Simone Biles is undeniably one of the greatest ever to grace the sport of gymnastics. She has proven this time and time again with her incredible talent on the mat. However, there has remained a very debatable blemish in her career after the Tokyo Olympics. The gymnast had to withdraw from some of the competitions because she was suffering from ‘Twisties’.

This has been used as an opportunity by those who dislike the gymnast to troll her, with some even going as far as saying that Simone Biles turned her back on her team. However, many fans have stood up for the Olympic gold medalist and defended her against harsh trolling. The support also came from the sports fraternity, as many athletes backed her decision to withdraw and took a stand for her in the face of trolling. Now, it seems a tennis legend has been added to that list. But the truth is she has always been part of ‘the list.’

Simone Biles finds an ally in Tennis icon

On December 21st, Martina Navratilova had to defend Simone Biles from a troll on X who said that the gymnast was praised for her withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympics, despite her apparent betrayal of her team. “Funny that everyone said Simone Biles was stunning and brave when she refused to compete, quit, and let down her team for no apparent reason,” said a user. This did not sit right with the tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who most likely understood Simone Biles’ plight much more as a sportsperson herself and thus ended up defending her. She went on to explain the condition the gymnast was suffering from.

Martina said, “Simone stopped in Tokyo for a very good reason—she lost herself in the air and couldn’t find the floor. Would you prefer she stayed on the team, brought the scores down, and perhaps got a broken neck along the way? What a ridiculous thing to say.” Thus, the tennis player defended Simone from the trolling. This is not the first time Navratilova has shown support to Simone Biles. In fact, right after her withdrawal,

Also, in August 2021, Martina wrote an article for ‘The Times’ defending her and calling the trolls ‘armchair experts’. She even went on to praise the gymnast, calling her a role model and selfless for making the decision to withdraw. “The way she’s handled it was correct, not just for herself but for her team-mates too. If Biles had stayed in the team competition she might have blown their chance of a medal. It was a selfless decision to pull out,” said the tennis legend. Thus, it was not the first time that Navratilova backed Simone. Thus she has been part of some of the most notable athletes in the world who have supported Simone Biles during the debate over her Tokyo Olympics withdrawal.

Other athletes who have shown support to Simone Biles

When Simone Biles withdrew from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics because of her ‘Twisties’, which may have emerged from her mental health at that time, many saw it as an unprecedented positive move for the sport. It was a move that could help set up a much safer place for athletes in the future. This is why, while some of the outside world trolled her, many athletes praised her decision.

Track and field legend Usain Bolt was one of them. He claimed that he was extremely happy with the gymnast’s decision to withdraw, saying, “Personally, I really appreciate Simone Biles for pushing off the Olympics. It’s always good to take care of yourself first, and then everything will fall into place. So I’m very happy that she understood that. I have to take care of myself first, and then we’ll see what happens down the road.”

Bolt also showed support for the gymnast in 2024 when he backed her to win a medal. Swimming legend Michael Phelps also supported the gymnast’s decision at that time and claimed that he hoped that it would open conversations about mental health in the future. “I hope this is an eye-opening experience, an opportunity for us to jump on board and blow this mental health thing even more wide open,” Phelps said. “It is so much bigger than we could ever imagine.”

The list doesn’t end there, as Simone Biles’ own teammate Jordan Chiles also defended her from the trolling, saying that nobody has more self-awareness than the gymnast herself. “She’s Simone for a reason,” Chiles declared, “and if she puts her mind to something… She’s not a quitter. You will never see Simone just go out there and not do what she knows she could do.” Thus, despite the trolling, Simone still has people in the community who support her, and she deserves all of it!