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Simone Biles and the New Black Power of ‘No’
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2021/07/29/simone-biles-and-the-new-black-activist-athlete-the-one-who-says-no-501675 ^

Posted on 07/31/2021 6:58:46 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET

When superstar gymnast Simone Biles withdrew from team competition this past week at the Tokyo Olympics, citing emotional exhaustion that was hampering her ability to perform, the world gasped. It seemed not to know what to make of a top athlete — and, in Biles’ case, a cultural phenomenon and a singular force in gymnastics — choosing to step away from a game while it was still in play, especially the Olympics, the most venerated of sporting events.


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To: SmokingJoe
“Athletes are now deemed more courageous, inspiring & heroic if they lose or quit then if they win or tough it out, which is ridiculous,” he added. “I blame Twitter's virtue-signallers for fuelling this culture of celebrating weakness. The real world doesn't think like that.”

It started with Phil Donahue and was massively amplified by Oprah Winfrey, Sally Jessy Raphael, and countless others.

81 posted on 07/31/2021 8:55:30 AM PDT by Steely Tom ([Voter Fraud] == [Civil War])
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To: DIRTYSECRET

bookmark


82 posted on 07/31/2021 8:58:35 AM PDT by GOP Poet (Super cool you can change your tag line EVERYTIME you post!! :D. (Small things make me happy))
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To: ml/nj

...the Olympics, the most venerated of sporting events. The forgot to add: Once upon a time...


83 posted on 07/31/2021 9:02:48 AM PDT by Bookshelf
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To: srmanuel

Athletes compete through injuries all the time. I’m sure this young woman did, too. But when the most important part of your body - your mind - is not working properly, there is no powering through. Willpower resides in the mind, the spirit lives in the mind, the ability to choose action over pain comes from the mind.

We have a tendency, as a species, to view mental illness as not that serious. From the outside, everything appears to be okay. We are engineered by God to make judgments based on the visual as part of our survival instinct.

But mental illness is like any other illness. No one would walk up to a cancer patient and say, “Just get over it.” People battling it cannot wish it away. Were it that easy, my child would have done so. Because of the stigma attached to it, many people don’t get the treatment they need, or even ask for help, until things really fall apart inside.

It is only when the internal manifests in obvious external signs that we see it for what it is...deadly serious.

She deserves more pity than censure and prayers over scorn.


84 posted on 07/31/2021 9:11:43 AM PDT by TheWriterTX (Trust not in earthly princes....)
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To: Alberta's Child

That was my point. They are now all professional athletes..Let them play for their corporate sponsors, or their own idiotic causes.


85 posted on 07/31/2021 9:12:21 AM PDT by silent majority rising
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To: gov_bean_ counter

As an ex college athlete that spent half his life playing ball, I’m thinking she has nothing to prove and is tired of it. She’s starting to feel that she’s past her peak and might cripple herself. She’s been doing it since she was 6 years old!


86 posted on 07/31/2021 9:14:01 AM PDT by allwrong57
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To: RummyChick

That’s what I understand too. She apparently takes something for adhd which is not allowed at the olympics. She’s off her meds and can’t focus to compete.


87 posted on 07/31/2021 9:21:16 AM PDT by uptowngirl
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To: TheWriterTX

I feel bad for her teammates who lost out on gold because another teammate quit on them, many of whom will not get another chance, it’s especially galling since Simone Biles has been wearing a GOAT emblem on her uniform, someone who proclaims themselves as the Best of All Time then quits on their teammates forfeits that title


88 posted on 07/31/2021 9:25:45 AM PDT by srmanuel (`)
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To: TheWriterTX
She deserves more pity than censure and prayers over scorn

I agree. This Olympics is different from all previous Olympics and previous major competitions in that the athletes’ normal support systems are not there. They might have one coach but they have no family members or others who are usually with them.

The major difference with Gymnastics from just about any other sport is the danger factor. In most sports you might sprain your ankle or break your leg but you will probably not kill yourself or end up paralyzed if you lose your concentration in the middle of a performance.

89 posted on 07/31/2021 9:26:38 AM PDT by Freee-dame
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To: DIRTYSECRET

Could be a marketing ploy. Winning more gold medals she would have been forgotten in a month. But now... She will be talked about for decades, get endorsement contracts, book deals, paid interviews, and be heralded as a super hero like Kapernick. I have a feeling she knows exactly what she is doing and the nation is more then willing to have another black victim playing games for a living canonized,


90 posted on 07/31/2021 9:29:08 AM PDT by Organic Panic (Democrats. Memories as short as Joe Biden's eyes.)
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To: srmanuel

You won’t get an argument from me on the damage that was done to her team mates. This event put a very sad end note, for now at least, on what was otherwise a stellar career.


91 posted on 07/31/2021 9:30:04 AM PDT by TheWriterTX (Trust not in earthly princes....)
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To: DIRTYSECRET

Fine, f’em..


92 posted on 07/31/2021 9:30:13 AM PDT by ImJustAnotherOkie (All I know is The I read in the papers.)
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To: DIRTYSECRET

This woman should have said no to being on the team in the first place. That was probably a very hard thing to do. I suspect there was massive pressure on her to deliver one more time — for the US Olympic Team, for herself and family economically, etc. Competing at that level requires an iron will and total concentration. I doubt she has any payback agenda — just can’t summons the will to wring out her last ounce of energy.


93 posted on 07/31/2021 9:31:06 AM PDT by Chewbarkah
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To: Dilbert San Diego

EXACTLY.


94 posted on 07/31/2021 9:32:07 AM PDT by jdsteel ("A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it." Sorry Ben, looks like we blew it.)
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To: DIRTYSECRET

If she is not gonna participate in any further events then she should get off the stage. Oh, wait, all the limelight without any of the pressure.


95 posted on 07/31/2021 9:32:12 AM PDT by CheneyClone
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To: DIRTYSECRET
If a white male quit on his team like she did, the media would be destroying him.

It's black privilege never, ever to be accountable for your own behavior.

96 posted on 07/31/2021 10:15:32 AM PDT by Kazan
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To: SmokingJoe

I am thinking, Simoan knew she couldn’t beat her teammate, so she folded.


97 posted on 07/31/2021 10:20:05 AM PDT by razorback-bert (This year shall be known as PANIC of 20.)
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To: heartwood
I’m fine with her saying no, if she doesn’t feel up to a performance that could break her neck. She should say no.

There is no chance of her breaking her neck. There are pads everywhere. Skate boarding skiing and pro wrestling all have far more dangers than gymnastics.

She quit on her team because she didn't want to embarrass herself.

True GOATS (greatest of all-time) suck it up under pressure. Michael Jordan lead a team to a championship while playing with the flu. Tom Brady won a Super Bowl last year playing with a torn MCL. Kirk Gibson hit a game-winning home run hitting with an injured leg.

98 posted on 07/31/2021 10:20:31 AM PDT by Kazan
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To: DIRTYSECRET

Payback? She has been scorned and overthrown by a Hmong. She is nothing now, but a sore loser who dropped out because her initial performance wasn’t that good.


99 posted on 07/31/2021 10:42:27 AM PDT by The MAGA-Deplorian (Democrats are lawless because Republicans are ball-less!)
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To: DIRTYSECRET
//A thought provoking article that covers all bases. Already won the gold. Owes nothing to her white teammates or the white power structure that was so proud of her accomplishments. An American ornament just like Tiger Woods in golf. Now it's payback.

What about the person whose slot at the olympics she took? She definitely screwed that person over completely.

100 posted on 07/31/2021 10:53:37 AM PDT by zeugma (Stop deluding yourself that America is still a free country.)
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