advertisement
US gymnast Simone Biles – dubbed the Greatest of All Times – was expected to make history in Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Stunning the world by exiting from the team event at the Games on Tuesday, 27 July, she did make history after all — by sending a powerful message and inspiring an entire generation of women across the world, especially Black women, to put their mental health above everything else.
"I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now...we have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do," 24-year-old Biles said, reported Reuters.
A 30-time Olympic and World Championship medallist, Biles needed just four podium finishes in Tokyo to become the most successful gymnast – male or female – in the history of the game.
Biles has decided to withdraw from the All-around gymnastic final that is set to take place on Wednesday, 28 July, due to mental health reasons.
People on Twitter pointed that it takes immense courage to prioritise mental health, and that messages sent by sportswomen like Biles and Naomi Osaka remind Black women to 'take the space that they need'.
Many also pointed that Biles and Osaka's coming out will enable more and more Black women to share their stories.
Black adults and Black women in particular are more likely than White people to report feeling sad and hopeless some of the time, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The 2017 study also pointed that only 30 percent of those who needed mental health care actually received it.
Another often quoted study from 2000 shows that African-Americans seeking mental health treatment are less likely to be offered evidence-based medication, therapy, or psychotherapy.
Simone Biles’ decision comes three years after former team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced, on multiple charges of child pornography and sex crimes for sexually abusing athletes, including Biles, over many decades.
Biles is the only survivor of the sexual abuse scandal who is still competing.
In an interview in April 2021 to TIME, Biles mentioned that gymnastics wasn't her sole reason for continuing to compete — she said that she was also driven to be a voice for change.
"If there weren't a remaining survivor in the sport they would've just brushed it to the side," Biles said.
While support poured in from all across the world, a few others (predominantly men) vented on Twitter that Biles should have not only been 'tougher' but also that her decision to withdraw was 'wrong'.
Women, again, hit back saying that not only is Biles the epitome of bravery – and that prioritising her mental health made her the champion she was.
Thousands of tweets also sought Biles' bravery for themselves. "May we all be brave enough at some point in our lives to stop doing something we've worked really hard for, simply because we know pursuing it would be bad for our well-being..." wrote a Twitter user Dana Stevens.
While the focus is to prioritise mental health amid the weight of expectations, women across the globe are chorusing – 'More power to Simone Biles'.
And to millions of them, she has already won Tokyo Olympics 2020.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: undefined