Bellator 263 fighters weigh in on Simone Biles’ mental health – and they’re on both ends of the spectrum
When Simone Biles, arguably the best gymnast in history, pulled out of some Olympic events earlier this week, it reignited a worldwide conversation.
The 24-year-old Biles was supposed to lead the U.S. to what was expected to be a third straight team gold medal, but she pulled out of the team portion of the Games, citing mental health reasons. The U.S. finished with a silver medal.
She also pulled out of the women’s all-around competition – where she also was going after a third straight gold medal.
For now, she’s still scheduled to compete in individual events she qualified for. But the keyboard warriors and armchair quarterbacks have been weighing in for days about her decision to remove herself from portions of the Games.
One camp is lauding Biles for having the self-awareness to pull out, knowing she wasn’t in the right head space. But the other camp has been critical of her decision, saying essentially that at her level, there should be excuse.
Other athletes away from gymnastics have weighed in, too, including some of the fighters at Bellator 263, which takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
Not surprisingly, there are fighters at Bellator 263 on both ends of the spectrum. Some are Team Biles, all the way. And others?
Well, when the term “man up” is used about the greatest women’s gymnast of all time, who is a sexual assault victim of convicted former USA Gymnastics team physician Larry Nassar, it seems pretty clear what side others fall on.
Check out the video above to hear from former lightweight champion Brent Primus, Kiefer Crosbie, Brian Moore and Georgi Karakhanyan.
