Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from Thursday’s women’s all-around final, USA Gymnastics has confirmed, prompting some predictable scorn from loudmouthed celebrity Piers Morgan.
The 24-year-old pulled out after one rotation of the women’s team final on Tuesday in Tokyo, citing mental health concerns.
She said: “After the performance I did, I just didn’t want to go on.
“I have to focus on my mental health. I just think mental health is more prevalent in sports right now.
“We have to protect our minds and our bodies and not just go out and do what the world wants us to do.
“I don’t trust myself as much anymore. Maybe it’s getting older. There were a couple of days when everybody tweets you and you feel the weight of the world.”
She added: “We’re not just athletes. We’re people at the end of the day and sometimes you just have to step back.
“I didn’t want to go out and do something stupid and get hurt. I feel like a lot of athletes speaking up has really helped.
“It’s so big, it’s the Olympic Games. At the end of the day, we don’t want to be carried out of there on a stretcher.”
In response, Morgan wrote: “Are ‘mental health issues’ now the go-to excuse for any poor performance in elite sport? What a joke. Just admit you did badly, made mistakes, and will strive to do better next time.
“Kids need strong role models not this nonsense.”
He then tweeted: “Athletes are now deemed more courageous, inspiring & heroic if they lose or quit then if they win or tough it out, which is ridiculous. I blame Twitter’s virtue-signallers for fuelling this culture of celebrating weakness. The real world doesn’t think like that.”
Last month, he also slammed tennis star Naomi Osaka after she announced that she would no longer take part in press conferences or interviews.
He wrote: “Narcissistic Naomi’s cynical exploitation of mental health to silence the media is right from the Meghan & Harry playbook of wanting their press cake and eating it.”
His assessments over the superstar gymnast was met with widespread fury and condemnation on social media.
Here’s what people had to say:
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Related: ‘You’re turning into Piers Morgan’: Adil Ray blasts Edwina Currie over NHS migrant worker comments
