MyKayla Skinner has recently found herself in hot water. As the U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials commenced on June 30th, the nation found the final five soon to represent Team USA on the big stage –  Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey, and the relatively new name, Hezly Rivera. While that was an exciting revelation for many, the 2020 Olympic Vault silver medalist felt otherwise. A clip of her ranting about the current team was first discovered on X.

Skinner had several opinions about a few of the members, but her predominant issue was with how the team isn’t what it used to be like back in Tokyo. Her comments weren’t well received by the gymnastics community.  However, away from it all, Skinner seems to be channeling all her focus on some much-needed family time.

MyKayla Skinner’s 4th of July celebration

The 4th of Julys always call for a celebration and MyKayla Skinner wasn’t the one to miss on that. In an Instagram story shared by the Olympian, husband Jonas Harmer, and their daughter Charlotte Jane are seen indulging in a little family time, all smiles and under a clear sky. She captioned the sweet snap, “Happy 4th of July! Love this time of the year! ❤️” The picture shows everyone in high spirits, all smiles while they celebrate the wonderful weather.

In the next story, Charlotte Jane is stiing on top of her dad’s shoulders. Harmer can be seen babbling away while the little one watches the marching dogs parade pass by. Charlotte doesn’t seem to be as interested though, but Skinner then pans the camera towards the colorful scene on the streets. While we briefly get to see the former gymnast herself, the carefully curated pictures show the family adorning the good ol’ red, white and blue.

Just a day before, Skinner had tried her best to put the controversy to rest by apologizing on Instagram stories. She started out with, “Just clearing up what had been said on my current video!” She then went to explain how her words were misinterpreted or misunderstood by the gymnastics community. She clarified that she loves and supports everyone on the current team and didn’t mean any malice towards any of them. She concludes by saying “It was more about going back into my own gym and just the work ethic is different compared to when we were doing gymnastics in the Márta (Károlyi) era.” But what did MyKayla Skinner say to get everyone riled up?

Skinner’s initial words for the Final Five

In her now-deleted YouTube video, Skinner criticised the Paris-bound US gymnastics team for lack of depth and work ethic. “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be. I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.” Skinner particularly talked about how the coaches aren’t doing as much as they did back in 2020 to bring out the most of the current gymnasts.

Her opinions drew heavy criticism from the GOAT, Simone Biles herself. She stated, “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform.” Further along, Gina Chiles also made her disappointment know, as she wrote, “Whoa. She really said that out loud and posted it. That’s something…”

The U.S. Gymnastics Trials were quite stressful according to several, including Skinner herself, who held a watch party. But Target Center witnessed a thrilling competition worth a watch, as the Final Five made it to the top. What do you think about MyKayla Skinner’s unabashed opinions? Let us know in the comments!