The internet is supporting Olympian gymnast Simone Biles
- Posted by
- Hollie Richardson
- Published
Fans are reminding champion gynmnast Simone Biles that her brother’s actions are not representative of her, after the news about his arrest broke this week.
Simone Biles is arguably the greatest gymnast of all time. The US Olympian has set the record tor being the most decorated gymnast in history with her 25 Olympic and World Championship medals. She also recently went viral with a video which showed just how incredible she is.
And her feminist feats aren’t restricted to the gym floor.
After a male host asked her to smile during a TV interview, Biles superbly replied: “Smiling doesn’t win you gold medals”. The athlete has also bravely spoken out about being abused by former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar, who was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to seven counts of sexual assault of minors.
Biles received some truly distressing personal news this week, after learning that her brother has been arrested. When the news broke, variations of Biles’ name linked with the specific charges quickly started to circulate on the internet.
But a tweet shared by Biles quickly proved why reporting around the story needs to be more considered, as she wrote: “Eating my feelings, don’t talk to me”. The personal news must be hard enough without seeing details of the case being written within headlines about her.
But fans and followers were quick with their support for the athlete, reminding the world that Biles’ talent and achivements are what we should be focusing on.
Earlier this year, Biles openly talked about how she doesn’t want to be defined by her negative life experiences. “They’re not going to see me as Simone the gymnast, they’re going to see Simone the sexual abuse survivor,” she told Priyanka Chopra in a candid video interview about being abused by Nassar.
The support Biles has received proves that she will first and foremost always be known as a champion athlete. We hope that Simone the gymnast has the support she needs at this difficult time and returns to the gym floor soon.
Images: Getty