irritated with USAG and Simone crew

[wandrewsjr]

People are praising her for being brave/heroic because they thought it was about her mental health but we now know this is not a mental health issue. It is a mind/body disconnect. A true physical issue, like a fractured bone, where she literally could not compete no matter how bad she may have wanted to, without risking her life. That's not brave/heroic. That is smart and proper and what should be expected of anyone in that situation.

I agree with Tweb in that they did a very poor job of explaining the situation at the beginning. If they had come out initially and said that she is having air awareness problems, which was clear in the vault videos, most of the criticism about her quitting and being soft and can't handle the pressure would not have happened. We can all debate whether that should matter and whether people should be kinder, and we should all try better. That's all very well but we are dealing in reality and how news is relayed has a lot to do with how people react to it.

as for Simone coming back to worlds or in 3 yrs, I am doubting it. She is on record saying she doesn't enjoy the training anymore and that she is doing this for others, not herself. Sounds like she is ready to find her next passion - that may still be in the gym world, just not the high level training/competing.

Kindness doesn’t require appropriate news coverage. It can be ones default position. I always assumed what Simone did was smart and proper, until provided with evidence otherwise. I wish everyone had done the same.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Not for AA and not for individuals……

Individuals have not happened yet, what are you referring to?

 

[gymgal]

Kindness doesn’t require appropriate news coverage. It can be ones default position. I always assumed what Simone did was smart and proper, until provided with evidence otherwise. I wish everyone had done the same.

That's great for you but that's not how most of the world thinks in general. Several generations have raised with the grin and bear it mentality, especially for mental health and especially for adult athletes competing at such a high levels. It is what it is. Just think in general - Unclear announcements cause confusion and lead people to make assumptions. Straight forward explanations about what was going on reduce anxiety, speculation and assumptions. plain and simple. You may not like it or may feel that it shouldn't be necessary but none of that matters. We are dealing with reality. People get frustrated with when they are given unclear/conflicting information.

Individuals have not happened yet, what are you referring to?

She is talking about Simone being in the stands for AA and presumably for individuals. I am not sure how that is confusing. I personally am fine with her being there to support her teammates but I can see how others would see it as taking the spotlight away from her teammates.

 

[skschlag]

Not for AA and not for individuals……

Absolutely she should be there, cheering for her teammates. That is what being a teammate is all about.

 

[Ginger]

Not for AA and not for individuals……

Why does it bother you so much?
They are her friends, they are her teammates.
And I am sure they WANT her to be there.

 

[wandrewsjr]

That's great for you but that's not how most of the world thinks in general. Several generations have raised with the grin and bear it mentality, especially for mental health and especially for adult athletes competing at such a high levels. It is what it is. Just think in general - Unclear announcements cause confusion and lead people to make assumptions. Straight forward explanations about what was going on reduce anxiety, speculation and assumptions. plain and simple. You may not like it or may feel that it shouldn't be necessary but none of that matters. We are dealing with reality. People get frustrated with when they are given unclear/conflicting information.


She is talking about Simone being in the stands for AA and presumably for individuals. I am not sure how that is confusing. I personally am fine with her being there to support her teammates but I can see how others would see it as taking the spotlight away from her teammates

Simone is the best gymnast in the history of the sport. I automatically believed she was doing what was best for her and the team. What made you question her motives? I think everyone who did should look inward rather than outward to blame others…generational coaching, bad media relations, etc. Everyone please ask yourself what made you question her?

 

[gymgal]

Simone is the best gymnast in the history of the sport. I automatically believed she was doing what was best for her and the team. What made you question her motives? I think everyone who did should look inward rather than outward to blame others…generational coaching, bad media relations, etc. Everyone please ask yourself what made you question her?

I didn't question her motives about taking herself out of the AA. Not sure what you are referring to there. However, just because I believe something doesn't mean I can't understand the opposing viewpoint. Yes, in a perfect world, you would be correct that we should just take everything at face value, but we don't live in a perfect world so it is best to avoid confusion by just being straight forward. This isn't just sports. It's across everything.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Why does it bother you so much?
They are her friends, they are her teammates.
And I am sure they WANT her to be there.

Her presence is a distraction, from a coverage standpoint. What is Simone thinking……. Pan camera……… rinse repeat…….

Again, she did what is right for her of course she should take care of herself. She is also aware of how big a deal she is. she should stay out of the arena so the ladies competing can have their moments and not share it with Simone. She can support them. And and not give the press opportunities……. to keep her in the story. The other ladies worked hard they deserve their moment without a shadow.

 

[bogwoppit]

Her presence is a distraction, from a coverage standpoint. What is Simone thinking……. Pan camera……… rinse repeat…….

Again, she did what is right for her of course she should take care of herself. She is also aware of how big a deal she is. she should stay out of the arena so the ladies competing can have their moments and not share it with Simone. She can support them. And and not give the press opportunities……. to keep her in the story. The other ladies worked hard they deserve their moment without a shadow.

That is the medias problem, not Simone's. Get over it. The media will always look for "the story" and exploit it. If it wasn't Simone it would be Suni and her family or Myk and her husband, or whatever the heck they can milk for a dollar. The gymnasts are just $$$ signs in the eyes of the media.

Remember how Marta was always the focus of every meet? Well do you think she asked for that, but we saw her face every time something good or bad went down. Media again.

Again blaming Simone for the medias take on her life is incorrect. Her choosing to support her team, is again her choice. We know how close these girls are, let them be that, without the need for this dissection.

The fact that this thread even exists is mind boggling.

 

[kecks]

To me it is unbelievable that people have to debate if she should have been staying with the team, people questioning if a mind-body-disconnect in a performance situation is a mental health issue (of course it is, been there, lived trough it a trillion times as an athlete, coached many head cases after it...).

There is no real border at which a physical injury becomes a mental one and vice versa: Your body and your mind are one entity, deeply connected (or not in case you get the twisties as in connected, but not aligned).
For illustration of this point:
From physical to mental: A broken foot can become a mental obstacle long after the physical part of it healed fine - think of pain memory f.e., fear of injurying it again and thus avoiding putting pressure on it a little bit for a long time, causing overuse injury in the other foot after a while...
Illustration the other way round, from mental to physical: A mental problem like the Twisties do cause very physical injuries if it causes the athlete to bail mid skill.

It is always about the whole human being. It is never only about physical abilities or a "tight mind".

 

[skschlag]

Her presence is a distraction, from a coverage standpoint. What is Simone thinking……. Pan camera……… rinse repeat…….

I did not notice any more focus on her than should be. They showed her sitting in the group cheering for the girls, as she should be. Now, I mostly watched the live streaming, but did watch most of the recaps too, and felt attention was placed where it should be.

IMO she can't win. YOu are complaining that she should not be there, but if she were NOT there, and everyone else was, that would be the story. I love that she is there, and providing an audience for her teammates. They need that.

 

[amiandjim]

If Simone hadn’t been there for team, AA, and presumably EF, people would criticize her more, that’s a certainty. They would say she is “pouting” and “not supporting the team.” She cannot help the media focus on her. I’m 100% sure she didn’t ask NBC to broadcast her ankle being taped multiple times during nationals and trials…that’s their issue.

 

[Eleven sol]

If Simone hadn’t been there for team, AA, and presumably EF, people would criticize her more, that’s a certainty. They would say she is “pouting” and “not supporting the team.” She cannot help the media focus on her. I’m 100% sure she didn’t ask NBC to broadcast her ankle being taped multiple times during nationals and trials…that’s their issue.

I thought it was fantastic of her to stay and support her teammates. She’s got to be disappointed, but she’s there encouraging and helping.

The same way I drive my soccer player to her team’s game when she’s injured to sit on the bench and root for her team. It’s sportsmanship.

 

[Flippin'A]

If Simone hadn’t been there for team, AA, and presumably EF, people would criticize her more, that’s a certainty. They would say she is “pouting” and “not supporting the team.” She cannot help the media focus on her. I’m 100% sure she didn’t ask NBC to broadcast her ankle being taped multiple times during nationals and trials…that’s their issue.

Exactly. Knowing NBC they'd spend an equal amount of time panning to an empty chair and speculating about where Simone is and why she isn't supporting her team. There's no winning for her in any of this. Mental blocks suck when it's your back walkover on high beam and they suck when it's the twisties on a triple double. She's a 24 year old human being who is just doing her best to ride out the media circus.

 

[Eleven sol]

 

[superflipgirl]

I just have to say: If I were able to respond to some of these posts in the way that I truly would like to respond, I'd be banned from this entire message board.

That goes to show how angry it makes me that this thread, and some of these replies, exist. Enough said before I become even angrier and risk being kicked off this board, but hopefully that shows how I feel about some of you all's thoughts on the matter

Anyone who has not experienced flipping through the air in front of basically the entire world watching you needs to take a seat and leave all judgment about Simone at the door.

And I don't want to bring race into this because for some reason people seem to get very defensive when race is brought up, but I can't help wondering if a white gymnast would be receiving this same criticism....

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

Moving a bunch of posts from this thread to the racism thread. You are welcome and encouraged to continue that part of the discussion here: https://chalkbucket.com/forums/threads/a-discussion-of-racism-in-the-gymnastics-world.67432/

 

[gymgal]

Moving a bunch of posts from this thread to the racism thread. You are welcome and encouraged to continue that part of the discussion here: https://chalkbucket.com/forums/threads/a-discussion-of-racism-in-the-gymnastics-world.67432/

you moved my post over to the new thread but it was specifically addressing this particular thread and now makes no sense in the other thread because there is no context. Please consider returning it here (or putting it in both).

 

[Geoffrey Taucer]

you moved my post over to the new thread but it was specifically addressing this particular thread and now makes no sense in the other thread because there is no context. Please consider returning it here (or putting it in both).

Unfortunately the forum software doesn't offer us much in the way of clean ways to handle that on our end. However, you are welcome to edit your posts to clarify and provide context, including posting a link to the other thread.

 

[Tweb]

I saw that Simone did not rule out 2024. I hope she will take some time off and then give it a try. I hate to see her career end with all this mess. She's said she hasn't enjoyed training but if she gave up bars and or beam I think she might change her mind.