From continuous battles for securing equal rights to constantly dealing with prevailing stereotypes, the inclusion and diversity debates have come a long way. However, these debates are still running somewhere in gray areas. Along similar lines, a video showing bias on the basis of color resurfaced on social media and soon became a subject of scrutiny. It garnered massive attention and got the gymnastics queen Simone Biles in the mix.

The video has since gone viral with millions of views and has struck a chord with many young athletes, who rallied in solidarity with this young gymnast. As the video made its rounds on social media, it found its way to legendary gymnasts Biles and Jordan Chiles, who, like so many others, were deeply upset by what they witnessed.

Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles expressed their disregard

In the video, the young girl was standing with her teammates in the center of a gymnastics podium. Her friends and she were excited as an official came over to hand out medals. With great anticipation, she awaited her turn to receive a medal.

However, as the official handed out medals to every girl except her, confusion clouded her face. The video captured her painful experience as she watched each of her peers adorned with medals and being captured by a photographer while she remained inexplicably skipped. Though the incident took place back in March 2022, it caught the attention of many and has became a subject of scrutiny.

Confused, she looked around, wondering why she was left out. Shared on X (Twitter) by a user named Mohamad Safa, as the video continued to circulate, it garnered a staggering 5.9 million views and counting. On the post, a comment by a user named Brandon tagged Biles, urging her to reach out to the young girl. Biles responded, “When this video was circulating, her parents reached out. It broke my heart to see, so I sent her a little video. There is no room for racism in any sport or at all!!!” 

Her best friend Jordan Chiles also took to social media, reposting the video writing, “Gymternet pls help me find this little girl… This is beyond hurtful on so many levels, I need you guys to find her pls… asap”.

Gymnastics Ireland took note of the incident and issued a statement shedding light on the matter.

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Formal apology issued and actions explained

Gymnastics Ireland, in a recent statement, said that after receiving a complaint from one of their members’ parents, both parties decided to participate in mediation that was facilitated by Sports Disputes Solutions Ireland. They looked into the situation quickly, apologizing to the family and starting the investigation by getting in touch with them. The official who can be seen in the video explained that the incident was unintentional but still fully acknowledged that it had not been acceptable.

They also stated that they corrected their error right away and made sure the young gymnast got her medal before they left the podium. The official requested a chance to apologize to the gymnast and her family in person and expressed sincere regret calling it an honest mistake. This request was initially denied, but a written apology from the identified individual was eventually issued to the competitor and her family.

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