammate she has is lucky to be her teammate, just like Bolt's teammates were.  And Phelps'. Just like Michael Jordan's were, even when he retired at the top of his game. They were lucky to be able to witness and be involved in any scrap of GOAT-ness they got.  

We're lucky she happens to be American, and has been crushing opponents with ease under our flag. 

 

[Da Guru]

Biles has been doing this her whole life.   Being a world class athlete in gymnastics wrecks havoc on the body. Even though she is young she is old in the gymnastic world.   Plus I always feel bad for the gymnasts or ice skaters who train their whole lives and then has one slip or fall at the wrong time and their dream is over and at times labled as choking.  That has to be mentally exhausting.

Biles was not on top of her game mentally and realized it.  I applaud her for having the courage to step away. Still one of the GOATs in her sport.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

I don't think it was either - but she's mentioned in past comments all the pressures she was feeling etc, so this also wasn't completely out of the blue I don't think

It also wasn't the plan of all her teammates to have the #1 gymnast in the world to withdraw from a non-physical injury in the middle of the Olympics 

Are you implying that a non-physical injury somehow doesn't count the same as a physical one?

If she had come into the Olympics with a mild ligament sprain and then torn it completely (a la Kevin Durant in the 2019 Finals), everyone would understand. If she was dealing with mental health issues and they got much worse under the stress of the Olympics, I see that as no different. (To be clear, I don't know if that's what happened. I'm just saying there still seems to be this persistent belief that mental-health issues aren't "real" the way physiological ones are.)

Also, let's not forget the fact that Biles is a survivor of sexual assault, and the man who assaulted her was a long-time employee of the organization under whose auspices she is now competing. Point being, maybe she didn't handle things as "rationally" as you might think she should have, and maybe Tom Brady wouldn't have done that, but then again, Tom Brady was never raped by the NFL's Chief Medical Officer

 

[Warhogs]

I think those comparing her situation to a QB of an NFL team are over simplifying this. A QB mentally off might create an ill timed turnover. Have you watched what this young lady does in these events. The high flying twisting and tumbling leaves you vulnerable for a pretty significant injury if you can't mentally prepare yourself. It is dangerous. I am certainly disappointed that she can't represent her country at the highest level but if you are off this can be very dangerous.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Hovering 100 feet above, this is like if Usain Bolt withdrew because he felt a hamstring twinge, and didn't want to risk further injury, and a bunch of Jamaicans called him soft, and said he let down his teammates. 

I think this is an interesting point and forgive me as I"m not sure it's what you were intending but I'll play off it. This to me highlights some of the differences in how people perceive mental vs physical issues. 

Nobody would criticize Tom Brady if he tore his ACL at halftime of the Super Bowl and couldn't finish. 

I imagine lots of people would criticize Brady if he decided to sit out the 2nd half of the Super Bowl and said he was depressed.

It seems we tend to not put as much "realness" on mental issues as physical. (That could also be a reason why this issue seems to resonate with people).

It's complicated. And a lot deeper than Simone Biles I think. 

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Who here doesn't wish that Junior Seau had withdrawn from football in the middle of a game during one of his last seasons?  Knowing what we know now about brain injuries/mental health changes sports for me forever.  If it doesn't change for most of us, and we still insist that athletes sacrifice their bodies and minds for our enjoyment, shame on us. I love sports. I love athletes. But come on now.  

 

[kface]

I think this is an interesting point and forgive me as I"m not sure it's what you were intending but I'll play off it. This to me highlights some of the differences in how people perceive mental vs physical issues. 

Nobody would criticize Tom Brady if he tore his ACL at halftime of the Super Bowl and couldn't finish. 

I imagine lots of people would criticize Brady if he decided to sit out the 2nd half of the Super Bowl and said he was depressed.

It seems we tend to not put as much "realness" on mental issues as physical. (That could also be a reason why this issue seems to resonate with people).

It's complicated. And a lot deeper than Simone Biles I think. 

Interesting point

The side bar to that conversation is that mental issues are often much harder than physical issues.  I believe depression is the number one form of disability in this country (no source because i don't have time).  

I can't have surgery for my depression and be fine 8 weeks later...

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

A Kerri Strug she ain't.  

Kerri Strug was berated by her dictatorial coach into doing a final vault on a severly injured leg, even though it turned out the US would have won gold even without it. She retired immediately afterward (not sure if that was always the plan or if it was because of the injury). 

Point being, it was sold to us as a heartwarming story at the time, but in retrospect it should have been a big honking warning sign of the dysfunction that was USA Gymnastics.

If Biles is "no Kerri Strug", she should wear that as a badge of honor (and that's not at all meant as a criticism of Strug).

 

[AAABatteries]

One other point I will make - there's been a lot of posts about this being a mental health issue and comments about the Nasser case or something else traumatic.  Unless I've missed something, I don't think we can even speculate there.  This could be a simple case of the yips - sure one might categorize that as mental health but not in the way I think many are saying it in here.

 

[Willie Neslon]

I don't think you can compare a gymnast or another athlete that is wins via a judges score (like a figure skater maybe) to say a basketball or football player. The stress is a completely different type of stress for the gymnast. Most of us have played team sports and maybe were nervous for a big game but once the game starts that anxiety quickly fades away. For a gymnast that anxiety permeates throughout the meet. Her anxiety got so great it affected her (the female gymnast GOAT fyi) to the point where she lost herself in the air trying to do a 2 1/2 twisting flip. Really dangerous. Instead of comparing this to someone like Tom Brady retiring at halftime I think the more appropriate comparison would be to someone like that mountain climber Alex Hannold. If you remember that movie he starts to climb the face of that mountain one day and a little way up just didn't feel right and made potentially a life saving decision to abort the climb. Then on a later date he felt 100% and was able to complete the feat. She knows herself better than anyone and if the greatest of all time thinks it's prudent to not compete I don't see how you can say anything negative about her decision. And she made this decision knowing she'd be lambasted by some and knowing it could have an affect on her endorsements. I think she deserves respect for this decision or at the very least the benefit of the doubt. Like Alex Hannold I have no doubt she'll be back to soar again when she feels right.

 

[Phil Elliott]

She could have made up an ankle injury. I'd say she should be praised for admitting what is really going on.

It seems pretty universal that athletes, people that actually do this, are supporting her.

Yes, in fact the media had immediately started reporting it was an ankle injury without any information. She could have stayed back in the locker room but came back out to support the team. 

 

[Joe Bryant]

Thanks for the discussion, Folks. This has been helpful I think in understanding how people see things. 

 

[BassNBrew]

I don't think anyone is faulting her for withdrawing because of whatever it is she's withdrawing for ..... but its the timing

Can you imagine Jordan or Tom Brady removing themselves in the middle of the second half of a game ?

She took an Olympic spot that could have been filled by someone else, went 2/3 of the way through then quit. She could/should have withdrawn 3 months ago 

I voted a little more criticism than praise.  After hearing her interview the day before this happened I said to myself she is toast and is going to quit.  Told my son that she is done.  The criticism revolves around someone sitting at home in the US right now that could have been in her spot with a chance at glory and an opportunity to take in and be apart of this event.  Just going to the Olympics would have meant more to then than another gold medal would have meant to Biles.  Of course one could argue they didn't work hard enough to warrant that spot in the first place so that is on them.  

After reading the responses in this thread I'm now leaning towards more praise than criticism.  Thanks for the well thought out responses, they did influence my opinion.

 

[Wildcat]

those criticizing her seem to have other common traits as well.

I think we can avoid this type of thought in this discussion please. Having an opinion either way about this doesn't put you in the box that you are trying to imply.

 

[Todem]

My first reaction....was what the hell is going on. This was before I watched what actually happened last night on the replay of the event. She looked lost mentally. That is extremely dangerous in the sport of gymnastics. She could easily do some severe, permanent damage to herself.

She has been an incredible olympian the past two summer games. One of the greatest USA gymnast's in our history. Something was simply off for her mentally and she did the right thing for her own safety.

I think it is extremely shallow thinking to think “she quit on her country and team” when you can see something is very very wrong with her between the ears right now. 

Does it stink for the team? Yeah of course. But this is her health and safety we are talking about. She did not plan this. It simply just happened on the biggest stage for her sport.

There are going to be a bunch of small minded bone headed thoughts that “she quit” “She is weak” blah blah blah. Come on. She is an incredible athlete who has been doing this her entire life and has reached the highest level ever in her sport. She is the Michael Jordan of Gymnastics. She has nothing left to prove except to herself.

She did the right thing. 

I am praising her for pulling out because it was best for her health and safety. 

The team survived. They won the Silver in the team event.....nothing to be ashamed about. Her teammates did an amazing job. I was very proud of the team. And she was there being extremely supportive. She is a total class act.

This is not a look at me moment or selfish moment. This was a smart and mature decision. She simply "lost it”. She looked confused and simply not fit to compete anymore. 

Even when she was not at her best....she was better than 99.99% of the country in the olympic trials. Yeah that is how incredible she really is at what she does. 

Let’s move on and enjoy the rest of the games and our other incredible athletes. They are all still competing. 

 

[nirad3]

Yes, she should have timed her mental breakdown better.  Or seen the team doctor.  Oh wait...

Like I said, I don't think we actually know the timing of it all.  If it's something she's been dealing with for a long time she should have ways to deal with it.  

But hey, thanks for the cute sarcasm.

 

[HellToupee]

I know nothing about her before the uber eats commercial. I wonder with her being so talented  if she ever faced adversity in gymnastics. One subpar performance might have really shattered her.

I hope everyone involved with her support her decision to step back 

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

One other point I will make - there's been a lot of posts about this being a mental health issue and comments about the Nasser case or something else traumatic.  Unless I've missed something, I don't think we can even speculate there.  This could be a simple case of the yips - sure one might categorize that as mental health but not in the way I think many are saying it in here.

Yes, this is a good point. I should have clarified in my post that I wasn't saying one way or another that Nasser impacted her situation. My point was more that she's been through a lot in recent years, and we should give her a wide deference if she says she's having issues. But ultimately, we should do that even if we didn't know she was an assault survivor.

 

[Brony]

I think if there were examples of other gymnasts having the same issue and walking away at the last minute then it would be easier to rationalize for us not familiar with the sport.  Since it's not common, you start to wonder why the mental aspect isn't part of the Olympic qualification in addition to the physical performance. 

Basically, I have no clue.  I admire her bravery for making a decision that she knew she would take flak for.  But a part of me also believes that being our Olympic representative means being both physically and mentally prepared.  

 

[Todem]

I think if there were examples of other gymnasts having the same issue and walking away at the last minute then it would be easier to rationalize for us not familiar with the sport.  Since it's not common, you start to wonder why the mental aspect isn't part of the Olympic qualification in addition to the physical performance. 

Basically, I have no clue.  I admire her bravery for making a decision that she knew she would take flak for.  But a part of me also believes that being our Olympic representative means being both physically and mentally prepared.  

Well that is just it. She felt like the entire country and her team were depending on her....so she thrusted forward and competed even though she knew in her mind...something was not right. Her Olympic trial was very “un-Simone” but that pressure was on her shoulders.

Unfortunately.....she broke in the Olympics. Bad timing. 

I don’t think it was as simple as having a "mental readiness" test.

Just ask Micheal Phelps. That guy was competing with a ton of demons.....he was a beast.

Everyone is different. Simone Biles is probably dealing with things we have no clue about.  

 

[Anarchy99]

I haven't really read up on everything in detail, but the impression I got was she was opting out of the all events competition but was leaving the door open still to participate in all of the individual events (that apparently are being held next week). Did I read things wrong, or is she actually withdrawing from everything?

 

[McBokonon]

It seems like a lot of people don't understand that mental health is health. If you don't equate what's happening here with tearing an ACL or breaking a wrist than you have some learning to do. Our brains aren't some detached satellites orbiting our bodies.

 

[Todem]

I know nothing about her before the uber eats commercial. I wonder with her being so talented  if she ever faced adversity in gymnastics. One subpar performance might have really shattered her.

I hope everyone involved with her support her decision to step back 

They face adversity every time they step on the balance beam, parallel bars, vault and floor. What they do is incredibly difficult. We are talking an enormous amount of stress. An enormous commitment to practice and failure. Like tons and tons of failure....to get to these games and be a champion. 

I think every world class athlete has faced incredible adversity in their journey to greatness. It is part of the process.

Something simply snapped mentally for her......it happens. It just happened on the biggest stage for her. 

I feel for her man. It sucks.

 

[Cowboysfan8]

Who does it hurt?

The timing hurt the girl who would’ve taken her spot had she withdrew earlier, right?

I assume flying home vs competing in the Olympics hurts 

 

[acarey50]

Yeah, I tried to edit because I realized the original post was pretty vague.   I think the ideas of "playing through injuries" or ignoring your mental health because it will let your team down are not positive traits.  I don't want to speak specifically about Brady but there are many examples of NFL players getting shot up with painkillers to risk their health just to play in the big game.  Or hiding concussion symptoms to play, etc.  If we think of athletes as role madels, I think these are bad examples to set.  Biles's decision seems to me to be much more illustrative of the lessons we should be imparting to our young athletes.

100% this - having the maturity to recognize, acknowledge and address the issue is so important, and a great lesson/example for not just athletes, but anyone out there dealing with mental health issues. Having her teammates support here is so important. If Biles did not acknowledge the issue or her teammates did not support her which could have worsened the mental anguish, I fear we could be reading a much more tragic headline then questioning why she didn't speak up or get the help she needs.

 

[Stinkin Ref]

it's unfortunate it didn't really come out until after a bad routine.....that makes it smell funny....I wish her the best

 

[Cowboysfan8]

Teammates - If she had stepped down before the olympics, her teammates would be in the same position today - with the 7th best gymnast taking her spot, but unlikely to score.  If she was unable to compete, then she was unable to help the team win.  Stepping down and letting another gymnast step up almost certainly enhanced the teams chances.

Right, because athletes that aren’t ranked the highest never win medals

 

[Gally]

I think the idea of recognizing a mental health issue and taking steps to get yourself better is something that should be highlighted and used to improve knowledge of the mental health situation that every person is likely to experience in today's world.  

I don't think the aspect of quitting should be praised at all.  This situation can lead to an idea of quitting because things aren't going your way as being acceptable.  This is a bad thing in this world today.  People give up on things way to easy without pushing themselves to see what they can do.  I know this is a fine line but that is the way this should be be discussed.  Figuring out the difference between "injured" or "hurt" (and this includes being mentally injured/hurt) and knowing how to distinguish between the two.  

I also think that her legacy takes a hit if she ends up coming back and competing in the individual competitions.  That will lead to doubts as to what was really going on.  I am not saying that is right or wrong but that it will happen.  For her sake with the mental obstacles she is/was facing I do think she will be better off in the long run to withdraw completely and focus on her mental health.  She already did the hard part......it seems like she would only benefit from taking the time to really get healthy.  

 

[Nick Vermeil]

The timing hurt the girl who would’ve taken her spot had she withdrew earlier, right?

I assume flying home vs competing in the Olympics hurts 

This is nonsense. There are alternates.  One will compete in the all around tomorrow.  

*ETA, I'm mistaken.  Jade is not an alternate.  But still there are alternates ready to go if needed.  

 

[Stealthycat]

Are you implying that a non-physical injury somehow doesn't count the same as a physical one?

not that no, ... ok, when I'm competing and a guy blows his ACL, he leaves the game and it sucks and all that ...... if I'm playing and he just gets depressed and quits on us that is just way different is all and the perceptions will be equally different as will future trust etc

its takes a tough tough mind to compete at very high levels, its kinda rare those minds struggle and this year,  Osaka struggled, Biles has, I remember a few more athletes from time to time, I don't remember them quitting middle of a game/tournaments/competition and that's probably is what is generating most of this

nobody hates Simone, she's an awesome story all her life, her accomplishments and records etc ... this all came out of the blue, its a huge story and people are just reacting/discussing

I still feel for her teammates - they expected gold and they were down a teammate unexpectedly ... that's very hard

 

[The General]

The timing hurt the girl who would’ve taken her spot had she withdrew earlier, right?

I assume flying home vs competing in the Olympics hurts 

I looked up the qualifying for the 2021 team. She lead all US competitors. She earned the spot on the team.

 

[Phil Elliott]

I think if there were examples of other gymnasts having the same issue and walking away at the last minute then it would be easier to rationalize for us not familiar with the sport.  Since it's not common, you start to wonder why the mental aspect isn't part of the Olympic qualification in addition to the physical performance. 

Basically, I have no clue.  I admire her bravery for making a decision that she knew she would take flak for.  But a part of me also believes that being our Olympic representative means being both physically and mentally prepared.  

Actually their mental disposition/fighting back from poor performances is part of the subjective part of selecting the team. There are many examples,maybe not so severe as dropping out, where a gymnast struggles executing skills due to pressure or a bad performance in one of the events. A couple of the Russians had devastating falls of the beam. They still won but at that point the door was wide open for USA. We could tell she was struggling all week. Agree it's very unusual to see someone just drop out like she did. 

 

[culdeus]

I feel for someone that had to go compete at this level for an extra year for Covid.  It seems like it was just 11 months longer than she could manage. That probably says more about us than her.  

The pressure on these little fussy jump and spin sports is absurd.  It's way more than something like a golfer has to put up with.  Look at a Jordan Spieth, guy is top of the world then his mental game catches up and he can't get back to that level.  People still worship the guy.  It's not the best analogy as it's not a "team" sport, but lbh gymnastics isn't a team sport either in any context except one night every 4 years.

 

[The General]

I know nothing about her before the uber eats commercial. I wonder with her being so talented  if she ever faced adversity in gymnastics. One subpar performance might have really shattered her.

I hope everyone involved with her support her decision to step back 

Been reading a bit this morning about this and she was the on the short list it seems of greatest female gymnast of all time, been at the top of the sport for awhile, most world championships, etc. Safe to say she has faced adversity somewhere along this. 

 

[[icon]]

From the people I talk to, it seems most have issue with the praise for quitting. 

I think Ben Shapiro has it about right as noted in the other thread.

https://twitter.com/benshapiro/status/1420345951152230407?s=20

Not a big Ben Shapiro guy but that is kinda where I'm at. 

- If she was mentally unable to handle the pressure, it's good that she quit before hurting herself. 

- It's unfortunate that she discovered she folds under Olympic-caliber pressure AFTER she occupied a spot that could have gone to someone who would have held up. 

Bottom Line: She's not a hero for quitting... she's not a coward for quitting. She DID however cement her legacy as an historically talented/gifted gymnast who unfortunately lacked the mental focus and toughness to be historically elite at the highest level. 

 

[-OZ-]

Like I mentioned in another thread, I didn't know that Simone Biles existed until a few months ago when Olympics coverage started to ramp up.  So no axe to grind one way or the other.

I feel very bad for any athlete who worked that hard and put in that many hours to get to this point, only to have to withdraw.  That's terrible.  (Not the same thing of course, but as a marathoner I can relate.  It would suck to go through an 18-week training cycle and then wake up with a fever and chest congestion on the morning of the race).  

Pretty much every take I've read on Twitter has been terrible.  Either Biles is the greatest hero in American history, or she's an avatar of our national decline.  As opposed to simply a young person who didn't have her best day.  

Been there. Trail marathon, was ready to roll. Caught hand foot and mouth disease from one of my kids. Sucked. But nobody else was let down because of it. That would matter far more to me than just my withdrawing. 

I give her a lot of respect for making the tough decision here. Sucks that it came to it. There have been more athletes quitting or taking time off due to mental health issues than ever before. Which sounds horrible but it's a positive if we start to understand that mental health matters.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

not that no, ... ok, when I'm competing and a guy blows his ACL, he leaves the game and it sucks and all that ...... if I'm playing and he just gets depressed and quits on us that is just way different is all and the perceptions will be equally different as will future trust etc

See, you're saying that you're not dismissing mental health, but then in the next breath you describe it as "just gets depressed and quits", which is very much dismissing it.

Again (I feel like I'm adding this disclaimer to all of my posts, but it's a very important point) none of us has any idea what's actually going on with Biles. It's possible she did "just get depressed and quit". But she deserves the benefit of the doubt, and if she says she has mental health issues that prevent her from competing, absent any evidence to the contrary we should assume that's what's going on. And we shouldn't minimize it any more than we would a physical injury.

Imagine if, instead of writing what you did above, you said this: "when I'm competing and a guy blows his ACL, he leaves the game and it sucks and all that. if i'm playing and he suffers a psychological injury and can't continue, it ALSO sucks."

It's also worth teasing out the comparison a little further. WHY does the guy who tears his ACL have to leave the game? Because a) he won't be as effective with a torn ligament, and b) he's putting himself at risk of even further damage if he keeps playing. Both of those things were true of Biles yesterday! Her continued presence in the competition was hurting her team's chances, and her case of the "twisties" could have put her health at serious risk. 

 

[Sinn Fein]

She DID however cement her legacy as an historically talented/gifted gymnast who unfortunately lacked the mental focus and toughness to be historically elite. 

She is historically elite.

American gymnast Simone Biles holds the record for the most World Championship medals (25), as well as the most gold medals (19) in World Championship history for an athlete of any gender.

And, this idea that she is not "mentally tough" is crazy.  All of these gymnasts at this level have more mental fortitude just to put in the thousands of hours of training, and competitions just to reach this stage.

 

[⚡DEADHEAD⚡]

What she (and what Osaka) has done has prompted me to reflect a bit on my expectations of my children, in sports and in other arenas (including who is on a gymnastics team). I'm sure I'm not alone. And if for only that reason alone, she did the right thing.

To a great extent, we did this to her. And that's too bad.

(And if you want to make comparisons across sports, let's talk about sports with individual performances, and the mental side of them. David Duval has far more interesting, relevant context here than Brady).

ETA: refreshing my memory on Duval a bit, he struggled with injury more than I remember. I thought his struggles were exclusively mental, but not the case.

 

[-OZ-]

See, you're saying that you're not dismissing mental health, but then in the next breath you describe it as "just gets depressed and quits", which is very much dismissing it.

Again (I feel like I'm adding this disclaimer to all of my posts, but it's a very important point) none of us has any idea what's actually going on with Biles. It's possible she did "just get depressed and quit". But she deserves the benefit of the doubt, and if she says she has mental health issues that prevent her from competing, absent any evidence to the contrary we should assume that's what's going on. And we shouldn't minimize it any more than we would a physical injury.

Imagine if, instead of writing what you did above, you said this: "when I'm competing and a guy blows his ACL, he leaves the game and it sucks and all that. if i'm playing and he suffers a psychological injury and can't continue, it ALSO sucks."

It's also worth teasing out the comparison a little further. WHY does the guy who tears his ACL have to leave the game? Because a) he won't be as effective with a torn ligament, and b) he's putting himself at risk of even further damage if he keeps playing. Both of those things were true of Biles yesterday! Her continued presence in the competition was hurting her team's chances, and her case of the "twisties" could have put her health at serious risk. 

The only real difference is we can see the physical injury. 

It wasn't that long ago when football players would get a concussion and go right back in. We're getting better about these things.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

Bottom Line: She's not a hero for quitting... she's not a coward for quitting. She DID however cement her legacy as an historically talented/gifted gymnast who unfortunately lacked the mental focus and toughness to be historically elite at the highest level. 

She's won four gold medals, which is tied for 7th most of all time. She's also won 19 golds at the World Championships and has dominated the sport for nearly a decade. I think she's more than amply demonstrated that she can be historically elite at the highest level.