[Other Sport] Simone Biles

[Pierre the Painter]

This is really sad news coming out of the Olympics this morning, Simone Biles not competing today due to mental health issues. As a sports fan I'm really sad as she is the absolute class act of her sport, head and shoulders above her peers and I was really looking forward to her competing and winning. Bravo to her though for standing up and being brave enough to pull out, she showed what a warrior and leader she is yesterday when she pulled out of the team final and then returned to the arena to cheer on her teammates. Here's hoping she can find a way to make it back for the individual apparatus finals but even if not she's done all Olympians an enormous credit by again raising the importance of mental health.

Get well soon Simone.

 

[dazzer6666]

This is really sad news coming out of the Olympics this morning, Simone Biles not competing today due to mental health issues. As a sports fan I'm really sad as she is the absolute class act of her sport, head and shoulders above her peers and I was really looking forward to her competing and winning. Bravo to her though for standing up and being brave enough to pull out, she showed what a warrior and leader she is yesterday when she pulled out of the team final and then returned to the arena to cheer on her teammates. Here's hoping she can find a way to make it back for the individual apparatus finals but even if not she's done all Olympians an enormous credit by again raising the importance of mental health.

Get well soon Simone.

Agreed - actually all became evident yesterday though when she pulled out of the team event......it was interesting to hear her speak when interviewed. Very courageous decision - easy option would have been to keep quiet and carry on.

 

[Justice]

Good for the goat.

 

[Postman Pat]

Agreed - actually all became evident yesterday though when she pulled out of the team event......it was interesting to hear her speak when interviewed. Very courageous decision - easy option would have been to keep quiet and carry on.

Indeed - or cite a physical injury to stop a lot of the finger pointing that has gone on since her decision.

Cricket went through a spell of this with Trescothick, Yardy, Trott etc.. It seems that what support has been put in place in terms of breaks away and changing tour schedules has helped. Lets hope other sports can follow and treat and understand mental health as well as they do with physical wellbeing

How a CJTC like Piers Morgan can call her out when he stormed off because a weatherman had a go at him is beyond me.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

There's unbelievable pressure on young athletes. A sport like Gymnastics where you get a few seconds to get right a lifetime's work is pressure itself, but when you're the poster person, for the sport, the nation and the games as well, this can't be unexpected.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Indeed - or cite a physical injury to stop a lot of the finger pointing that has gone on since her decision.

Cricket went through a spell of this with Trescothick, Yardy, Trott etc.. It seems that what support has been put in place in terms of breaks away and changing tour schedules has helped. Lets hope other sports can follow and treat and understand mental health as well as they do with physical wellbeing

How a CJTC like Piers Morgan can call her out when he stormed off because a weatherman had a go at him is beyond me.

And that as a middle aged man.

These athletes are dealing with these pressures at a very young age.

 

[Deadly Danson]

Really positive that she is speaking so openly about her mental health and that it is now as good a reason as any physical illness to withdraw from competition. Also if it triggers utter morons like Piers Morgan and anyone who uses "woke" as an insult then it's an added bonus. Good on her.

 

[Springal]

Baffling how many (mainly middle aged / older men) are calling her out. Lets be honest gymnastics is one of those things where one small move done incorrectly could seriously injure or paralyse someone. Given on her first go she was meant to do a 2x turn and only managed 1.5 obviously knew something wasn't right. Sad society we live in

Unless you've won some world championship & Olympic medals you're probably not very qualified to comment on this

 

[Hotchilidog]

Simone is to be applauded for such a brave decision. Elite sport is as much mental as it is physical. Criticising Simone for this is not only hideously unempathetic but about as stupid as criticising a marathon runner for withdrawing from competition with a broken leg.

The lack of understanding of the pressures that are heaped on sportspeople especially those of a young age is utterly baffling to me.

Solidarity with Simone

 

[HH Brighton]

Cannon fodder for the likes of Piers Morgan. He was bullied as a kid at Chailey school and unfortunately was not able to break the bullying cycle of bullied being bullies.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

Yeh, if I could say one thing to the girl, it would be "stay off twitter etc for the foreseeable as every racist / wannabe culture warrior is using your situation to say ever more ludicrous things to gain attention they crave. Just be with your friends and family"

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Chris Mears was on tv this morning explaining his mental health issues after winning gold in Rio. He couldn’t understand how the success he’d worked so hard for, didn’t bring him happiness, but the exact opposite. He was wise enough to seek therapy.
Sometimes the expectation after being the best and a winner can bring more pressures than they can handle. It seems strange to us who’ve only watched, but is a reality. It’s why sports psychologists are now employed by teams and coaches.

As for journalists, commentators and online bigots, whose only claim to fame is to be spiteful and bitchy about others, and get paid for it, are best ignored. The more attention they receive, is oxygen to them. Generally, when the tables are turned, like standing up to them, and they crumble.

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

And that as a middle aged man.

These athletes are dealing with these pressures at a very young age.

Morgan is a waste of oxygen and always has been. He will have alienated most of the sporting world with that statement and it will interesting to see how many turn up for his Charity cricket match he runs.

Read any biography of a top athlete and they will tell you that regardless of how fit you are being on top of your game mentally is essential. Self doubt will destroy you and any chances you have of winning.

How many athletes have routines that they must follow before competing? think that will be all. Everything they do leading up to an event is about being mentally prepared, as with a few days to go there is little you can do regards fitness.

How many times do you hear of an athlete failing because of not being mentally prepared or mentally strong? It happens all the time.

Morgan is just saying bollocks to get a reaction but all he really achieved is making himself look like CJTC.
Interestingly he has supported Paul Gascogne (white and male) but gone to town on two black and female athletes …


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Braggfan]

Indeed - or cite a physical injury to stop a lot of the finger pointing that has gone on since her decision.

Cricket went through a spell of this with Trescothick, Yardy, Trott etc.. It seems that what support has been put in place in terms of breaks away and changing tour schedules has helped. Lets hope other sports can follow and treat and understand mental health as well as they do with physical wellbeing

How a CJTC like Piers Morgan can call her out when he stormed off because a weatherman had a go at him is beyond me.

I read Trescothick's autobiography and it's really interesting hearing his side of things. One of the things he talks about is that, there's a threshold for what people tolerate when somethings not right. Most people get to that threshold and will say enough is enough, and stop doing whatever it is. But there are some people, like Trescothick, that fear letting people down and will push beyond that threshold. That fear prevents them from stopping and these people are really susceptible to breakdowns, because they push themselves beyond their limits. It all comes back to the point of being able to say "I can't do this anymore" and feeling ok to say that. It can be a really hard and brave thing to do.

 

[The Fits]

The guy is a ****ing weirdo. I hate that we are in a place now where people like him can make such an extravagant living out of being a total bellend.
Fair play to Biles.

 

[West Hoathly Seagull]

There was a really moving piece on this on BBC Breakfast when Chris Mears, who won the Synchro diving gold medal in Rio with Jack Laugher, was talking with Dan Walker and Sam Quek about mental health. He suffered severe depression for quite a while after winning his medal. He got into a "where next?" fix and just couldn't shift himself. In the end, it was his stepmother's (his own mother died when he was three) breast cancer diagnosis that helped him back onto an even keel, as he realised he had to be there for her (I think he said she had recovered). He was talking about the importance of men being open about their feelings. I suppose certain individuals would just say, "come on son, you've won a medal, pull yourself together".

Regarding the risks of gymnastics, Sam mentioned a competitor who was expected to win medals who overdid a leap and landed badly, was very seriously injured and died from her injuries (at least I think I've got the details right). So it is not a risk-free sport.

 

[dazzer6666]

Indeed - or cite a physical injury to stop a lot of the finger pointing that has gone on since her decision.

Cricket went through a spell of this with Trescothick, Yardy, Trott etc.. It seems that what support has been put in place in terms of breaks away and changing tour schedules has helped. Lets hope other sports can follow and treat and understand mental health as well as they do with physical wellbeing

How a CJTC like Piers Morgan can call her out when he stormed off because a weatherman had a go at him is beyond me.

……because he’s a CJTC…….been out of the spotlight for a few minutes so desperately trying to grab a bit of attention. He’s an odious prick of a man.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

This is really sad news coming out of the Olympics this morning, Simone Biles not competing today due to mental health issues. As a sports fan I'm really sad as she is the absolute class act of her sport, head and shoulders above her peers and I was really looking forward to her competing and winning. Bravo to her though for standing up and being brave enough to pull out, she showed what a warrior and leader she is yesterday when she pulled out of the team final and then returned to the arena to cheer on her teammates. Here's hoping she can find a way to make it back for the individual apparatus finals but even if not she's done all Olympians an enormous credit by again raising the importance of mental health.

Get well soon Simone.

The ace card up the sleeve these days ?

Regards
DF

 

[Iggle Piggle]

Morgan has millions of followers and using his Twitter platform to call out people with mental health issues is the lowest of the low. She got 27 gold medals - in all championships - FFS. Its hardly like she is a serial bottle job merchant who phones in hungover to avoid the night shift in a factory.

This was a good summary for me

[TWEET]1420202366066905094[/TWEET]

 

[highflyer]

I'll be honest, my very first reaction was a cynical one of 'sulking because she's not doing well'

Then I took the time to listen further and think about it properly. And changed my mind completely.

If she had pulled out because of a physical injury, no questions would be asked. In some ways (in my limited experience anyway), mental injury IS physcal - it involves very real thing things going wrong, in terms of chemical imbalances etc that disrupt your ability to function physically. It is just as real, and just as potentially damaging to performance as a muscle strain or concussion.

As stated above, she could easily have avoided the flak by referencing a physical injury but she chose to be honest. And that, in the long term, is going to be an important thing to do. Not least by flushing Piers Morgan out as the low-life that he is, for the very few people left that didn't already know that.