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Tokyo Olympics

She’s not an American. She intentionally renounced her American citizenship and chose Japanese citizenship.



She isn’t an American, says she doesn’t understand what being American is, and she doesn’t want to be an American. Fine, go be a citizen of some other country.

And no, I’m not tweeting at Simone Biles.

A lot of Black and Asian Americans don’t really feel like Americans. Doesn’t mean they aren’t. She had dual citizenship until she couldn’t anymore.
 
That doesn’t make her an American. I’m going to take her at her word and follow her actions and let her be Japanese.
 
I read that she said she withdrew to rest and focus on her mental health…so I am “assuming” it has something to do with mental health.

I don’t want to sound like an insensitive dick, because she may have a mental health issue - but even if she didn’t - what would expect her to say? I had a bad vault and I’m not used to not dominating so I decided to withdraw because I couldn’t tolerate having the lowest score on my team?

How do you draw the line between a mental health issue and not performing up to expectations? I don’t know. I think you have her the benefit of the doubt, but it’s a fair conversation to have.
 
My wife could have had dual citizenship, but she doesn’t. She’s an American. And the US allows you to have dual citizenry. BTW, Naomi’s racist Japanese grandparents didn’t talk to their own daughter for 15 years when they learned she was dating a black guy and didn’t meet Naomi until she was 11.
 
You’re defining American as citizenship. I’m defining it as residence and being a part of the culture.
 
Fine, she’s a Japanese citizen living in America.
 
If I go live in Scotland it doesn’t make me Scottish, especially if I go out of my way to maintain American citizenship and talk about how I don’t know what it means to be Scottish.
 
On a day when the overarching discussion at the Olympics is the topic of mental health... "The 2021 Tokyo Games, brought to you by 'The Suicide Squad.' Rated R."
 
I don’t want to sound like an insensitive dick, because she may have a mental health issue - but even if she didn’t - what would expect her to say? I had a bad vault and I’m not used to not dominating so I decided to withdraw because I couldn’t tolerate having the lowest score on my team?

How do you draw the line between a mental health issue and not performing up to expectations? I don’t know. I think you have her the benefit of the doubt, but it’s a fair conversation to have.

My issue here is not so much with Simone, it’s with the way people talk about mental health in sports. Somebody bows out of a competition because the blow their ACL and it’s a tragedy they are a warrior but somebody bows out because they are having a panic attack or a mental health break down and they are weak and a failure.

I can’t be sure if she truly had a mental health crisis or not this week, but I do know she has plenty of reasons in her past and in her present to have constant feelings anxiety, depression, or other emotional instability. I also know that mental health is a chronic problem for individuals that if not dealt with could fester and explode. Clearly our culture does not accept athletes having mental health issues so they don’t seek help and the problem gets worse and worse. Imagine having a chronic injury that always hurts a bit but you put your head down just to get through one more practice or one more game. Eventually the minor chronic issue could develop into a major physical problem or a catastrophic injury because you never sought help and two years later one little thing put it over the edge.

I know you don’t want to sound like a sick, but you are getting pretty close. This kid was molested for years and thrust on a National/international stage as a teen. It would be more surprising if she didn’t have mental health issues and have a break down one day at a tournament.
 
People will say that a large part of sports is mental but they won’t allow athletes to take care of their mental health.

On a day when the overarching discussion at the Olympics is the topic of mental health... "The 2021 Tokyo Games, brought to you by 'The Suicide Squad.' Rated R."

Don’t forget to watch Dr. Death on Peacock.

If I go live in Scotland it doesn’t make me Scottish, especially if I go out of my way to maintain American citizenship and talk about how I don’t know what it means to be Scottish.

So you don’t consider yourself a Wake fan. Not surprised.
 
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Ugh they're interviewing biles' teammates:

First response "[when I saw her in the air] I had a panic attack"
 
Lol these tiny girls are saying the same things some of y'all are saying:

"We WON silver rather than lost gold"

"We don't owe you anything"
 
I think some people have a tough time comprehending basic “next man up” and “us against the world” sports mentality coming from girls and young women.
 
I can't imagine trading in my entire childhood over one bad vault.

That's 100% because I can't imagine even attempting the vault.
 
Simone Biles suffered a mental health breakdown, one that was so severe she couldn't continue to compete. It is no different than an athlete suffering a physical health breakdown that is so severe they are not able to continue to compete. It was not physically visible because it is not a physical injury, yet it is still an injury and a debilitating one.

It is sad, but not surprising, that many people are incapable of understanding this.
 
I can't imagine trading in my entire childhood over one bad vault.

That's 100% because I can't imagine even attempting the vault.

The “one bad vault” was a symptom not the cause of the mental concerns.
 
Wait... talking shit about a 24 yo YOU DON'T KNOW "quitting" during a potential mental health care crisis isn't talking shit?

No, he talked shit about a fellow Wake fan and not only that, made the very specific accusation that said fan is below average in his profession. And guess what? The fact is he doesn't have a fucking clue about what any of us do or how good we are at it. In other words, he DOESN'T KNOW. Get me? What he said was beyond the pale.

I'm very sympathetic to what Biles has gone through and respect and admire her and her teammates. I'm not in a position to judge her decision to withdraw and won't. If she's having mental health issues, which are serious and deserving of the same attention as physical injuries, I'm sure she'll get plenty of help given that she's worth million of dollars (unfortunately a lot of ordinary people with the same or similar mental health issues won't have the same luxury).

Maybe after the Olympics she can retreat from the public glare some and relax - I hope so. But if she's doing modeling shoots, making the talk show rounds, and is all over social media, it's okay for us to question whether there might have been more to the story here (or at least conclude that she's making bad choices if the issues are truly mental).
 
I don’t want to sound like an insensitive dick, because she may have a mental health issue - but even if she didn’t - what would expect her to say? I had a bad vault and I’m not used to not dominating so I decided to withdraw because I couldn’t tolerate having the lowest score on my team?

How do you draw the line between a mental health issue and not performing up to expectations? I don’t know. I think you have her the benefit of the doubt, but it’s a fair conversation to have.

Too late. The non-Dick approach is “trust the athlete who has proven repeatedly that she is mentally stronger than any of us through her relentless dedication to being the greatest at her sport.” Another is “fuck off you have no idea what’s in her head.” Some people won’t believe a mental health issue exists unless someone SUCCESSFULLY commits suicide.

If I go live in Scotland it doesn’t make me Scottish, especially if I go out of my way to maintain American citizenship and talk about how I don’t know what it means to be Scottish.

We all know you’re Italian.
 
Too late. The non-Dick approach is “trust the athlete who has proven repeatedly that she is mentally stronger than any of us through her relentless dedication to being the greatest at her sport.” Another is “fuck off you have no idea what’s in her head.” Some people won’t believe a mental health issue exists unless someone SUCCESSFULLY commits suicide.

Right. Why the fuck do we get to be so skeptical of her motivation for withdrawal?
 
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