The FBI, having known about the complaints since 2015, interviewed only one athlete, declined to interview two others, then did virtually nothing for eight months.Īnd still the athletes persevered - that part of the story is much more palatable to the American public. USA Gymnastics knew about the abuse weeks before the organization reported it to authorities and paid off victims in an effort to keep them from speaking publicly. And it was certainly a lie for Biles and the hundreds of other Nassar victims, who were victimized by a doctor they thought they could trust and, later, failed by both the institution they sacrificed everything for and the federal government of the country they’re now representing. It was a lie for the victims of Bill Cosby. That’s a lie, of course - for every 1,000 rapes that occur in the United States, 975 perpetrators will go free. Victims are told they should “suck it up” in the name of “justice.” Biles was told she should “suck it up” for her country. And if you don’t want to, you must power through, not for your sake, but for everyone else’s. It’s not that you simply need to put yourself at risk - you should want to. It’s a consistently regurgitated talking point thrown at victims: If you say something immediately and go through the often traumatic, triggering, and painful processes of collecting evidence and solidifying your believability in the eyes of district attorneys, judges, and juries, you’ll come out victorious. In the wake of the Me Too movement, founded by Tarana Burke long before it became a viral hashtag, there was a palpable social pressure on victims and survivors to step forward and share their stories - in the name of solidarity, change, and even the promise that justice would be served and other lives be spared. They are calling her “weak,” “immature,” and a “shame on our country.” The very people who chastise survivors for waiting until they feel they’re physically, mentally, and emotionally able to tell their stories also want to see Biles put herself at risk. That it’s okay if we know deep in our bones that we can’t do what is required of us that pushing through would cause us harm that the pain, physical or not, simply is not worth it. I don’t think I knew, either, but I feel like gymnastics wasn’t the only thing I was supposed to come back for.”īy choosing to withdraw from the overall team-final competition and the individual all-around gymnastics final to focus on her mental health and prioritize her well-being, Biles reminded the nearly one in five women and one in 75 men who are victims of sexual assault that our stories, our bodies, and our minds do not need to be sacrificed at the altar of social justice. “So I feel like, coming back, gymnastics just wasn’t the only purpose I was supposed to do. “Since I’m still here and I have quite a social media presence and platform, they have to do something,” she said, referring to the machine behind USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for gymnastics in the US, which has a history of turning a blind eye to sexual-assault and harassment allegations against coaches and staff. And while Biles went on to tell Kotb that the abuse she endured caused her to sleep “so much because, for me, it was the closest thing to death without harming myself,” she still felt she had an obligation to return. “At the end of the day, I am not representing USA Gymnastics.”īiles is, in fact, the only victim of former Team USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar - who was sentenced to 175 years in prison after more than 140 girls and young women he had abused came forward - representing Team USA. Earlier this spring, Biles revealed that she was dedicating her performance to sexual-assault survivors - she told Today anchor Hoda Kotb, “I feel like if there weren’t a remaining survivor in the sport, they would’ve just brushed it to the side”- as well as “Black and brown girls over the world,” as she told the New York Times in a phone interview. Still, Biles traveled to Tokyo to compete after a years-long delay due to COVID-19, and not just to help her team rake in the medals: She came for fellow survivors. She has signature moves named after her that no other gymnast in the world can pull off. She has a combined total of 6 Olympic medals and 25 World Championship medals. Simone Biles certainly did not need to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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