Who called her a "wimp/wuss/ snowflake"? Not I. NFB questioned the legitimacy of her claim based on her past experience, which showed that she'd handled it before, but he didn't denigrate her in any way. She's great. Possibly the greatest of her generation. But to be the greatest of all time you need to be able to handle the pressure. Every time. That was what I said then, that's what I say now, and that's what I'll say tomorrow. And in my opinion, to say otherwise denigrates the efforts of those who do handle the pressure every time.

I looked a bit on the internet for a picture, but was unable to find it. It was from the Olympics in the '70's or 80's, so some of the "more seasoned" members may remember it. It was of a female gymnast, Eastern Bloc IIRC, on the balance beam. She was lying on her chest with her legs bent over her head and her feet touching or almost touching the beam. The photographer had a perfect angle, right down the beam, looking right into her face. The look of concentration and focus wasn't one of someone who felt no pressure, but of someone who knew how to ignore the pressure when she had to.



I'm not familiar with scoring team sports in the Olympics. Is it not the cumulative scores of ALL of the competitors on that team? If it isn't, it should be. The only way I can think of for her dropping out to benefit the team is if it's an average, which is BS because then you enter only your top two. A member of a team who does not compete should score a 0 for each missed round and/or event. I wrestled in high school. If we didn't have someone at a certain weight class, for whatever reason, it was a forfeit and it hurt the team.


ps
If you felt my referring to her as "Simon Biles" was some kind of insult, I assure you it was not. It was a typo that got past some obviously shoddy proofreading on my part, and by the time I noticed it it was too late to correct.

I didn't say anybody in here called her a "wimp/wuss/snowflake". My reference to "commentators" was to political opinion writers/podcasters/etc. such as Matt Walsh and Charlie Kirk who have been saying/writing some very negative things about her over this.

I get that they see a change occurring in the culture that puts less emphasis on toughing things out, and see that as a bad trend... and that is probably at least part of what is driving their criticism... but I think it is misguided in this case. What these young women do is physically dangerous. Note the reference to the "twisties" in the following article.

Right-Wing Twitter Loses Its Mind Over Simone Biles Withdrawing From Competition. Is it Fair?

I didn't mention the sexual abuse earlier that many of these young women suffered at the hands of the former team doctor. Simone Biles was one of them. Maybe that was a factor, maybe not.

A couple more worthy opinion pieces on her decision to drop out:

Simone Biles Did Nothing Wrong

Why Charlie Kirk, Seth Dillon, & Matt Walsh Should Stop. Immediately.

To the degree that accomplished athletes can be viewed as heroes, Simone Biles was an established sports heroine coming into this Olympics. Her decision to drop out didn't make her a villain, nor was it heroic. I do think it is fair to say it was selfless, as it appears that she set her ambition aside to preserve her team's chances to earn a spot on the podium.

In industry, we put a lot of emphasis on safety. One of the most important aspects of that to grasp and internalize is that the person most responsible for your safety is you. Nobody else has as much motivation and opportunity to protect me in the workplace as I do. If conditions are not safe, or if I become unfit for duty, I am expected to stop the job until the problem is resolved. I see no reason to afford Simone Biles any less consideration in her "workplace".

China and USA have the most medals. Are they all chocolate?

https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/all-sports/medal-standings.htm

You don't have a f..ing clue what kind of pressure her or anyone else is under to perform.

Profanity is unneeded to discuss the topic. Thank you.

You seem very butt hurt by it. Are you her BFF? Sister? Dad? Secret Stalker? BEA?

Leaving your team and country hanging isn't brave, it is cowardice.

If you're gonna drop out, do it before you're chosen for the games, and let someone more qualified to take the slot.

Leaving your team and country hanging isn't brave, it is cowardice.

If you're gonna drop out, do it before you're chosen for the games, and let someone more qualified to take the slot.

I don't think she should be lauded as a hero, though.

Well that explains more than I'm knowledgeable of, Cyberkut, thanks.

I put the Olympics on my ignore list before they started when the PWEC type stuff started happening. If she had a legitimate health concern, then that is reason to step aside. I don't think she should be lauded as a hero, though.