Simone Biles (Tuesday) quit Worried about her mental health, she withdrew from the Olympic women’s gymnastics competition. Now, the most beautifully decorated female gymnasts have received a lot of criticism and acrimonious voices. If these people live on it, they can’t even do a cartwheel.
period Press conferenceByers told reporters that she withdrew from the event because she was worried that her mental state might lead to physical injury or other mental health problems. She explained:
I don’t trust myself as much as before. I don’t know if I’m getting older and I’m a little nervous when doing gymnastics. I don’t think I have so much fun either. This Olympics I hope it will be held for myself, but I participated in the competition, but I think I am still participating in other people. It hurts my heart to be deprived of the right to please others by doing what I like.
The athlete said that her coach fully supported her decision and explained that they saw her “going through it, and they totally agree that it’s not worth being injured for such a stupid thing.” She continued, “In the end, we want to get out of here. Instead of being dragged out of here by a stretcher.”
The gymnast also described her experience dealing with the consequences of the sexual abuse of several female gymnasts by former team doctor Larry Nassar. Byers is one of his victims and is now undergoing treatment to deal with the mental and emotional impact of the abuse. Just two weeks ago, she participated in an interview to discuss this ordeal. At the press conference, she pointed out that “treatment is very helpful” and that “it is progressing very well.” She added:
But whenever you are in a high-stress situation, you are frightened, and you really don’t know how to deal with all these emotions, especially at the Olympics.
Although most people seem to support Byers’ decision, many people also condemned her withdrawing from the event, believing that she should continue to participate despite concerns about her mental health. It was suggested that she was weak in spirit. Others say she is selfish.
Federalists John Daniel Davidson wrote:
Well, you should do it for others. Specifically, you should do it for your country, for all Americans, not for yourself—or at least not just for yourself.
He continued, believing that “we as a society have begun to confuse mental health with mental toughness or courage.”
Simply put: these people are wrong.
Those who claim that she should stay in the game seem to have overlooked some key details.
First of all, Byers chose to become his own gymnast. She participated in the Olympics because she wanted to win. This is not to say that she is not excited about representing the United States. But, frankly, the idea that she should take the risk of injury to please those who don’t care about her did not pass the smell test. She admits that this question is correct, because she mainly does what she likes for “other people”.
If she has reasonable concerns about her health, what right do we have to tell her that she should take risks for our entertainment? As she said before, she knows that her mental space is not suitable for her famous high-risk actions.
Let us assume that she keeps going because she wants to please other people and ultimately suffers from the end of her career. The rest of us will continue our lives as if nothing happened, and she has to accept that she can no longer continue the sport she obviously enjoys. This has nothing to do with perseverance, but with safety.
Second, those who claim that she lacks the mental perseverance to put her health at risk are missing an important element in this equation. Byers won 30 medals and was regarded by many as the greatest gymnast of the time. She has no history of withdrawal events. She is fully capable of coping with the pressure of becoming an Olympian.
When considering other relevant facts, it is easy to see that her decision to withdraw may be related to other deeper issues that she may face. Although she did not provide details, she mentioned this in a conversation with reporters. As mentioned earlier, she is still trying to solve the problems related to sexual abuse, coupled with the pressure and any other problems she faces, it is easy to get someone out of the game.
Finally, we as a country need to pay more attention to mental health. Of course, many taboos surrounding mental health have been reduced. But anyone who has had a friend or relative with a mental illness knows that this is not a joke. Depending on the person and the disease, these problems are not just problems that can be solved with a magic wand.
If Biles left suddenly just because things didn’t go the way she did, it would be a different story. If she loses her temper because of a trivial matter, then the criticism is justified. But accusing her of taking care of her mental health is not a good thing. Rather than rush to judge others, it is better to think critically about the situation and consider all the facts before forming our opinion. After all, isn’t this the way we want to be treated?
