By Noah Hickman
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New rule: it is time to stop calling people weak and pathetic when we have no understanding of what they are going through.
The main topic of discussion during the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, at least among athletes, is mental health -- and though I may not have a full understanding of what they go through from a psychological standpoint -- I am empathetic enough to listen to their experiences and be a people person by believing they are capable of making the right decisions in general and for themselves.
There has been no bigger example of an athlete making a conscientious and tough decision than Simone Biles.
When reports came out that she was withdrawing from the Summer Olympics there was both praise and criticism.
Some called her a hero, some said that we should not glorify someone who just quit and others called her a "traitor" and a "selfish sociopath."
Of course, with instant information and us living in the drama queen age and the age of social media, this...yes...this was made a political issue by the right.
The people who made this a 'political issue' never stopped to think about what Simone may be going through or what she has gone through.
Biles is one of many women on the national gymnastics team who was sexually assaulted by disgraced felon and former team doctor, Larry Nassar.
One recently shocking revelation is that the traumatic event might have been in the back of her mind while she was performing on the world stage.
"Now that I think about it, maybe in the back of my head, probably, yes, because there are certain triggers. You don't even know, and I think it could have," she said.
This was far from the only thing that was in the back of her mind.
Biles had no idea where she was in the air while vaulting and said that her mental health was not in a good place.
Last time I checked, whenever a gymnast has no idea where they are in the air, it is more likely than not that they will suffer a serious injury -- in some cases, career-ending.
Biles was lucky just to land a bit awkwardly and not get injured; not to mention she was one of the lowest scoring gymnasts on the vault that day.
But still, why was her mind not in the right place?
Luckily, we got some clarity of a tragic event that happened recently.
Biles's aunt "unexpectedly" passed away DURING the Tokyo Olympic Games.
There was a part of me that genuinely felt sorry for Biles, though I did not understand entirely what was going on at first.
Then, when I finally learned that her aunt passed away, it all clicked to me.
Past events and a tragedy that recently happened affected Biles's mental health in such a way where she felt she could no longer give her best.
And yet, she did not quit entirely; she actually won a bronze medal on balance beam.
Though she has 32 Olympic and World Championship medals, the balance beam is her most triumphant one yet.
She is tied with Larisa Latynina as the most decorated gymnast of all time and somehow is only 24 years old.
Biles is one of many reasons of why I’m proud to be an American.
She is a resilient woman who is following her passion and living her dream, while at the same time, dealing with challenges of her own.
If we remember to show empathy to one another and not look at athletes as only entertainers, the world would be a lot better off.
Biles is not the only person dealing with mental health problems in these Olympics and is far from the only athlete.
As much as I would like to dive into the other cases, I think the one for now is powerful enough to make some people reconsider some conventional wisdom they had about Simone Biles and other athletes.
People have battles you don’t know they are fighting, so don’t fall for the bait when a prominent figure or a person you know says this person is bad.
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