The internet is engaged in a spirited discussion after Simone Biles opened up about the difficulties she faces in receiving accurate scores from judges. The Gold medalist expressed her sentiment in episode two of her Facebook Watch docuseries, "Simone vs Herself," Yahoo reported.
"I'm almost 99% sure that if any other athlete were to do it besides me, they would give it correct credit, but since I'm already way ahead of everybody, they kind of want to pull it back," the Olympic gymnast said, reflecting on the scoring of her balance-beam dismount from the 2019 world championships. "They don't think it 's fair that I win all the time."
Truth plus more truth. pic.twitter.com/kOGAmCASeG
— Nicole Blades (@NicoleBlades) July 9, 2021
Most social media users agreed with the star athlete.
She is actually correct. And on this, I am biased cause I personally don't like seeing one athlete or one team win all the time. It kills the spirit of competition.
When people know that an upcoming game is going to be won by the same person/persons, there will be less interest.— Xerxes (@XerxesEmperor) July 10, 2021
Some said race plays a factor when it comes to judging elite Black women such as Biles.
I know a thing or two about gymnastics. This is really happening. Not misinformation. Their excuse is they don’t want the other athletes to get hurt trying to do what she does. It’s bullshit. They are mad the GOAT is a black woman.
— Capt Cornfedhausen (@SeanJ0917) July 10, 2021
It’s not fair at all. She is a pioneer in her sport and should be treated as such.
When white gymnast were at the forefront, they received scores that displayed their talent and drive.
Now that it’s Simone, she’s supposed to what, dim her abilities so people can catch up?
— Michael Spencer (@Ras_Tafari__) July 10, 2021
Please the truth is they hate to see a black women win mmmmmcht pic.twitter.com/YpJqDDJVjf
— ny. (@misseverywhereg) July 10, 2021
While she may be frustrated with how she's judged, Biles also appears to take solace in knowing that she has set the bar to a whole new level.
If “it’s not my problem… Get on my level” was a person!!! This facial expression lets me further know, we know she’s the best and she knows it too!!!! #LoveIt
pic.twitter.com/YE44aztr4Z— 4 security purposes its changed daily (@JusGotReal) July 10, 2021
The Olympian's body language clearly illustrates the level of her confidence.
Her expressions said so much.
— Michael (@mstearne) July 10, 2021
But there are those who refuse to believe that Biles is getting unfair treatment.
Who's they? And when was she not given the right scores? This really a thing?
— Rob McIntosh Sr. (@RobMcintoshSR) July 9, 2021
The star athlete, however, said she remains motivated by internal forces and refuses to allow scoring discrepancies to hold her back, Yahoo reported.
"I just want to see, before I hang my grips and leo up, how far can I go," she said. "I feel like we're right on the brink of that."
Biles said she remembers being angry in 2016 because people were disappointed when she earned a Bronze medal. But the veteran athlete adds that she no longer cares about what people think.
"I was so happy with my Bronze, but I couldn't be happy because nobody was happy for me," she said. "I felt alone in that aspect. But now, going into this year, this time it's really for me. I don't have to prove anything to anybody. And that feels nice."
The Facebook Watch series has already revealed many other interesting aspects of Biles' life. As Blavity previously reported, Biles' boyfriend, Jonathan Owens, revealed on the series that he didn’t know who the Olympian was when they first met.
"Her work ethic was really the first thing that caught my eye. I never really watched gymnastics before I first started talking to her," he said. "When I met her, I honestly didn’t know who she was. It was just kind of like, 'Oh, she’s got a lot of followers. You know, she must be pretty good or something.”
The world champion gymnast also opened up about her upbringing in foster care and having been adopted by her grandparents.
“I don't remember a lot about foster care, but I definitely knew that we had been taken from our biological mom and then you just think you're going to go back to her," she said in the episode titled “Who Am I?”
"We were very fortunate that we got to stay with our siblings because a lot of the time you either get re-grouped to home to home to home or you and your siblings get split up,” the superstar added.