Citing some mental challenges, gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from the team competition and individual all-around at the Tokyo Olympics, cheering her teammates instead as they exhibited grace and grit under pressure to win the team silver as their Russian rivals took the gold.
We can’t know what was going through her mind. She had a tough childhood and was among the gymnasts abused by Dr. Larry Nasser. She said she took herself out of competition so she wouldn’t cost her team a medal. Watching her vault again, it’s clear she did the right thing., despite the naysaying from the usual suspects, including provocateur Piers Morgan. Biles seemed disoriented in space, a dangerous thing to be in a sport in which paralysis and death are real possibilities. Without her, there would be no chance for the team gold. But with her, in that condition, there might’ve been no chance for the podium. So Biles was prudent to walk away for now.
Who knows what the shelf life of dedication, concentration and the human body is for each of us? But perhaps there are other factors, and those include the expectations of media narratives, which are shaped by 400 years of racism in America.
We have demonized Black people for so long that many of us in the media have been eager to champion them, especially Black women, who have been doubly demeaned. But in supporting them, we sometimes overcompensate with coverage that creates outsize expectations. (Did tennis star Naomi Osaka really deserve a Time magazine cover and a Netflix documentary?) The New York TImes referred to Biles as “a transcendent star,” which she is, and the greatest gymnast of all time, which she isn’t. Has time ended? Maybe the greatest gymnast is a baby yet to be born in Afghanistan. I’ve never been a fan of the GOAT (Greatest Of All TIme) argument, because it’s lazy journalism and writing, something better suited to all those PR agents who keep describing their clients as “internationally renowned.” (Note to publicists: If you have to say your clients are famous, they aren’t.)
Besides, the whole GOAT designation is specious. Roger Federer has been called tennis’ GOAT for years. So where does that leave Novak Djokovic, who tied Federer and Rafael Nadal for most Slam titles (20) with his recent Wimbledon win, has been No. 1 longer than either, holds a winning record against each and is vying for the Golden Slam (all four Slam titles in a calendar year plus Olympic gold) in Tokyo — something Federer and Nadal are never going to do? Ah, but Djokovic, an Eastern European of brilliance, beauty and philanthropy who is nonetheless given to sometimes controversial opinions, is a complex individual who doesn’t fit into a narrative the American media can sell.
In overselling the Biles story to the American public, the media may just have sold her short.