[Leftcoast]

Well, IMO the press can look in the mirror to find the reason Biles withdrew from the competition.  I have watched them build her up as the GOAT and a sure lock on multiple gold medals at the Olympics.  They have aired numerous video profiles building her up as this amazing and invincible gymnastics machine.  When I saw the build up, I thought to myself that this was a perfect set up for a let down.  That is too much pressure to put on a person that has suffered so much abuse in her short lifetime.  It turns out that she is a human, not a machine.  The press didn't get their scripted glorious ending.  I hope Simone can move on and live a long and happy life.  

Not sure you can scapegoat the media on this.  When the media spotlighted her as the invincible hero of the 2021 games Simone was a more than willing participant and fueled the build-up with extensive interviews, commercials and the use of her hefty social media presence.  My family followed along with her in "Simone vs Herself" a presciently named 6 episode Facebook video series from the same team that profiled Tom Brady and Steph Curry in "Tom vs Time" and "Steph vs The Game".  (One short clip titled "Simone: Mental Health" featured clips of her coaches discussing her mental strength and how she would overcome the pressure of being the star of the games by tuning out distractions.)

I hope Simone doesn't take the easy route of being a victim of a hostile media as that path would be disingenuous.  Better to use this to speak to the pressures all athletes face.  Admit that she's human, Gymnastics is hard, the Olympics are uniquely stressful, sometimes your body lets you down and even the best, the GOAT of her sport, can experience failure, and face it gracefully.  I think that's the helpful lesson here and one with the strong advantage of being true.

Facebook Watch
Follow gymnast Simone Biles in a new chapter of the Versus Series, Simone vs Herself, only on Facebook Watch.
https://www.facebook.com/vsonwatch/?ref=page_internal

[Leftcoast]

Well, IMO the press can look in the mirror to find the reason Biles withdrew from the competition.  I have watched them build her up as the GOAT and a sure lock on multiple gold medals at the Olympics.  They have aired numerous video profiles building her up as this amazing and invincible gymnastics machine.  When I saw the build up, I thought to myself that this was a perfect set up for a let down.  That is too much pressure to put on a person that has suffered so much abuse in her short lifetime.  It turns out that she is a human, not a machine.  The press didn't get their scripted glorious ending.  I hope Simone can move on and live a long and happy life.  

Not sure you can scapegoat the media on this.  When the media spotlighted her as the invincible hero of the 2021 games Simone was a more than willing participant and fueled the build-up with extensive interviews, commercials and the use of her hefty social media presence.  My family followed along with her in "Simone vs Herself" a presciently named 6 episode Facebook video series from the same team that profiled Tom Brady and Steph Curry in "Tom vs Time" and "Steph vs The Game".  (One short clip titled "Simone: Mental Health" featured clips of her coaches discussing her mental strength and how she would overcome the pressure of being the star of the games by tuning out distractions.)

I hope Simone doesn't take the easy route of being a victim of a hostile media as that path would be disingenuous.  Better to use this to speak to the pressures all athletes face.  Admit that she's human, Gymnastics is hard, the Olympics are uniquely stressful, sometimes your body lets you down and even the best, the GOAT of her sport, can experience failure, and face it gracefully.  I think that's the helpful lesson here and one with the strong advantage of being true.

Facebook Watch
Follow gymnast Simone Biles in a new chapter of the Versus Series, Simone vs Herself, only on Facebook Watch.
https://www.facebook.com/vsonwatch/?ref=page_internal