Simone Biles has conquered the world of gymnastics and is the undisputed GOAT. Unfortunately, when it comes to the dreaded topic of racism, there are still battles left to be fought on the frontline. Appearing in an interview with Hoda Kotb on TODAY, Biles talked on the topic of racism. When asked whether she has been a victim of racism, Biles stated that till 2013, everything seemed normal.
Despite attending a white school, Biles was lucky enough not to be scarred by the ill effects of racism. Unfortunately, the shield eventually broke, when Biles was competing at the 2013 World Championships. Recalling the incident, Biles said, “I was on a world scene, and what made the news was, another gymnast saying that if we painted our skin black maybe we would all win because I had beaten her out of beam medal, and she got upset. And that [was] really the news.” Now, while this was certainly a shocking turn of events, Biles decided to be a role model for the upcoming generations so that they could be devoid of these ill practices.
Biles also had some words of courage for the young gymnasts looking up to her. She said to CNN Sports, “If you look at the Paris Olympic team you have representation from all over and so it’s those kids in the crowd looking at the male gymnast and the female gymnast saying, 1look just like them, I can do it. That’s what they need. It gives them all the confidence.” Well, the incident that Biles referred to involved the Italian gymnast, Carlotta Ferlito.
At just 16 years old, Simone Biles became the first gymnast of color to win an all-around title. However, things took a bitter turn when Biles defeated Ferlito to clinch the bronze medal in the balance beam category. The Italian gymnast did not take the result in good spirits. Instead, she accused Biles of winning due to her race rather than her talent.
Lashing out at the results, Ferlito stated that she told her teammate Vanessa Ferrari to paint their skin black next time. Such a comment took the internet by storm, and Ferlito later apologized to Biles on X. However, Simone Biles was not the only athlete to face racism; her BFF, Jordan Chiles, has also experienced similar challenges.
Jordan Chiles accused of ‘robbing’ the Olympics floor finals
After an inquiry from Cecile Landi titled the game in Chiles’ favor, the internet began to take shots at Jordan Chiles. Before the inquiry, it was Ana Barbosu of Romania who was slated to win the bronze medal. Unfortunately, with Chiles getting a revised score, the medal ended up with Chiles. This was not taken in a good light by a lot of fans. Most of them accused Jordan Chiles of ‘robbing’ the finals as she was a gymnast of color.
With things taking a scathing turn, Jordan’s mother, Gina Chiles took to X and wrote, “The racist disgusting comments are still happening in 2024. I’m tired of people who say it no longer exists. My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and a level of sportsmanship that is unmatched…and she’s being called disgusting things.” Ultimately, in a sad turn of events, the bronze medal was indeed taken away from Jordan Chiles.
Following an inquiry at the Court of Arbitration from Romania, Team USA was found to be late in submitting the inquiry in Paris. Thus, Chiles’ revised score was considered as void and Ana Barbosu was awarded as the bronze medalist. Thus, despite both Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles reigning at the top of their sports, they still were not invincible from the scathing clutches of racism.
