Simone is out of the AA, VT, UB and FX

[glamafonic]

She deleted the videos after NBC broadcast them, but everything else, including the text she had on the videos (including the part that states she’s training somewhere with pits), is still up. A few people said that people were trying to figure out where she was.

 

[MaryClare]

It’s not against the normal rules, but it could be against covid rules. Apparently Japanese fans and press were trying to work out where she was

 

[glamafonic]

I don’t think it’s helpful to label this as a “mental health” condition. It’s a mental block which can CAUSE anxiety (and physical INABILITY).

Yeah I think what happened is that immediately on her withdrawal, they said that it wasn’t a physical injury, but that it was mental. Then everyone started asking her about her mental health, so Simone, who is extremely candid, allowed that her mental health hasn’t been great either, admitted that she has the twisties, which, as you’ve noted, cause anxiety, and that she pulled out to protect her health and the team’s chances.

Then, the conversation became about mental health because mainstream media had no idea what the twisties are or that they’re a thing that happen, and only later after a bunch of gymnasts, Simone included, explained in plain terms did they pick up on it not being that she just wasn’t mentally okay and so it was dangerous for her to do gymnastics, but that it’s dangerous because she physically CANNOT do her skills.

 

[JusticeMom]

themselves

Correct. But this would be on her agent if she doesn’t have a media/PR person.

Simone is not an expert but neither are the Landis. They are not experts either but everyone seems to be jumping on them for not saying anything. Simone, as a capaciated adult, may be directing the people that work for her.

 

[Hatsumomo]

What really gets to me is the fact that there’s a set of parents in Texas whose daughter is in distress. That distress is on display for the world to witness, and they can’t get to her. They’re thousands of miles apart and they can only comfort their daughter through video chat and text.

 

[RedBirdie]

Did you have Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo? Weird that that wasn’t the first thing they suspected and immediately do the maneuvers.

I had a different type of vertigo, one that didn’t respond to the movements, and it was hell. It would come on without warning and send me crashing to the floor. The world would spin for upwards of 30 minutes, and all I could do was curl up in a ball and close my eyes until it passed. After it passed I’d be non-functional the rest of the day, left very weak, nauseous, disoriented, and a punishing headache; I’d be doped up on meds and lie in bed to recover. The first time it happened I hit my head so hard I also managed to get a concussion.

I’ve been free of a major attack for almost 5 years, but I still occasionally have much more mild bouts of vertigo that resolve quickly and aren’t debilitating.

 

[lovegymnasts]

Mine doesn’t respond to the movements either.
It caused me to projectile vomit on my sister once. I’ve been prescribed pills and patches to put behind my ears. The only thing that really works is just time. I’m told it is just something I have to live with. Thankfully, it is not constant. Nothing can happen for years or I can have a few episodes in a year…not predictable.

 

[gymskatefan]

Well, to be fair, the conversation spiraled that way because everyone was freaked out that she had an undisclosed physical injury, so they immediately said it wasn’t physical. Then nobody stepped up to clearly say WHAT the problem was and why it was so dangerous. I mean, NBC was going out of their minds, literally breaking from the main competition coverage to drag everyone from Aly Raisman out of her sweatpants on the couch to give her 2 cents to Laurie. There were bits and pieces that different gymnasts mentioned here and there about the twisties or getting lost in the air to be a normal thing to happen in a gymnast’s career, but there was no one clear, centralized, concise message as to why that was so dangerous (even though people IN the sport understand instinctively, that doesn’t help the casual person) and zero explanation that it wasn’t possible to have anyone else be the replacement at that point.

She should not have been allowed to do the post-finals press conference. She should have been taken aside to be immediately evaluated IN PRIVATE, while people whose job it is to do PR and damage control put out a more carefully thought out response for her.

The problem is like Mirai Nagasu at the 2018 Olympics, one of the first things out of her mouth were “I wasn’t feeling it today”, “I wasn’t having fun”, and “I was inspired by Naomi Osaka”. To the casual person, THAT is what made it sound like she just quit and wasn’t feeling like doing her job. Naomi Osaka pushing through would have lost her some points or a game, not her life. That is where all the problems began.

 

[Sasha]

Well, Simone HERSELF said she was withdrawing for mental health reasons, so I don’t think we can really blame the media for framing either the situation or the twisties as such. Nuanced reporting is in short supply at the best of times, never mind at the Olympics.

I’ve tried to avoid being overly critical of Tom but the lack of leadership by him and USAG this week is downright WEIRD. I don’t like to make assumptions based on insufficient information, but their silence really makes me think something is coming off the rails big time inside the organisation.

 

[arabiandoublefront]

Well, if it leads to USAG going down…

 

[gymskatefan]

I don’t blame the media. I blame USAG for not telling the media she can’t do the post-team finals press conference and evaluating and taking care of her in private first. She ended up saying the first things running through her mind in an attempt to give an explanation because people kept pushing for immediate answers. That was not the right call from whoever was in charge.

Of course it’s obvious no one is in charge. Complete lack of organizational responsibility at any level (Tom, USAG, USOPC, IOC). This is what is meant by not supporting the athletes in their bad times. Leaving them to flounder and fumble on their own is a bad look.

 

[JaJa]

But this would be on her agent if she doesn’t have a media/PR person.

Its on USAG. This happened in the context of her competing for USAG. Not in her personal capacity.

 

[Doug1233]

the conversation became about mental health because mainstream media had no idea what the twisties are or that they’re a thing that happen

Totally. Another example of the media dumbing everything down to try and package it into a neat 3 minute soundbite that everyone can understand.

 

[JaJa]

But it was also the lack of solid information they were given that created the problem. And this was a function of poor messaging. The media can only report information they are given. And yes, they will “dumb things down,” but that is why there are PR people who know how to create messages specifically for the media. And why you do not leave a 24 year old gymnast with no expertise in this area on her own, in the middle of a crisis, to speak publicly.

 

[gymskatefan]

It’s more that non-gymnasts (and possibly divers) had zero clue what the twisties are or that they’re a thing that happen, so how can the media be expected to know? They ran with what non-athletes know because of the lack of information.

It’s like people in the sport automatically assume people understand and while obviously casual observers must subconsciously know that flipping and twisting high above the air isn’t exactly the safest thing in the world to be doing, none of this has ever been articulated before. They assume it must be easy because the best make it look easy, like doing a cartwheel.

 

[JaJa]

But people in the sport and Simone herself were using the term “mental health”

 

[Doug1233]

This was quite literally the clearest case of the twisties. It was visible simply by watching Simone’s TF vault. Her head position was the hugest tell.

This should have been where Nastia or Tim, as the so-called “experts”, have explained it to the viewers in terms that they would understand.

It shouldn’t have needed to be Simone posting training clips of her falling on her bars dismount to try and “prove” what she was going through, a whole two days later.

USAG should have simply said “Simone had been having issues with spotting her twisting skills since just after the Prelims competition. At this point, it was impossible to replace her with an alternate athlete. These issues can happen to gymnasts from time to time and it has obviously come at a very bad time. She tried her best to push through it in Team Finals, but as we saw, it resulted in a dangerous vault landing and she thought best to withdraw from the rest of the competition to try to preserve Team USA’s chances at a medal”.

Is that so hard?

 

[gymskatefan]

That wouldn’t have fit NBC’s narrative and replay that she has been flopping in her performances towards the Olympics. What they’ve done in their coverage with regard to Simone has been the absolute worst from the beginning of this games to date. Totally ignoring the fact that multiple of her teammates not only underperformed but totally melted down in qualifications. Totally ignoring that even in team finals, they watered down and fell on their routines. Yes, this team “toughed it out” to the end, but they are much weaker than any other US team there has been in a decade.

I hate this revisionist history that Simone was clearly destined to fail all along when she made it through FIVE YEARS except for 4 days. I also hate Suni saying post-team finals that they were relying on Simone to pull through and when she couldn’t, “we were really stressed out when we were the ones who had to do it”. If you can’t win gold without her, you aren’t good enough and don’t deserve to.

I hate that they’re calling Suni the 2020 Olympic champion when it is 2021. It diminishes the extra year these athletes had to go through and the fact that for that extra year, Simone was still on top and qualified #1 just 4 days ago, which the US media TOTALLY ignored in favor of “it’s Simone’s fault USA qualified 2nd”.

Aly did immediately say that it looked like Simone got lost in the air, but there was also that assumption that non-gymnasts understood what that meant. It might seem obvious, but nobody articulated the safety issues with that, which is the biggest thing. NBC didn’t know to ask about more because the average person doesn’t know to ask or that it’s even a thing.

This entire Olympics is more asterisked than any other. It’s not even comparable to 1984 or whatever. This was literally not intended to be an Olympic year, especially with the pandemic and all the extra stress, pressures, and restrictions.

 

[Doug1233]

but nobody articulated the safety issues with that

THIS. People are talking about it as if it was a choice. “Simone SAID NO”.

No! Simone has no choice in the matter. She cannot do her routines. And if she attempts them, she will fall and injure herself.

It’s a miracle she landed that Y1.5 feet first and didn’t get a zero. She didn’t even put her hands down.

 

[Sasha]

No, she can’t do her routines safely. She could still try, and risk serious injury. So, yes, that’s a choice. A fairly obvious one, but not one that can be taken for granted given the history of the sport.

As for the people saying they’re blaming USAG and not the media, that’s fair. Their silence is flabbergasting. I can’t say what Simone would want for them at the moment, but if she’s feeling abandoned by USAG, on top of everything she’s gone through with them in the past, I imagine that must be extremely difficult for her.