‘Lazy Olympic champions’: Biles claps back at former US teammate after Paris gold
Athletes find motivation everywhere. For Simone Biles, at least some of the message board material that inspired her in Tuesday’s women’s gymnastics final came from a familiar face.
Just hours after Biles helped the United States win its third team gold in the last four Olympics, posted a photo on Instagram of herself as she stood on stage with fellow gold medalists Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera to celebrate her victory.
Her six-word caption spoke volumes: “lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions.”
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The reference may not have gone down well with those who aren’t up to date on the latest gymternet gossip. But Biles’s words were a direct response to recent comments made by MyKayla Skinner, a former U.S. gymnast who won a silver medal on vault at the 2020 Olympics.
Skinner caused controversy after this year’s U.S. Olympic qualifying games when she posted a video on youtube in which she shares her critiques of the team’s talent, depth and work ethic, away from Biles.
“I feel like besides Simone, the talent and depth just isn’t what it used to be,” Skinner said. “I mean, obviously a lot of the girls just don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic. It’s also tough because of SafeSport. Coaches can’t harass athletes and they have to be very careful about what they say, which in some ways is a good thing, but at the same time, to get where you need to be in gymnastics, you have to be a little aggressive, a little intense.”
The American Center for SafeSport is the organization that is concerned with the prevention of sexual abuse of athletes. Sexual abuse has been a major problem for USA Gymnastics for decades.
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Skinner’s comments immediately sparked a backlash from the U.S. gymnastics community, including Biles, which led to Skinner releasing another video in which she blamed viewers for “misinterpreting or misunderstanding exactly what I meant or said.” Three days later a formal apology was offered.
Whether Biles forgave her former teammate was unclear. But it was clear the five-time Olympic gold medalist certainly didn’t forget early Wednesday morning.