Simon Biles hiding behind mental health

[William Tecumsah Sherman]

MetEdDawg?.in your opinion, what is the root cause? When did it start?

[Irondawg]

For those that don't understand what mental health challenges are going on in this generation that's intermediate school to about 25, I implore you to do some research.

I deal with it almost every day at school. There are so many kids that don't know how to handle things and they are being exposed to much more than their brains can process. And it's affecting them in a very negative way.

Spend a week in a public school and figure out what's really going on with the health of our youth and young adults and you'll change your mind about how desperate this situation is if you don't already know. It's bad and getting worse.

Genuine curiosity here as a parent of upper elementary and middle schoolers - like what kind of stuff/situations?

I'll repeat here what I said on another board:

There is a fine line here that's getting tough to decipher. If she's battling some form of Vertigo then than something physical and anything mental shouldn't even enter the conversation. If she's having a case of the yips (Steve Sax, Tin Cup, the catcher from major league 2) then it's mental but it's a certain kind of mental. If she just can't handle the stress of the situation suddenly for some reason then it's another thing.

I'm seeing a fair amount of post here and on FB about how important it is to listen to yourself do whatever you need to do to protect your mental well being. And how they are having those conversations with their kids. There is certainly some truth to that, but there is also a heck of a lot of danger in that as well so you have to be really, really careful. There is a huge world of difference between bordering on complete mental breakdown that has huge ramifications (self-harm, suicide, etc) and just not wanting to put effort in or be uncomfortable for a bit (throw things like divorce, quitting a job, not working out, not going to school, etc).

So we have to be really, really careful on how we approach this - especially when parenting kids. There is also huge value in fighting through some adversity and coming out the other side, even if you sometimes come out a little worse for wear. But there is also a true breaking point for everyone. Like most things in life there is no universal truth here.

...but what I see from the kids that struggle mentally more than others (at least in middle school) MOSTLY came from the parents that totally coddled those kids and gave them whatever they want growing up. They made the kids feel like they were in control of their world and then when they get in situations where they have no control, they have no idea how to handle it.

[Dawg-gone-dawgs]

There is more to this than meets the eye.....

[Lord McBuckethead]

Every generation believes the next generation is too coddled. And they are correct. Again, thanks Boomers.

[Lord McBuckethead]

Wow! Just wow. Keep on being Mississippi people... Holy sh*t.

ETA... obviously not everyone on here.

I am going to use this phrase from here on out, if you don't mind. At least 5 times a day on this site, some old "get off my lawn" self righteous douchebag starts one of these threads or chimes in on one of these threads. Whether it be against social issues in sports, binary sexual identities, black rights, women's rights, equality in general. In general, it is not something someone would say in a room full of strangers cause they know, deep down, they are being racist, a bigot, unpatriotic, whatever... They know it. So they come on here to spew utter nonsense. Sad thing is, there are tons of other posters that 100% agree.

Simone Biles has done nothing but represent our country with pride and in dominating fashion. Get off her back about it. I don't care about her reason, and neither should anyone else.

I have said this before and I will say this again, some of you and your younger members of your families will look back in 20 years and realize that you were on the wrong side of history time and time again. Mississippi, keep on Mississippi.

[Hot Rock]

http://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/31897392

Has to be an injury and she didn?t want to aggrevate it before going into the individual events is my guess. Which is fine but don?t make up a lame excuse when everyone knows you tweaked and ankle.

You don?t train endlessly for the Olympics and then just decide ?I don?t feel like it? on competition day. Especially when you are the best person on the team. Just says I was a little banged up and thought that steeping back gave the team the best chance to win and that it?s personally disappointing to not get to compete but unneeded to put the team first. That?s what you would have heard 10 years ago.

This is why I?m having trouble getting into the Olympics - too many athletes have soured me lately by their attitudes.

A pilot is not allowed to fly if he is having trouble concentrating. If there is even a hint you need Zoloft you are grounded even as a private pilot. I had my medical pulled for getting a prescription. I was dealing with my wife's death and my daughter's diagnosis of cancer of which she eventually succumbed. I was barely starting to fly with only about 100 hrs as a pilot and I gotten my medical pulled. I have not pursued it again because my last flight I got disoriented, I could not find the sky or the ground. I worked my way through it by looking at my gauges and flying as a IFR (Instrument)pilot even though I am only a VFR (Visual) pilot until I could get myself clear. That was dangerous as freak, so I am not flying anymore. That was all mental, I was in a mental fog and could not concentrate. My work suffered and so did everything else.

Gymnast are flying around and doing all kind of things that require complete concentration and if you can't concentrate properly it could be very dangerous. You do not want her out there if she can't get her mind cleared. Not only would she most likely fail, she could get hurt badly.

It was obvious to me from the very first time I saw here competing in the Olympics that she was struggling with something. When you are in a fog, you have no business doing dangerous things or stuff that require extreme concentration.

I applaud her for having the strength to say, "I have a problem." There have been definitions of this type of thing for centuries from shell shocked to post traumatic stress but I sincerely do not think she made this up. Mental issues are real and so many people don't understand it. As a society we have done a horrible job dealing with it over the years because there is a stigma to it that does not get associated with other issues.

This kind of thing has happened many times over the years but most say things like, it's time I hung it up. I am ready to retire or they lie and fake an injury. They won't say what's really going on. She did and some people can't handle the truth.

That's what I think.

But but but what if there was war and she quits. First of all, this ain't a war., it is a game, A GAME!

Secondly, it does happens in war and the outcome can be very bad for everyone involved. I have heard some horrific stories from my Father, he spent 3 tours and 2 1/2 years fighting hand to hand in the armored infantry in WWII. War is different, don't compare a game to war.

[Hot Rock]

By the way, my disorientation happened in Starkville as I was taking off going south and banking into a left pattern out of KSTF. I lost my ability to see outside my plane for about 30 seconds, seemed liked an eternity. I was only a few feet off the ground with obstructions looming. There is a tower south of the airport. I was afraid that I was headed right at it. I turned before I got there and I was plenty high but I didn't know where I was until I had leveled off and got my head clear. The mental fog is a real thing.

[MetEdDawg]

MetEdDawg?.in your opinion, what is the root cause? When did it start?

I'll answer you and IronDawg here. It's multi faceted really. And it's long. Sorry.

1) The amount of violence kids are exposed to now has numbed them to reality. It's one thing to own a gun or be exposed to guns and hunting as a kid. It's an entirely different animal when we have 7 year olds playing first person shooter games for 4-8 hours a day. And kids are being exposed to more adult content than ever before. The disciplines I see at middle and younger grades used to be high school only behavior. It's shocking what comes to us now and I am in a city that would not be one that you would expect to see situations like that.

2) Bullying. It's real folks. And there are too many parents out there that have no clue what their kids are doing/saying or deny it's an issue. I had a parent of a 7th grader ask me to change the discipline code for her student off bullying because she was afraid it would affect her getting in to Harvard in the future. Talk about completely detached from reality. And it's everywhere. It's written, verbal, on social media, through friends, etc. Bullying takes up a significant portion of my job almost every day.

3) Social media/personal technology. As a parent and an AP, I implore you to hold back cell phones and social media access for as long as you physically can. 10 year olds aren't responsible enough to have a cell phone and manage social media. They aren't. They use it in negative ways. I can't tell you how many parent conversations I've had where a child was bullied or participated in bullying on social media, but when I suggested taking away or limiting their child's social media access, they said that was unfair to their child.

4) Lack of understanding of how to form relationships (both parents and kids). I have parents of middle schoolers that will call me because they want me to tell a group of kids that they should be friends with their child. It baffles me that there are people out there that want an adult to force other students to be friends with their child. In middle school.

5) Overmedication. This is bad. Every kid has ADHD. Every kid has anxiety. Every kid needs a plan that includes extra time to do things. There are some kids that need medication. But the cocktails some students are on is dangerous.

6) Parents babying their kids. Some of these kids have never faced any adversity. Parents try to move the stumbling blocks instead of teach their kids how to deal with difficult circumstances. Have an issue with a kid? Move them out of class or pull them to remote learning. Having a tough day or not prepared for a test? Oh I'll just come check you out.

So there in a nut shell are some of the bigger concerns I see. The biggest problems we are seeing are that many of our students are experiencing three or more of these things simultaneously. And it's growing tepidly how many of these kids are having to see and face adult problems. Not enough problem solving skill development and too much rescuing.

[Irondawg]

I'll summarize my initial take again for clarity:

yesterday morning it came out that she was dealing with an injury and there was a chance she couldn't compete. The press conference was a bit odd and it looked to me like she was using the mental thing as a cover for an injury she didn't want to disclose (there could be numerous reason an athlete would do this - you don't want to judges looking for something extra or you don't want to make competitors think they can finally get you). Thus the initial reference to "hiding" b/c the press isn't going to press into mental health issues too much.

Many rumors know of a vertigo type thing and Hot Rock mentioned being in a fog - I define that more in a physical injury category. Anyone that's had a bout of vertigo or a bad inner ear infection wouldn't define that a a mental thing. It's not a sprained ankele or wrist or something that's easy to point to, but it's still a physical injury. I think the devil is in the details here. I don't think the presser, off which a lot of people (including me) based their opinion, was probably handled correctly. It gave the vibe that she "just wasn't feeling it" and decided not to compete since she clearly said there was no injury. That's what myself and some others just can't wrap my head around.

Who knows if we'll ever know what exactly the deal is, but had the story been that's she's suffering from some yet undiagnosed injury that is affecting her balance, then I don't think anybody would have said a word against her. Instead there would be nothing but sympathy from the sports world. Nobody wants to see someone train so hard for something and then not even be able to compete.

It's simply the difference of not being ABLE to compete and not CHOOSING to compete. Like the old are you injured or are you hurt football analogy. How each of us is viewing that question is the dividing line on the responses we've seen so far it appears and I'll freely admit that I might indeed be very wrong on my take on this situation if any additional facts come out.

[Offshore Dawg]

If you get to see the replay of her last vault the expression on her face did not appear to be one of confidence. To me she looked confused. Jmho

[Irondawg]

I'll answer you and IronDawg here. It's multi faceted really. And it's long. Sorry.

1) The amount of violence kids are exposed to now has numbed them to reality. It's one thing to own a gun or be exposed to guns and hunting as a kid. It's an entirely different animal when we have 7 year olds playing first person shooter games for 4-8 hours a day. And kids are being exposed to more adult content than ever before. The disciplines I see at middle and younger grades used to be high school only behavior. It's shocking what comes to us now and I am in a city that would not be one that you would expect to see situations like that.

2) Bullying. It's real folks. And there are too many parents out there that have no clue what their kids are doing/saying or deny it's an issue. I had a parent of a 7th grader ask me to change the discipline code for her student off bullying because she was afraid it would affect her getting in to Harvard in the future. Talk about completely detached from reality. And it's everywhere. It's written, verbal, on social media, through friends, etc. Bullying takes up a significant portion of my job almost every day.

3) Social media/personal technology. As a parent and an AP, I implore you to hold back cell phones and social media access for as long as you physically can. 10 year olds aren't responsible enough to have a cell phone and manage social media. They aren't. They use it in negative ways. I can't tell you how many parent conversations I've had where a child was bullied or participated in bullying on social media, but when I suggested taking away or limiting their child's social media access, they said that was unfair to their child.

4) Lack of understanding of how to form relationships (both parents and kids). I have parents of middle schoolers that will call me because they want me to tell a group of kids that they should be friends with their child. It baffles me that there are people out there that want an adult to force other students to be friends with their child. In middle school.

5) Overmedication. This is bad. Every kid has ADHD. Every kid has anxiety. Every kid needs a plan that includes extra time to do things. There are some kids that need medication. But the cocktails some students are on is dangerous.

6) Parents babying their kids. Some of these kids have never faced any adversity. Parents try to move the stumbling blocks instead of teach their kids how to deal with difficult circumstances. Have an issue with a kid? Move them out of class or pull them to remote learning. Having a tough day or not prepared for a test? Oh I'll just come check you out.

So there in a nut shell are some of the bigger concerns I see. The biggest problems we are seeing are that many of our students are experiencing three or more of these things simultaneously. And it's growing tepidly how many of these kids are having to see and face adult problems. Not enough problem solving skill development and too much rescuing.

Thanks. Is it fair to maybe say that most of these are the result of different parenting practices than in the past? Except maybe bullying since it's always existing, it's just in different forms now. Number 4 is a weird one now because kids just don't go play together much anymore so the social dynamics happen differently it seems. I'm not sure what to make of it or how to navigate it, especially with our 7th grade son.

Strange times for sure and I feel I'm constantly questioning our parenting tactics as we try to navigate this stuff as well.

[Extendedcab]

Every generation believes the next generation is too coddled. And they are correct. Again, thanks Boomers.

You have no idea of what it means to have a foundation that does not change with the winds of time; a foundation that is rooted in over 2000 years of judo-christian concepts and even from the beginning of this world. You say Boomers are the root of all of societies problems but it is not the Boomers (at least the ones that know where their salvation comes from) that are trying to change our foundation. It is YOU! YOU ARE THE PROBLEM! You are tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. You try to change times and laws. You are a natural man that receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto you; neither can you know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

In other words you are lost and you do not even know it!

Go ahead, spew on!

[R2Dawg]

I'll answer you and IronDawg here. It's multi faceted really. And it's long. Sorry.

1) The amount of violence kids are exposed to now has numbed them to reality. It's one thing to own a gun or be exposed to guns and hunting as a kid. It's an entirely different animal when we have 7 year olds playing first person shooter games for 4-8 hours a day. And kids are being exposed to more adult content than ever before. The disciplines I see at middle and younger grades used to be high school only behavior. It's shocking what comes to us now and I am in a city that would not be one that you would expect to see situations like that.

2) Bullying. It's real folks. And there are too many parents out there that have no clue what their kids are doing/saying or deny it's an issue. I had a parent of a 7th grader ask me to change the discipline code for her student off bullying because she was afraid it would affect her getting in to Harvard in the future. Talk about completely detached from reality. And it's everywhere. It's written, verbal, on social media, through friends, etc. Bullying takes up a significant portion of my job almost every day.

3) Social media/personal technology. As a parent and an AP, I implore you to hold back cell phones and social media access for as long as you physically can. 10 year olds aren't responsible enough to have a cell phone and manage social media. They aren't. They use it in negative ways. I can't tell you how many parent conversations I've had where a child was bullied or participated in bullying on social media, but when I suggested taking away or limiting their child's social media access, they said that was unfair to their child.

4) Lack of understanding of how to form relationships (both parents and kids). I have parents of middle schoolers that will call me because they want me to tell a group of kids that they should be friends with their child. It baffles me that there are people out there that want an adult to force other students to be friends with their child. In middle school.

5) Overmedication. This is bad. Every kid has ADHD. Every kid has anxiety. Every kid needs a plan that includes extra time to do things. There are some kids that need medication. But the cocktails some students are on is dangerous.

6) Parents babying their kids. Some of these kids have never faced any adversity. Parents try to move the stumbling blocks instead of teach their kids how to deal with difficult circumstances. Have an issue with a kid? Move them out of class or pull them to remote learning. Having a tough day or not prepared for a test? Oh I'll just come check you out.

So there in a nut shell are some of the bigger concerns I see. The biggest problems we are seeing are that many of our students are experiencing three or more of these things simultaneously. And it's growing tepidly how many of these kids are having to see and face adult problems. Not enough problem solving skill development and too much rescuing.

Good post. There are consequences for our poor choices in life and we are seeing that all over the place. Technology can be good but the overall damage to society in the end has been catastrophic. Bullying is happening now at all ages - as much from adults now as anyone but adults know better how to deal with it.

I held out on cell phones for my kids until they were in 8th grade. They were the last ones to get one in their class and they were crying from the social pressure. That is when I knew at the time was more damaging to them to not get them one. I wanted to wait until they were driving.

Covid extra pressure on these kids has been like child abuse. People don't care how many have mental problems or have committed suicide. Those things don't matter. Only that someone had or died from Covid. Covid has given people an excuse to abuse others and be self righteous. The Bible said thousands of years ago there would be times like these. Here me now, if you don't like things now you ain't gonna like them later.

[chef dixon]

You have no idea of what it means to have a foundation that does not change with the winds of time; a foundation that is rooted in over 2000 years of judo-christian concepts and even from the beginning of this world. You say Boomers are the root of all of societies problems but it is not the Boomers (at least the ones that know where their salvation comes from) that are trying to change our foundation. It is YOU! YOU ARE THE PROBLEM! You are tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. You try to change times and laws. You are a natural man that receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto you; neither can you know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

In other words you are lost and you do not even know it!

Go ahead, spew on!

Love a good Extendedcab diatribe

[R2Dawg]

You have no idea of what it means to have a foundation that does not change with the winds of time; a foundation that is rooted in over 2000 years of judo-christian concepts and even from the beginning of this world. You say Boomers are the root of all of societies problems but it is not the Boomers (at least the ones that know where their salvation comes from) that are trying to change our foundation. It is YOU! YOU ARE THE PROBLEM! You are tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. You try to change times and laws. You are a natural man that receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto you; neither can you know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

In other words you are lost and you do not even know it!

Go ahead, spew on!

Excellent post cab. The fallen world is the root of our problems. Salvation thru Christ and following God's plan is the only way out. We have a sin problem not a skin problem. For those not spiritually blind, it is plain as day.

[FISHDAWG]

She isn't obligated to anything. They have an alternate, period. They have a contingency. IF someone else gets an injury or something, then it is time to discuss these things.

so she competed for and won a spot on the team but isn't obligated to compete for her team and country ? Horseshit !!! I wished someone else had beaten her out - that someone else would have competed I'm sure

[Dawg2003]

A pilot is not allowed to fly if he is having trouble concentrating. If there is even a hint you need Zoloft you are grounded even as a private pilot. I had my medical pulled for getting a prescription. I was dealing with my wife's death and my daughter's diagnosis of cancer of which she eventually succumbed. I was barely starting to fly with only about 100 hrs as a pilot and I gotten my medical pulled. I have not pursued it again because my last flight I got disoriented, I could not find the sky or the ground. I worked my way through it by looking at my gauges and flying as a IFR (Instrument)pilot even though I am only a VFR (Visual) pilot until I could get myself clear. That was dangerous as freak, so I am not flying anymore. That was all mental, I was in a mental fog and could not concentrate. My work suffered and so did everything else.

Gymnast are flying around and doing all kind of things that require complete concentration and if you can't concentrate properly it could be very dangerous. You do not want her out there if she can't get her mind cleared. Not only would she most likely fail, she could get hurt badly.

It was obvious to me from the very first time I saw here competing in the Olympics that she was struggling with something. When you are in a fog, you have no business doing dangerous things or stuff that require extreme concentration.

I applaud her for having the strength to say, "I have a problem." There have been definitions of this type of thing for centuries from shell shocked to post traumatic stress but I sincerely do not think she made this up. Mental issues are real and so many people don't understand it. As a society we have done a horrible job dealing with it over the years because there is a stigma to it that does not get associated with other issues.

This kind of thing has happened many times over the years but most say things like, it's time I hung it up. I am ready to retire or they lie and fake an injury. They won't say what's really going on. She did and some people can't handle the truth.

That's what I think.

But but but what if there was war and she quits. First of all, this ain't a war., it is a game, A GAME!

Secondly, it does happens in war and the outcome can be very bad for everyone involved. I have heard some horrific stories from my Father, he spent 3 tours and 2 1/2 years fighting hand to hand in the armored infantry in WWII. War is different, don't compare a game to war.

Something was off with her watching those warmups. Gymnastics can be dangerous, and there is a dark side to the sport where athletes are pushed to keep doing more dangerous tricks or do stuff when injured. This is all well documented over the decades. There was a Russian gymnast, decades ago, that was paralyzed because she was pushed by her coach to do some crazy trick that only men do. There have been countless gymnasts that have come out and said their coaches were abusive or they were forced to perform injured. Also, the sex abuse scandal that went on for years.She was abused by Nassar, and we don't know what that has done to her mentally or if she's processed it.

I mostly find the discourse surrounding Biles dumb because she has accomplished all she needs to and has nothing to prove at this point. It's just a dumb conversation to say she's weak, not mentally tough, ect. She's proved she's all of those things a million times over. I hope she retires after this and lives a great life.

[Dawg_Lover]

To those whom have given intelligent, thought-provoking comments, thank you. You are a breath of fresh air.

Then, there is the other side of the coin, where the vitriol makes it difficult to maintain a sense of decency.

It is ironic that I now need a mental break from this forum.

[BrunswickDawg]

I'll answer you and IronDawg here. It's multi faceted really. And it's long. Sorry.

1) The amount of violence kids are exposed to now has numbed them to reality. It's one thing to own a gun or be exposed to guns and hunting as a kid. It's an entirely different animal when we have 7 year olds playing first person shooter games for 4-8 hours a day. And kids are being exposed to more adult content than ever before. The disciplines I see at middle and younger grades used to be high school only behavior. It's shocking what comes to us now and I am in a city that would not be one that you would expect to see situations like that.

2) Bullying. It's real folks. And there are too many parents out there that have no clue what their kids are doing/saying or deny it's an issue. I had a parent of a 7th grader ask me to change the discipline code for her student off bullying because she was afraid it would affect her getting in to Harvard in the future. Talk about completely detached from reality. And it's everywhere. It's written, verbal, on social media, through friends, etc. Bullying takes up a significant portion of my job almost every day.

3) Social media/personal technology. As a parent and an AP, I implore you to hold back cell phones and social media access for as long as you physically can. 10 year olds aren't responsible enough to have a cell phone and manage social media. They aren't. They use it in negative ways. I can't tell you how many parent conversations I've had where a child was bullied or participated in bullying on social media, but when I suggested taking away or limiting their child's social media access, they said that was unfair to their child.

4) Lack of understanding of how to form relationships (both parents and kids). I have parents of middle schoolers that will call me because they want me to tell a group of kids that they should be friends with their child. It baffles me that there are people out there that want an adult to force other students to be friends with their child. In middle school.

5) Overmedication. This is bad. Every kid has ADHD. Every kid has anxiety. Every kid needs a plan that includes extra time to do things. There are some kids that need medication. But the cocktails some students are on is dangerous.

6) Parents babying their kids. Some of these kids have never faced any adversity. Parents try to move the stumbling blocks instead of teach their kids how to deal with difficult circumstances. Have an issue with a kid? Move them out of class or pull them to remote learning. Having a tough day or not prepared for a test? Oh I'll just come check you out.

So there in a nut shell are some of the bigger concerns I see. The biggest problems we are seeing are that many of our students are experiencing three or more of these things simultaneously. And it's growing tepidly how many of these kids are having to see and face adult problems. Not enough problem solving skill development and too much rescuing.

Met - this is some good stuff. My kids are now 22 and 20, and my oldest has diagnosed problems with anxiety and depression, most of which manifested itself more in college then in high school. It's just flat out tough these days. I'd like to say that we have been good parents and built a solid foundation for both of them, but it hasn't been easy. Each one of the things you point out are items we had to stay on top of and engaged in.

Something else I would point out are the external pressures to excel and have your life mapped out by the time you are 12. If you aren't in travel ball by 12, you won't be able to make your Middle School team. Dance or cheer? You have to be in an expensive Company spending thousands and competing across the SE or you won't be any good. Want to get into UGA? You have to have multiple extra curriculars, create a non-profit to impact your community, start new inclusive program at your high school, and make a 1450 on the SAT with a 4.2 GPA from all the AP or IB classed your took, and know that you want to take your Degree in Biology, go to grad school at XXX, then come back to the Georgia coast and work a $28,000 a year job with a non-profit studying the impact of snails on salt marsh degradation. No way I could have handled that pressure, nor would I have had the ability to map all that out at 12 or 13. I barely figured it out at 22 in grad school.

I know a lot of people have negative opinions on todays kids - but the impact of this hype-competitive approach has many kids equating not achieving at those levels as failure. That is an incredibly difficult process to deal with as a parent and it creates an enormous amount of anxiety with kids.

[Hot Rock]

so she competed for and won a spot on the team but isn't obligated to compete for her team and country ? Horseshit !!! I wished someone else had beaten her out - that someone else would have competed I'm sure

Until you have to deal with things that cloud your mind, you may never get it. I won't judge her poorly because I have been there. Sometimes I am still unable to concentrate and it's been over 2 years since my daughters passing and 13 since my wife passed. You can't just turn it off. Sure, I have good days but then something triggers me and I have no idea why.

I do not know Simone's situation. I just know she could have lied and faked an injury and gotten fewer critics. I have no doubt many have lied that were in her situation just to save face. So, yeah, I think more of her as an individual for pulling out and saying why rather than lying and saying she was injured. I wish I could have seen her go and dominate for multiple Golds but it is just a dang game. My life won't change over who wins those medals.