PARIS (AP) — Every single one of Simone Biles’s performances at the Paris Olympics was in the spotlight: four medals, an online dispute with a former teammate and a social media post that appeared to be a jab at presidential candidate Donald Trump.
Her TikToks regularly attract millions of views – 14.4 million watched her “Get Ready with Me” makeup before the all-around final – and her revelation that she had treated herself to Botox treatments for her 27th birthday made headlines. She also had to hit back at trolls who criticized her husband for wearing one of her gold medals: “Like y’all are so (expletive) unhappy. Leave us alone,” she wrote.
When she bowed to her competitor Rebeca Andrade in an act of sportsmanship, Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey called it disgusting and received bulky criticism online.
Biles is the most decorated gymnast of all time and America’s “Golden Girl.” She uses her platform to normalize discussions about mental health and made the topic a widespread conversation at the Tokyo Olympics when she withdrew from some competitions due to concerns about her mental state. Last week, she revealed that she had therapy sessions on the morning of some competitions in Paris.
Biles has a unique ability to persevere beyond the Olympics, in part because of her remarkable career achievements, but it is also her authenticity that has made her relatable, inspiring and beloved by millions around the world.
“Part of it is indeed the talent. But part of it is the story,” said Mark Conrad, a professor of law and ethics at Fordham University and director of the Gabelli School of Business’ Sports Business Initiative.
“She was taken from foster care and adopted by her grandparents, she didn’t come from a privileged background,” Conrad continued. “I think people really admire her personality, her toughness and her abilities. And more than anything, the way she came back from what happened in Tokyo was extremely inspiring.”
Insensitive despite enormous pressure
Biles developed “The Twisties,” a sudden loss of aerial awareness during an exercise, in Tokyo three years ago. For her own safety, she withdrew from several events and started a dialogue about the mental health issues faced by elite athletes.
She received widespread support, but a clip recently resurfaced in which JD Vance, Trump’s candidate for vice president on the Republican ticket, criticized the praise Biles had received.
“I think it does not reflect well on our kind of therapeutic society that we try to praise people not for their strong moments, not for their heroic deeds, but for their weakest moments,” said Vance, who was running for Senate at the time.
If the attacks affected Biles, she never let it show. And her willingness to share her life on social media suggests she genuinely doesn’t care what people think about her or her husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens.
She has demonstrated the ability to withstand any setback despite the pressure of constant scrutiny, said John Baick, professor of history at Western New England University.
“Considering what she went through in Tokyo, when people attacked her not just as weak but as a traitor, and those attacks had racist undertones, she seemed like someone who kept a lot of her personal opinions to herself,” Baick said. “But since Tokyo, she’s become very aware of her place as an American, as an African American, as an African American woman — these multiple identities and what she’s allowed to be.
“I think she’s on the balance beam every minute of the day,” he continued. “That must be a lot of pressure. For her, it’s 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, it’s not just a few seconds that we’re watching what she’s doing.”
Turning attention into influence
Statistics show just how much Biles is in the spotlight. Tracking company Tagger by Sprout Social found that her TikTok post showing the U.S. team’s gold medals from the team event is her most viewed post to date, with nearly 50 million views and a media value of $12.88 million.
NBC, the official broadcast partner of the Olympics, is also benefiting from Biles. The network said it reached a total of 34.7 million viewers across all NBC platforms on the day the U.S. won gold in the team event. That’s nearly double the audience it received on the same day of competition at the Tokyo Olympics, the network said.
Her influence is so great that her former teammate MyKayla Skinner posted a video on Tuesday begging Biles to call the dogs back because she had received death threats in connection with the dispute.
Biles makes a political turn. Will she continue?
So perhaps Biles felt liberated when she entered the US presidential campaign last week seemingly with a response to Trump’s comment about “jobs for blacks.”
“I love my black job,” Biles posted on social media in response to a post by singer Ricky Davila, who said, “Iconic photo of the GOAT tackling her black job and collecting gold medals.” (Biles wore a diamond-encrusted goat pendant around her neck during the competition.)
Biles’ post appeared hours after she beat Brazil’s Andrade in the all-around final and was reposted by LeBron James, along with 150,000 others.
Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, argued during his June debate with Democratic President Joe Biden that migrants are taking “black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs” away from Americans. Trump’s critics called it a racist and offensive attempt to broaden his appeal beyond his white conservative base.
Biles has never ventured into politics before, and it’s unclear if she will do so after the Olympics. And it’s unclear whether Biles will support a presidential run or what impact it might have.
While she may not change the minds of some determined voters, an endorsement of Biles could encourage some who weren’t planning to vote. It’s possible that her life after Paris will consist of fundraising or campaigning.
T. Bettina Cornwell, the Philip H. Knight Chair at the University of Oregon and chair of the marketing department, believes Biles could have some influence if she decides to publicly endorse a candidate.
“Presidential endorsements from respected public figures carry weight, regardless of their area of expertise. Voters pay attention to people who live respected lives, do their best and do the right thing for the community and society,” Cornwell said. “Hearing their voices is important. If Simone Biles were to make a presidential endorsement, that would carry weight.”
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
