On Wednesday, Piers Morgan released an op ed for Daily Mail criticizing Olympic gymnast Simone Biles for her exit from the 2021 Tokyo Games in order to preserve her mental health. The outspoken 56-year-old journalist titled the article “Sorry Simone Biles, but there’s nothing heroic or brave about quitting because you’re not having ‘fun’ — you let down your team-mates, your fans and your country,” and faced swift backlash from his unpopular opinion.
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In the scathing article, Morgan commented on the athlete's “cocky” attitude, targeting her previous comments on her success as ammunition against her decision to leave the Olympics before her individual finals event. The 56-year-old wrote, "The world's greatest ever gymnast, a woman who proudly told me how she fought back after making big mistakes to win Gold, just gave up at the first hurdle of these Olympics.”
Morgan went on to call the 24-year-old gymnast’s decision to leave the Olympics “cowardly,” writing, “I expected justified criticism for Biles' selfish decision to leave them to lose without her,” questioning, “What exactly is so courageous, heroic or inspiring about quitting on your team and country in an Olympics?”
The backlash to Morgan’s tone deaf article was prominent, especially after he doubled down with a tweet on Tuesday that read, “Are ‘mental health issues’ now the go-to excuse for any poor performance in elite sport? What a joke. Just admit you did badly, made mistakes, and will strive to do better next time. Kids need strong role models not this nonsense.”
After Twitter users drew attention to Morgan’s dramatic “Good Morning Britain” exit in March following unjust criticism of Meghan Markle and her Oprah interview, Morgan doubled back on his claims in a new social media post with Biles herself. Alongside the image which he shared to Instagram, he wrote, “You're a great champion @simonebiles (as I had reaffirmed when we met 2yrs ago) and great champions don't quit - they get back on their feet when they get knocked down,” he wrote. “So, re-engage in these Olympic Games, win Gold, & inspire with the power of resilience not resignation. Go for it.” Biles has made no comment on Morgan’s posts.
