USA Women's Gymnastics

Biles explains event exit: 'I'm not in the right headspace'

We might have the next Britney in the making

So the "World's Greatest Gymnyst of All Time" QUIT on her team, because she wasn't in the right headspace. Welcome to the snowflake society.

Her motto, "when it gets tough...I'm bailing out".

She doesn’t want to admit she doesn’t stand a chance at winning.

And what’s the deal with skateboarding in the olympics? Time to just do away with all of it. It’s outta control. There doesn’t have to be a “sport” for every person and a place on a “team” for every person.

The Olympics are a joke. And the joke is on the USA. Most of our “athletes”(for real quotation…term is used very loosely) just plain suck compared to the other larger counties. Our kids are soft, useless, crybabies.

Too many stupid "sports". Synchronized diving??

JR

She'll talk with Oprah and we can find out what happened.

I'm embarrassed of our country right now.

That^^ has country-shaming undercurrents.

She did the right thing if she was worried about making another mistake in her routine. If she mentally was struggling, stepping aside and letting another professional perform who is ready to go gives the team a better chance to win. Have to do whats best for the team in a team event, and if thats what she truly felt was best then good on her

Who will take care of her goat now?

If you're the GOAT in your sport, then you suck it up and go out there and make a perfect score, because that's what you do.

A few of her quotes (from USA Today article):

"I was still struggling with some things."

'Sometimes it's hard'

Whenever you get in high-stress situations, you kind of freak out and don’t really know how to handle all of those emotions especially at the Olympic Games."

That just hurts my heart that doing what I love has been kind of taken away from me to please other people.

It's been a long week. It's been a long Olympic process. It's been a long year.

"So it's OK sometimes to even sit out the big competitions to focus on yourself, because it shows how strong of a competitor and person that you really are, rather than just battle through it."

"I'm in the docuseries that I'm filming. I have an incredible team. I love everybody who I work with and the people around me, but it's just like at the end of the day, we're putting content out. So I don't want to put anything out there that people wouldn't view as nice."

A lot of "me, and I" in there, so I'm not really sure she's thinking about the team at all. That last one about filming for her docuseries kind of sums it up. "So I don't want to put anything out there that people wouldn't view as nice."

But at the end of the day if shes going to go out there and screw up because she cant handle the pressure its better she lets the alternate thats ready to handle it go. Its easy to say, just go out there and suck it up, but if she determined she couldnt then would we prefer she goes out there and chokes? We can all sit her and dog her for what she did, but why? whats the point.

edit: Maybe this means shes not the "goat" afterall

Kerri Strug is probably smiling and shaking her head some where out there.

Ol Jones said it pretty good. Who's gonna fill their shoes?

I don't even know where my headspace is...or if I ever had one.

Being great in Athletics is often as mental as physical. Any Champion or amateur athlete can tell you that.

She is not mentally strong enough...so not the goat and not OT hard.

If she wanted to opt out of the individual competitions I would say that's just fine, but she let her team down... Not because of a injury or because she gave her very best and came up short. She quit her team. The Russians got gold because of her selfish choice.

I guess when you have celebrity and millions of dollars quitting is always an option. Most of us regular guys who have some success in life don't consider quitting an option. Especially if quitting means giving up on your team. Whether your team is your coworkers, employees, friends, family, your community you don't quit on them. She quit on her team and on her country and on her fans.

It's shameful and embarrassing. Honestly I thought she was a cool person, a tremendous athlete in an excellent role model. Not sure that's all true anymore.

Very well said!

Her therapist must have missed his flight so she was a mental mess! give me a break! This is what she worked for all these years!

If it doesn't have an offense and a defense, it's not a sport. What you have there is a hobby. Skateboarding, power walking, shot put, gymnastics, fishing, these are hobbies people have. Solo Synchronized Swimming was on the docket back in the 90's. Say what?

I've never understood the economics or the the time and effort that goes into who's the best at jumping around on a balance beam. Sometimes entertaining to watch though.

What about golf? and competitive wanking?

Exactly. She's sitting there thinking.... Sweat dries, blood clots, bones heal. Suck-it-up buttercup.

It’s a little more complicated than that.

She was going to retire, but she stayed on the team to see the Larry Nassar case through, because she felt it would lend more credence if an active gymnast was testifying against him.

The judges are sandbagging her scores by not giving her the difficulty scores she should receive. One guess as to why is because she is doing things that are so complicated they’re afraid other competitors will try things they’re not good enough to do, just to be competitive, which could have terrible results. Another guess is, she’s so much better than everyone else and the stunts she’s attempting are so complicated, that are trying to make it more interesting by having her scores be somewhat close to the competition.

And yesterday, something was clearly wrong with her. She almost missed the vault and almost ran off the floor during her floor routine. She cost the team a gold yesterday, and by stepping down, she allowed them to at least win silver. It would be similar to a pitcher knowing he doesn’t have his stuff and telling his coach as such after giving up three runs in an inning.

Now, I will say that “I’m not in the right headspace” sounds ridiculous. I wouldn’t call her a snowflake, but I’m not exactly sure how the most dominant gymnast probably ever doesn’t have her A game in the Olympics. But I’d rather her step back for the good of the team, especially when she could easily end up paralyzed based on how bad she was yesterday.

Yes it was and much better explained that I did when I called her a quitter.

I didn't know there were so many Olympians here that knows what it feels like to be in her shoes.... Now I know

Unless this is sarcasm, it’s the silliest post I’ve seen in a long time she hasn’t lost since like 2013. She was the heavy favorite by far and is doing things male gymnasts can’t even do. She’s in another stratosphere.

Well, that’s the outcome of giving AF what other people think of you. If she’d abandon all sense of worthiness and dignity...just be herself and let her freak flag fly, she’d be fine.

Yes. Sarcasm.

Saying that….she should have sucked it up, and carried her weight.

the above is spot on , I was put in gymnastics with my sister at a very young age . I Had a Belgium coach my first 3 years , then a Japanese coach the next 6 . We were being groomed for the Olympics . 3 1/2 to 4 hours a day , 6 days a week . My coach from Japan competed in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics as the 1st alternate . He pushed us crazy hard . Brutal sport on the body . My hands , arms , legs and feet NEVER felt good . I eventually had to leave the sport at 14 due to back injuries ( broke my L4 twice ) . I had a team mate , named Roy Palasou that made the US Olympic team in 1980 --- the year we boycotted going to Russia . He is the only gymnast I knew that didn't have a serious injury ever ,
Gymnastics is brutal on the body . If Biles wasn't right in her head ( for any reason ) --- she did the right thing . Not only for her team , but also for her safety . I believe they don't really know how to score some of her insane tricks --- how do you score something never done before ?
Do you remember Olga Korbut ? She was the first ever to do a back somersault on beam . Today , that is not even considered hard . My sister was one of the first US to do the same trick . She could do it easily in practice ---- but only made about 50% of them in competition --- it was a move that made her " think " . She gave up a full ride to Long Beach State because she was tired of her body being in constant pain .
Biles is the GOAT ------ not even close .

Did you ever get to meet Chazz Michael Michaels?

She's brought home 6 Olympic medals for us, I'd say she's done her part for America.

Do they still have the ribbon on a stick contest, I might watch that.

She has the yips.

Hey, I sucked at golf today. First 3 holes, I was like 7 over, but you know what? I sucked it up and straightened my game out
and had a great day in the end. Okay, in full disclosure, the beer cart lady may have helped out a little.

Pretty much.

I was gunna say...

You should share that story with her via Napster or whatever app the kids are using these days. Would probably pep her up a little...get her back flipping and pomel-horsing for America again!

Good idea, but gym chicks don't pommel.

These are the children of those who "earned" participation trophies.

I made myself watch women’s gymnastics tonight and the “interviews” with Biles. My opinion is that she quit on her team. Too many vague responses to questions and nothing physical going on. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong but it just seems to me to have the smell of someone quitting at just the wrong time.

And make a few $,$$$,$$$ in the process... Dan

Mental and physical breakdowns happen. Glad you guy's are perfect.

Maybe she got a pimple on her backside?

Perfect???... Not by any means... What's she gonna do when she faces real adversity???... Like a terminally ill parent, spouse or child. Run and hide???... She let her teammates down, on the biggest stage in the world... There's nothing wrong with failure as long as you're giving it 100% of your effort... What would've have happened if Mahomes decided last year in the second quarter of the Super Bowl they didn't have a chance to beat the Bucs so he just benched himself???... Dan

Biles is still eligible to compete in the individual events next week (except for the individual all-around). I wonder what everyone will think if she is able to compete then. Team -- No. Me -- Yes.

Yep. Nobody respects a quitter.

this generation strongly believes in work smarter not harder. i hear it from that age group all the time. working hard is hard and quitting is easy. just another example of the laziness of american children.

It was smart of her to recognize that she was not right for the competition. Quitter? OMG, I can't imagine the relentless amount of training she has had to go through to prepare. She made the right decision for her that will prove to be a good example.

Tell your boss you are not mentally right and you are just gonna pack up and go home for a few days. They will put a red circle around your name and fire you asap.

She shamed herself for the world to see and only a bunch of sad sacks who revel in group hugs will buy her [censored]. I'm sure the Oprah crowd will buy her book.

how many of y'all have competed at this level?

she is a kid that lost her childhood
to a game

“Real adversity?” Like deciding not to retire so that she could make sure her sexual abuser was convicted?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...al-looms-over-tokyo-olympics/5375279001/

You mean like last month when her brother was acquitted of murder charges? You think that added any stress to everything else she’s been going through? Or the fact that she and her siblings were separated at a young age because her mom had drug and alcohol issues?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/spor...-biles-brother-murder-charges-dismissed/

Pretending she’s never been through adversity without doing any research isn’t having a productive conversation. And, as stated earlier in the thread, she couldn’t perform so she stepped down for the good of the team. If Mahomes had a concussion and couldn’t perform, he’d be hurting his team and wouldn’t help his team by staying on the field, and also risking additional - perhaps long-lasting - injury. She made a strategic choice that was the right one for the team.

If Simone had a broken leg, would you want her out there, or would you understand she couldn’t perform and someone should take her place? Because she couldn’t physically perform the other day. She cost the team gold by screwing up her routine. Had she kept going, she would have cost the team silver, too. Instead of a broken leg, she had a mental issue preventing her from competing at a winning level. Players take themselves out of games when they’re injured, gassed, don’t have it, etc for the betterment of the team. The difference is, most athletes aren’t jumping off elevated surfaces and doing things that could result in death or paralysis if they’re off by millimeters.

I don’t pretend to understand what it’s like being the face of your sport, going through a very public sexual abuse case, her brother being tried for murder, and then having the entire world expect you to do stuff never done before and be perfect while doing so, all while the judges are apparently sandbagging and handicapping you. But let’s not pretend she’s never been through “real adversity.”

Edit: And for the record, I’m just saying it’s more complicated than “she quit.” I wish she hadn’t even joined the team this year. But it’s not like other sports and her situation is way more involved than comparing her to Patrick Mahomes taking himself out of a game. She ensured the team a silver medal after costing them a gold medal. If she doesn’t remove herself, the team doesn’t medal at all.

she proclaimed she was .....



own it.

you cats are whack
& she could probably boat ramp the entire lot

She is the GOAT. Michael Jordan is the GOAT, regardless of his time as a Washington Wizard or quitting in his prime to play baseball.

he never walked away and unless I'm mistaken, has never called himself the goat.

ESPN and the press are already putting the spin on it and Biles will become the spokesperson for the new generation of competitors. I grew up believing that the Olympics was about the gold. I guess today’s athletes feel differently.

“ Instead of labeling this night a disappointment for the American team, perhaps it's a time to celebrate the ushering in of a new era: one in which gold medals take a backseat to mental health”

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story...biles-withdrew-team-final-be-100-percent

her mental issues didnt just show up at the olympics

get on that balance beam Big Bob

I'm not a girl.

I'll take a guy like Byron Leftwich that comes out on a broken leg to go back in the game and has to be carried down field by his team mates over a snot nosed premadona who cant have her ADD meds and freaks out.

boy i bet that really contributed to his team
instead of playing the game they are carrying the medicore QB around

he isn't close to her level

The wussification of America on full display. Libs get a pass for their "feelings" . How wonderfully woke.

Any player with an injury should come out of the game -- concussion, broken leg, broken finger, whatever. She wasn't injured and she said so afterward during the press conference. She had a bad day, week, year and her mind just wasn't right (my words, not hers). If you are the team leader you don't just stop and head for the dressing room. If you are in an individual sport you don't just stop when things go wrong. Would Jordan Speith just walk off the course because he hit a bad shot and now might not win the championship. Same with tennis, bowling or any other non-team sport. You finish.

If you are the acknowledged BEST at what you do, you don't walk away because you had a stumble. What kind of example is that for younger people in that sport. "Well, she was having a bad day so I can do that do!"

The way things are going in our society today, something like that will be OK soon. Oh my, well let's just act like you were never here and you can leave to see your therapist.

Jordan makes millions to finish in the middle
of course he is not going to walk off

Let me know if they show any boxing, it’s the only thing in any Olympics worth watching anyway.

Kerri Strug, did the 2nd vault on one foot to help her TEAM win the gold. She didn't let her team down. She persevered for the team.

I believe it also ended her career.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shun_Fujimoto

Man this thread shows me one thing........we can argue about anything.


I know nothing of this girl or her history , I really don't have an opinion of her........... but I rarely do what I don't "want" to do.

Nope. Shortly after her feat, Strug participated in the Ice Capades and Disney's World On Ice, then announced her retirement and enrolled in UCLA where she was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta women’s fraternity. As a professional, she could not compete in NCAA gymnastics events, so she worked for a time as team manager instead, a behind-the-scenes role. She later transferred to Stanford University where she earned a master's degree in Sociology. Strug also took part in a Semester at Sea in the Fall of 2000.[10]

Look, the only people that care about gymnastics are women and gheys.

I didn’t give a sh** about gymnastics last week. I don’t give a sh** about it this week.

Put her on a plane and send her home. Get her out of the spotlight and let those remaining be the story.

She's getting a load of national media attention. Which i'm sure is exactly what she wanted when she did it.

maybe
but it ended her gymnastic career
maybe you should look up her side of the story when she was laying on the floor

Prince Harry is now a Chief Impact Officer of BetterUp Inc., the fast-growing coaching and mental health firm...I'm sure she just got a long term, high-dollar contract.

gymnastics isn't a career. your done after the Olympics anyway.

There are a lot of important things going on in the world today. The Olympic "games" and other sports are just that, games. They have no impact on my life and I could care less.

I agree Bob.

There is a team competing that is made of nothing of but refugees who don't have a country they can call their own anymore. They literally ran for their life's in many cases. No money, no food, no clean water, no safety or security, they dont speak the language or know the customs...these are straight up legit refugees. They fled genocide, murderous regimes, religious terrorists, rapists and thugs of the worst kind.

Despite all that and having only the most limited of training resources, and almost no shot of winning anything... they compete hard. They don't quit. They don't let their team, their families, their countrymen down, they show grit when things are hard. That is what Champions do.

They should share their mental health tips with any American who feels they need to quit because "The mental is not there".

So, if I read this correctly, she never competed in in a gymnastics again? Sounds like a career end to me.
But you may be right. I haven't really researched it. I was going off memory.

LMAO....and college athletes are amateurs'. She is making big money as an elite athlete.

is it the Central American team ?

you missed the point. College football players can go on and have a professional career. college gymnasts cannot.

That Mary Lou R. Chick does menopause commercials. I don’t think she still flips around anymore though.

This year's refugee athletes come from 11 different countries — Afghanistan, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, the Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Venezuela.

yes, and you can coach and that sort of thing. there is no professional gymnastics. after college and the Olympics, it's time to move on.

You're not eactly correct... Although there isn't an NGL (National Gymnastic League) they still can complete internationally and make some pretty good coin... Dan

Simone Biles estimated net worth stands at around six million dollars, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Her status as a World Champion since 2013 has led to many lucrative sponsorship deals, which account for the majority of her wealth.

Additionally, at the 2016 Olympic Games, each Gold Medalist was awarded $25,000, $15,000 for Silver, and $10,000 for Bronze. With four gold medals and one bronze, Biles walked away from $110,000 richer.

This year, USA Today has reported that athletes can expect to win “$37,500 for each gold medal they win this year, $22,500 for each silver, and $15,000 for each bronze. In team sports, each team member splits the pot evenly.” Meaning that this year Biles and the entire USA team could leave the games with even more money than in 2016.

https://en.as.com/en/2021/07/27/olympic_games/1627346998_194483.html[/i][i][s][/s]

point taken.

interesting
they left a bunch off the list though

On a brighter note in the Olympics:

But in the Olympic village they don’t have to live like a refugee.

I wonder how Bruce Jenner handled all the stress when he was crowned the best athlete in the world. You didn’t see him do anything crazy when he got all the attention.

last 2 comments are really funny
nice work

No kidding. Man up

And this is why Mudshark is the goat

there we have it , the most ignorant post in the history of TFF

🤣😂

hard to believe you just compared working a " regular " job to the worlds greatest woman gymnast , and how she is literally risking severe injury , if not possibly breaking her neck and dying .
What she is trying to do is incredibly risky , if she's not right in her head , she shouldn't be competing .
She even told her coach " I don't trust myself "

Take a salt tablet. Get back to it.

wow, put her up on a pedestal. she's a gymnast not Mother Theresa. life will continue just fine without her,

100% correct!

During the prelims she was "way off" and still averaged 14.9x's and beat everyone else on all of the apparatuses.

Her average during the last several meets is 15.5x's meaning even when she is off by a lot she is better than anyone else.

I did , she is the GOAT of her sport and she's been through enough in life at her young age . It's also obvious you have ZERO clue on how hard she has trained to be the GOAT . I would speculate that you have never even come close to that level of effort in anything . Trying to compare a regular job to what an OLympic athlete , or even a pro golfer is stupid . Pro golfer aren't risking their life ---Biles is risking severe injury EVERY TIME she trains and EVERY time she competes .
THe only thing your correct about is -- life will go on without her .

there we have it , the most ignorant post in the history of TFF

Definitely not like work. Sounds more like what us rednecks do in our spare time for fun. Hold my beer!

Couple weeks and nobody will remember her until she does Dancing with the non stars and a Geico commercial in a couple years.

Bob , you sound like a butthurt 12 year old girl . Please tell me how much you actually know about Biles , Gymnastics or training for anything difficult . Being crowned your neighborhood circle jerk champion doesn't count

here's some women who actually put their life on a line and they don't do it for millions. She's nothing in comparison, nothing. go suck on that.

In my opinion, I agree with you about the risk and the potential for injury. I agree about me not having a whiff of understanding regarding what it takes to compete at that level, mentally and physically. Where I disagree, is the quitting part - and I don’t claim to be right.

Mental toughness, as it applies to perseverance or quitting, is hard-wired. Someone that won’t quit, simply won’t quit. They can’t. They don’t have it in them. Me, as an observer, can not comprehend how someone (she) could quit. I could see going out and failing...hurting the team...only performing at 50% of true capability...but that 50% would be 100% of what I had available to give. That’s (deciding go/no-go) are what coaches are for.

Ya just don’t quit. Never! Ever! Ever! You fight like a mofo until it’s over, you’re out, or some extraneous influence (coach, boss...etc.) completely prevents you from fighting on. I’m hard-headed as he//, but that’s^ what I believe.

When the going gets tough the tough take a mental break.

Actually it’s only ghey men and women but we don’t judge here.

This ^^^^^^ is the correct answer.

First off, none of us know the details, so all of this is opinion and projection.

IMO, the problem she is having is the result of her statement of reasons. If she had handled this like other elite athletes, she would have blamed a generalized physical ailment like tightness in the shoulder or swelling. The reason she is taking so much heat is she chose to say the truth....that she lost her confidence and worried about injury and being detrimental to the team. She has performed at a very high level and through injuries before, so I have to believe that if she was able to pull it together, she would have.

If she had soldiered on and put up single digit scores would that have been better for her and the the team? Would we have thought better of her?

have you every played team sports? you live or die as a team period. you help her and let her do the best she can. if you come up short, you do it as a team. she should have never gotten on the airplane to begin with.

He walked away from the game completely and played minor league basketball. In the middle of his prime. The Bulls won three straight championships and he retired in October, right before the season started. Then he played baseball for a year before coming back to the Bulls and winning another three straight championships. He 100% walked away and they should’ve won seven straight rings. Are you kidding me?

It’s a bad look and it’s embarrassing for her. She shouldn’t have been on the team this year. It’s still more complicated than “she quit. She should have gone out and only performed at 50%, even if she hurt the team.”

First, she did hurt the team. Her vault routine cost them the gold medal before she decided to sit. She couldn’t compete and going out at 50% would have meant no medal for the team (they won silver). Second, it’s incredibly dangerous to go out and compete when you’re basically “seeing ghosts,” as they say about quarterbacks:

https://sports.yahoo.com/simone-bil...html?ncid=twitter_yahoosport_dw14wrbb51g



She shouldn’t have been on the team. That’s what is wrong. She was right to quit for her own safety and the betterment of the team. Last thing I want to see is someone getting paralyzed or snapping a leg. But she should have retired like she planned to. The team would’ve been better with out her and her distractions (even before she quit).

Why yes, I have played team sports and you're wrong. Team sports substitute players all the time, but thanks for asking.

That’s just a detail.

y'all are kidding i hope
ridiculous

Aah, moving the goalposts. Typical.

He changed professions. He didn't walk out of the nba finals. Sorry you can't see the difference.

She was not injured. She just wasn’t in to it. She quit. It is just that simple and no amount of spin can change what she did. No big deal, the sun will come up tomorrow for all of us.

Ya lost me with this one, Bob. What goalpost do you think I moved?

I could dominate any of you on Pommel Horse.

I'd own you on the ribbon dance

Well this thread about women’s gymnastics on a fishing forum made it a lot farther than the one about women’s gymnastics on the other fishing forum (BBC). So good on y’all, I guess , .

what?

If Tom Brady threw 2 int's in the first quarter and left because he didn't want the weight of the team on his shoulders, would you feel the same?

Oh how I wish Dan still did a weekly recap.

She was benched, Bob. She benched herself, but players get benched all the time.

Also, this can’t be repeated enough: she cost them the gold. Her substitute performed well enough to secure the team silver. Simone sat on the bench and watched her replacement do well enough for silver. That’s how teams work. It’s literally happened hundreds of times in sports.

“You live or die as a team period.”

I’m not wrong on this one, Bob. Sorry you’re a stubborn fella that painted himself into a corner and can’t look at the context of the entire situation.

No way you’re getting me on a pommel horse

That’s not why she benched herself. Read about it. Look at the context. She had a problem with being unable to control her body. If Tom Brady couldn’t make a throwing motion,, and we all know he can’t run, he would be benched, if not by himself, then by coaches and doctors.

Duck, your wrong. Deal with it. No amount of shouting changes that. Your not infallible, though I'm sure you disagree.

Good point. I have a TFF Olympic idea. TFF g2g. Lots of beers and claws or whatever if you like Truely. Then we see who can walk across the balance beam.

This is weak. I’m absolutely not shouting. I’m 100% not infallible, and I know you know that I don’t think I am. Have a good one.

You never ever admit wrong. The I'm superior is thick. Its the truth.

I have several things I could say about all of the posts made but I just want to add this. I doubt VERY seriously if anyone on this website has been through all of the blood, sweat and tears of a gymnast. Of course not; we're fisherman and armchair gymnastics' judges. Simone Biles has been involved with gymnastics for almost 20 years. As far as I know, she was never forced to stay in her sport unlike Tonya Harding, who basically had to compete. This the profession she chose and make no doubt about it, it is her job. She is worth over 6 million dollar. At her best, what Simone does is almost unbelievable. The pressure she has felt this week(s) has got to be enormous but that's the burden that is placed on the "best." Armchair QB's are her audience and yes, they are going to judge.

I think it was the right thing to do for Simone Biles to stop competing. She was WAY off and it was hurting the team.

All of this said, I doubt very seriously if Simone Biles or most of professional athletes know the hardship of working fifty-three 12-hour days in a row, plugging numbers into a spreadsheet until 2 in the morning to get a proposal out the door at 8:00am or fighting bumper-to-bumper traffic 2 hours to work and 2 hours back. There has been many a day that as I was driving to work, I knew that I had a meeting to go to or a task to perform that I absolutely dreaded. I can't just not show up, it's my job.

Rumor shes late...PG??

I can dig it, in

Noway

Can you imagine the pressure that kid would be under if she and Michael Phelps had a baby?

You don't choose greatness it chooses you... What if Jesus decided, you know someone could get hurt here, let's lay low for awhile... Or if Washington decide to just stay put at Mt Vernon and let someone else lead the Continental Army... Or if the Babe decided why hit homers when I can score with the ladies because I'm an MLB player... Or if Eisenhower decided on D-Day that this is way too risky... Or Jackie Robinson decided, wow they're asking a lot of one black man... Or MLK decided that they're were way too many people showing up at the Lincoln Memorial and called it off... Or Ali decided why be the Greatest of All Time when I can just be good and call it a day... Again, you don't choose Greatness, it Chooses you... Dan

Absolutely! That Hot Dog eating guy didn’t want to eat all of them dogs, but he did what destiny chose for him.

Yes, he now holds the title.

Which guy?

Joey Chestnut.

And what about Ron Jeremy, the greatest all around athlete of all time? He never said I have to get my head right, or I’m afraid I might get hurt. He got himself up and went to work.

Even weaker. It’s called a discussion, Bob. I’m not acting superior at all. In fact, I’d argue you are, because you’ve made up your mind without acknowledging any context or facts about this situation.

You said Jordan never walked out on his team, when he absolutely (and very publicly) did. That’s a fact. I’ve read quite a bit about this story to try to inform myself. You refuse to acknowledge what she’s gone through, what she’s said, what other olympians have said, that she was experiencing a phenomenon called “the twisties,” which is incredibly dangerous for what she was attempting to do, and the fact that she was benched (by herself) for her inability to safely perform and help the team (which allowed the team to win a medal). The “live as a team, die as a team” just doesn’t make sense, and you haven’t explained how it does when she clearly bowed out due to costing her team a gold medal because of what she was going through.

Teams make substitutions all the time for the betterment of the team, and for a lot less than potentially being paralyzed because you might screw up one of the most athletic stunts ever done before (which happened to an Olympian in 2012 during practice. Paralyzed from the mid-chest down because she had the twisties doing a routine stunt she’d done thousands of times).

To keep it simple, if she had continued to compete and cost the team a medal, that would’ve been more selfish than what she did, because it quite literally allowed the team to win one, in my opinion.

Live as a team, die as a team just doesn’t make sense to me in this context, and you’ve done nothing to explain it and some how that makes me superior? Because I’m trying to use more information and context? You planted a flag and then buried your head in the sand, but I’m infallible and superior? Come on.

I will say she should have never been on this squad, and she should have retired before the Olympics.

He never met an adversary he couldn’t lick.

I trained in the sport for nine years --- at a very high level . My Japanese coach was so intense that he would hit us if we underperformed a routine -- my parents were totally OK with that . The amount and severity of the injuries in Gymnastics is insane ---- mostly in training . I have seen a compound fracture of the arm , snapped achilles tendons , broken legs etc.. all by the age of 11 . What she is trying to describe in the term " twisties " is a feeling of being a little lost in mid air during a full or half turn --- this is at the same time she is either flipping forward or backward . She needs to know exactly where she is in the air ---at all times --- or risk severe injury. THat " twisties " feeling is common -- and it can be brought on by several things --- such as an inner ear issue , virus etc...
If she wasn't feeling right in the air ---- there is no way she scores high .
She did the right thing for her safety and for her team despite all the keyboard cowboys on this forum .

i can walk the beam
thats about all though

Gotta love the gal that won. She “Gotter done”!

that job description sounds horrible

We used to walk an old iron bridge over the pecos river with a rifle in one hand and beer in the other, frequently. No wood left on half of it. Just 3" iron beams spaced about 2' apart. I won't lie and say I did any cartwheels. Pretty sure one of my buddy's nuggets are shaped like half dollars after straddling a beam one time though.

^^^THIS RON J^^^. BEST POST AWARD

The construction world in Houston is a biyatch.

should have been a poll.

There was. More proof Texas getting stupid.

Toolpusher on an oil rig...I ain't got my head in it today boss.