Simone Biles: Quitter or champion of mental health?

Reid1boys

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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.
I hope an nfl Qb does this in a playoff game. Whoever it is would be CRUCIFIED......there is no doubt a male, an nfl playerwould never be given hero worship for saying they needed to bail in the nfc title game to deal with their mental health.
 

Bigdog

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I hope an nfl Qb does this in a playoff game. Whoever it is would be CRUCIFIED......there is no doubt a male, an nfl playerwould never be given hero worship for saying they needed to bail in the nfc title game to deal with their mental health.
It has happen. Barrett Robbins went AWOL when the Raiders played the Bucs in the Super Bowl. The guy never played in the game. He was clinically diagnosed with bipolar disorder I believe. Said he couldn’t take the pressure of the game and he was not crucified at all. He might not have been the qb but he was the center who calls out all the line assignments so he was a pretty important person on the team.
 

links18

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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.

Don't worry about what I do. Let's just say, I have had my own mental challenges and nobody ever let me off the hook from my responsibilities because of them. Maybe that's wrong. Maybe we all should be able to call in sick with a mental health day every once in a while, but for most of us that is a pipe dream. Athletes can be human and there probably is a good human story here in that she didn't let her job push her to do something she wasn't comfortable doing. But I am sorry, but by the values of competion she quit after she got the yips. When an NFL kicker gets the yips, they get cut. If as a society, we aren't going to value competition so much anymore fine, but I just wish we would be consistent with the rules.
 

Reid1boys

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It has happen. Barrett Robbins went AWOL when the Raiders played the Bucs in the Super Bowl. The guy never played in the game. He was clinically diagnosed with bipolar disorder I believe. Said he couldn’t take the pressure of the game and he was not crucified at all. He might not have been the qb but he was the center who calls out all the line assignments so he was a pretty important person on the team.
 

Reid1boys

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He was a blip.... nobody even missed him. Let the qb, or Jerry Rice do it.. might be treated slightly different than a center.
 

terra

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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.
My point is that now she is admitting she has had a problem for a while. IF that is true then its actually worse; she should have pulled out well before the olympics
 

Bigdog

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He was a blip.... nobody even missed him. Let the qb, or Jerry Rice do it.. might be treated slightly different than a center.
Her spatial awareness and balance was off according to what she said. She could have been paralyzed or even die if she didn’t feel right. I not disagreeing with you but I understand why she pulled out after listening to her reasons.
 

Hoofbite

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I don't know, and I'm not entirely sure I'm all that concerned either way.

I'll support anyone who (of clear mind) honestly thinks they are acting in their best interest. Maybe she's just sick of the constant pressure. Maybe she's hitting a wall and knows it. Maybe she has legitimate mental health issues. Maybe anything. It's not like she's quitting so she can go snort bath salts, at least I hope not. She made a decision to do what is best for her future. I think that's all anyone can really ask.
 

Hoofbite

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My point is that now she is admitting she has had a problem for a while. IF that is true then its actually worse; she should have pulled out well before the olympics

I've thought this too, but I've never had the weight on my shoulders that she carries. Whatever burdens she has been fighting though, she deserve some credit for being able to handle it for as long as she has.
 

RaZon

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If this has been covered already, sorry.

It appears she is on some meication that helps her concentration/well being, well it is not allowed in Japan, So knowing she would struggle without her meds she simply said the hell with it.
 

Rockport

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Half the country is made up of mouth breathing morons that don’t have the emotional intelligence to consider perspectives apart from their own experience.

These are the same types that think the government is trying to inoculate them with microchip tracking devices.
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CouchCoach

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My point is that now she is admitting she has had a problem for a while. IF that is true then its actually worse; she should have pulled out well before the olympics
Since she had this problem before, maybe she thought it could correct itself? I have no idea what is in that young lady's mind or what she is dealing with but for her to do this when the world was all about her and what she would do tells me this is real. I do not think she wants to deal with the fallout from those ignorant about mental health and balance because she failed to deliver for their country chauvinism.

I have no idea what is in the mind of most athletes that competes in individual competition at that level. However, I do not think she arrived at these decisions lightly.
 

atlantacowboy

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It has happen. Barrett Robbins went AWOL when the Raiders played the Bucs in the Super Bowl. The guy never played in the game. He was clinically diagnosed with bipolar disorder I believe. Said he couldn’t take the pressure of the game and he was not crucified at all. He might not have been the qb but he was the center who calls out all the line assignments so he was a pretty important person on the team.

Barret Robbins was on anti-depressive medicine which he stopped taking. His career was pretty much over at that point. He was a drug cheat who got caught in the BALCO mess. The parallel between him and Simone Biles is thin as best. Simone didn't withdraw b/c of nerves and anxiety or depression. She withdrew due to something called the "twisties" which apparently a real thing in gymnastics. I think if she had withdrawn BEFORE the team event rather than after a bad vault, it would have got better optics. Surely she knew something wasn't right in the practices that lead up to the event.

I've modified my opinion since the original post. If the condition leads to you to misjudge where you are in the air, that's not a mental health issue. It is more like a form of vertigo. The media has done her no favors by spinning it as a mental health issue.
 
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RaZon

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Funny how it takes negativity to get people interested. Did I say funny, try sad,

She takes meds they are not allowed in Japan, we can start there. Something obviously is broke and needs fixing, not the big deal some try to make it out to be.
 
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