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Athletes voice support for Simone Biles
Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is one of many athletes supporting Simone Biles and her withdrawal from her Olympic events in order to put her mental health first. Prescott's support speaks volumes after having his own battle with mental health. In 2020, Dak went public about suffering from depression after his brother Jace committed suicide and the overwhelming effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. He stated he "experienced emotions I've never felt before." He used the interview with Graham Bensinger as a channel to get his message out, to encourage others to understand mental health is real and it's not uncommon.
Simone Biles followed that path and faced something many do with mental health these days: ridicule and backlash. After an awkward landing and low score on the vault, she explained she wasn't in the right headspace and did not want to risk an unnecessary injury. On top of that, her scores from the recent US Championships were received as been too-low after landing several difficult moves. Basically, the International Gymnastics Federation gave the message that Simone Biles was too talented to win by doing a move most can't land and would get injured with. It's no surprise she wasn't in the right mindset in Tokyo.
Simone Biles has since been called a "quitter" and the media has made jokes on her part, but the support outshines the hate. Her NFL boyfriend, Houston Texans CB Jonathan Owens, has been fully behind Biles throughout her tough journey at the Olympics. Others, like former NFL punter Pat McAfee, former UFC champion Ronda Rousey, sports host Colin Cowherd, actress Kerry Washington, NBA star Jeremy Lin, and fellow Olympians like Michael Phelps and her teammates have voiced their support on social media. Naomi Osaka, who also recently suffered from a mental health issue, supported Simone Biles and encouraged her. Osaka took a hiatus from tennis to heal her mental state and received backlash and was also called a quitter and weak in the media and social media.
With mental health being taken more seriously, more athletes could take breaks away from their sport. The ridicule will always be there as fans and media alike want them playing to reap the benefits. Fear of being labeled as a "quitter" or "disgrace" could discourage people from being open and honest with their mental health, which is not the progress we need.
It's unclear if Simone Biles will compete in any more Olympic events, but we wish her well in her journey.
