Simone Biles will not compete in the women's all-around gymnastics competition at the Olympics.
Already many are criticizing her decision to tend to her mental health rather than competing to win another gold medal. For all you naysayers and armchair critics: How would you like it if YOUR mental health struggles were played out in front of billions of people? Would you want to be publicly shamed, called a selfish coward and criticized for taking care of yourself? Would you criticize her had she suffered a physical injury such as a badly sprained ankle? What if she competed and suffered a debilitating, possibly even fatal, injury?
I can't even begin to imagine the pressure she is under to perform at the absolute highest level, to have the focus required to safely complete feats that could, quite literally, result in her death. To continue her dominance of a very demanding sport. To live up to her reputation for perfection and fearlessness as she flies through the air, twisting and turning. And all to bring home a gold medal for the US.
I hope she successfully deals with her mental health issues. And I hope she competes again, if she decides that is what she wants to do. But if she never races toward another pommel horse, if she never does another back flip on a narrow balance beam, what she has given us, in lessons in courage, in strength to bring her struggles into the public eye, and in medals won, can never be taken away.
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