Simone Biles: Quitter or champion of mental health?

Rockport

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Those Neanderthals got stuff done. An entire railway and highway system built in very short time. We would argue for a decade(as they are in Congress right now) over how to pay for it. Then we would take another 5 years to build 40 miles of highway.

The bullet train in Ca still in limbo a decade later..... wait till the quitter generation is in charge.... they wont ever get anything done because of so many mental health days off of work.
tenor-10.gif
 

darthseinfeld

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Jordan got caught gambling. It was either go do something else until this blows over or be suspended.

Didn't need articles, it was common knowledge.
Ive heard a version of the story where he did get suspended, but it was kepts quit and he played baseball until it was up
 

Miller

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I’ve had a turnaround on this, though there are things…like timing that still get to me.

My first reaction was “quitter” and that she just freaked out after being the one to embroider GOAT all over her uniform etc. I can see how many people think this. Then I started discussing it with friends and outsiders and changed.

If she really did have the “twisties” where she couldn’t spatially figure out where she was on moves, then this is inherently dangerous and can lead to death or paralysis. I saw comparisons to a Tom Brady quitting in a SB or a LeBron in a Finals(which I can see happening) :)…..but where Brady might get hit he still has a line. These girls have no safety net. Here is an example from an ex Olympian when you feel you have no say



Overall the questions I do have are more on the timing…was she feeling this in prelims etc. The one teammate said she was stunned and was not supposed to perform on bars or pommel horse that day. Said she was shocked. So isn’t that tough for her after her top teammate is out?. I think it’s tough for people to see Biles social media onslaught the last year with GOAT everywhere and then believe she could mentally not do it . But I also think that mentally this was more a danger to her. I think this article sums up many people’s feelings

https://www.nationalreview.com/corn...dEHk-IIseE3LVG81ZrW1agkWFVvfcMyw-_x5_5uvWdJUU

“Second, it is a good thing to destigmatize discussing and seeking treatment for mental health. But the purpose of that is so that people can go on with their lives. We should not glorify using mental-health issues as an excuse to quit, even when (as in the case of Biles) quitting was the only sensible option. This is part of a broader tendency these days to medicalize our language and to celebrate victims and suffering rather than celebrating heroism, accomplishment, perseverance, and endurance. What a society chooses to glorify and encourage, it gets more of. “

“Mental illness, mental blocks, and other mental-health issues are real. But when we talk about facing them, we should focus on people getting help so they can get back to work and back to living — sometimes with the help of a push from their support system to ensure that they don’t just shut down and shut themselves away. Because living, not withdrawing from it, is still the point of life.”
 
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kskboys

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too bad you arent MLB commissioner so Pete Rose can be put in teh HOF before he passes away.
IMO, Rose should be put in, as long as he acknowledges and apologizes for his wrongdoings. Must maintain integrity.
 

kskboys

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Ive heard a version of the story where he did get suspended, but it was kepts quit and he played baseball until it was up
I wouldn't be shocked at all.

One thing we can deduce pretty much for sure, if something wasn't up, Jordan could've gone and played baseball in the offseason to find out if he could play the sport. There are pro leagues all year round. Since he wasn't going to start off in the majors anyway, it would've been no problem for him to find a league to build up his skills to see if it would work out.
 

links18

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Sad commentary on the state of society that we now applaud quitting. I mean if she wants to focus on her mental health that is her business, but don't call her a great competitor anymore--the definition of which is dealing with mental adversity.

Same with these soccer players who walk off the pitch after suffering racist abuse from the fans. Huh? What better way is there to shut those troglodytes up then to go out there and prove that you gave your all in spite of their ignorance. Shut them up by having a great game.

This is all just more sad "victimhood chic." Get used to it; it's here to stay.
 

CouchCoach

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Sad commentary on the state of society that we now applaud quitting. I mean if she wants to focus on her mental health that is her business, but don't call her a great competitor anymore--the definition of which is dealing with mental adversity.

Same with these soccer players who walk off the pitch after suffering racist abuse from the fans. Huh? What better way is there to shut those troglodytes up then to go out there and prove that you gave your all in spite of their ignorance. Shut them up by having a great game.

This is all just more sad "victimhood chic." Get used to it; it's here to stay.
Just curious but have you ever experienced what she is experiencing or what those soccer players have to even know what that feels like?

One of the strongest individuals in the history of sports was Jackie Robinson and even he had his breaking point.

Have you ever competed at the level that these athletes that are having mental health issues have? What do you think Biles has been doing all of this time when she ruled the sport?

This falls under the ignorance that athletes aren't allowed to be human, they shouldn't have the problems that plague just regular folks because they are special. And people that are totally clueless as to what they might be going through pass their judgment on them.
 

CouchCoach

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Jordan was pressured out in his first retirement - the gambling was legit and had gotten out of control. Stern knew he couldn't have the face of the league get caught in a Pete Rose type of scandal - so he basically had him "retire" until it all blew over.
For Jordan, he was too big to fail - no matter what occurred in his baseball dream, he could always come right back to the NBA once it was time. I'm sure the death of his father made it easier for Jordan to accept this deal from Stern, but there was too much smoke on the gambling issues, IMO.
Yep, he was a notorious gambler and once lost 250K in the Bahamas over a weekend and tried to explain that away.
 

RaZon

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Everything about well everything is weird, so we really can't put much into anything right now. Competing with no fans in the stands, that's weird.

I don't put anything into this at all..

My son got a jury duty summons, Monday I go to the courthouse and see if I can get him out of it, yep....boy is freaky about strangers because of the covid, no not really but hey! Such are the times that I would even think I could pull that off.
 

Rockport

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Just curious but have you ever experienced what she is experiencing or what those soccer players have to even know what that feels like?

One of the strongest individuals in the history of sports was Jackie Robinson and even he had his breaking point.

Have you ever competed at the level that these athletes that are having mental health issues have? What do you think Biles has been doing all of this time when she ruled the sport?

This falls under the ignorance that athletes aren't allowed to be human, they shouldn't have the problems that plague just regular folks because they are special. And people that are totally clueless as to what they might be going through pass their judgment on them.
School em Coach.
 

Cowpolk

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The "twisties" in gymnastics refer to a phenomenon wherein an experienced athlete suddenly loses their sense of where their body is in space - a sense that is crucial to the sport and the sudden loss of which could result not just in an Olympic loss but in serious bodily injury or even paralysis.

The twisties are an issue Biles has faced before, according to Olympics.com, including in 2019.

“2019, at the beginning of the year, I forgot how to twist and flip. It was great,” Biles recalled in a January 2020 interview.

Gymnast Laurie Hernandez, Biles’ 2016 Olympic teammate, told Olympics.com that the so-called twisties can set in just as a gymnast attempts a high-level skill, when even a slight misstep could carry grave consequences.

“The rhythm is off, and your brain will like, stutter step for half a second, and that's enough to throw off the whole skill,” Hernandez told Olympics.com. “And, so, it happens, and it takes a second to get over that.”

Shannon Miller, the most decorated U.S. female gymnast in Olympic history, echoed the importance of mental and emotional health on a gymnast's physical performance and safety.

"What I think is really important here is, you have Simone, who clearly knew something wasn't quite right, and when you are flying and flipping and turning 10, 15 feet above the floor, looking for a landing, you better be in the right headspace or really bad things are going to happen,
 

Cowpolk

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Pulling out of the Olympics competition is probably the hardest decision she has had to make
 

Bigdog

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Just curious but have you ever experienced what she is experiencing or what those soccer players have to even know what that feels like?

One of the strongest individuals in the history of sports was Jackie Robinson and even he had his breaking point.

Have you ever competed at the level that these athletes that are having mental health issues have? What do you think Biles has been doing all of this time when she ruled the sport?

This falls under the ignorance that athletes aren't allowed to be human, they shouldn't have the problems that plague just regular folks because they are special. And people that are totally clueless as to what they might be going through pass their judgment on them.
Without a question you hit the nail on the head with Jackie Robinson and what he had to go thru. No human being should have to go thru that and it is a shame that he had to. I know it was different times back then but no one should have to go thru the harassment he endure and he did it with grace and style. Just my humble opinion.
 

Bigdog

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Depends on the reasons for quitting.
Leaving the team so the team will not get hurt or safety concerns is good enough for me. If her spatial awareness was off or she was not mentally into it than I think she made the right decision. I remember my senior in college my playing time for the sport I played was cut a lot. My friends told me I should just quit since I was missing out on fun. My parents backed me and told me they would support me no matter what but they told me I never quit at anything in my life. I stuck it out even though it was difficult. I am not trying to get any praise for it but you learn from these experiences and move on.
 
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