Simone Biles' former US women's gymnastics teammate MyKayla Skinner has called on the superstar to help stop the surge of "hateful comments" from trolls amid a feud over her controversial remarks.
The pair both appeared alongside each other in 2021 in Tokyo, with Skinner earning a silver medal at those Games for her showing in the vault event. She subsequently retired from the sport, with Biles rallying back after withdrawing from those Olympics to pick up four medals - including three golds - in Paris.
However, relations between the pair have appeared strained during this summer's spectacle after the disparaging comments by Skinner about the current crop of stars in the US women's gymnastics team. Speaking prior to the Games, the 27-year-old questioned the strength of the ability of those selected apart from Biles .
READ MORE: Simone Biles shares moment she burst into tears away from cameras at Paris Olympics
READ MORE: Noah Lyles told Olympic rival he'd lost men's 100m final during anxious wait for result
"Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be," she posited in a set of comments which now appear mis-guided after the success of American gymnasts in the French capital. "I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic."
Team USA star Suni Lee, along with ex- Olympic gymnasts McKayla Maroney and Nasita Luikin, were among those who called out the comments. Meanwhile, Biles herself appeared to break her silence on Skinner purportedly blocking the former on X by saying on the social network: "Oop I’ve been blocked."
Eventually, Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Suni Lee all won medals at the Games, while the U.S women's team - nicknamed the 'Golden Girls' - also prevailed in the team event as they secured gold. Taking to Instagram in an apparent nod to the comments, Biles also captioned a picture of her and her teammates at the Games, saying: "Lack of talent, lazy Olympic champions."
Follow us on X for the best and latest in sports news
Now, Skinner has called for an end to the feud as she also asked Biles to help quell the swell of negative comments from trolls on social media. In a social media post, she wrote in the caption: "I am asking you directly and publicly to please put a stop to this. Please ask your followers to stop."
"I love our country and don’t want to take anything away from our athletes. Let’s use this time to build each other up, not tear others down. Watching people cheer on the bullying... is disgusting," she continued. "So please at this point, I’m just asking for it to stop for the sake of my family because enough is enough.
"You guys can imagine my surprise last week when I was celebrating our team winning gold just to see this brought up all over again by a caption on an Instagram post. If Simone truly believes that I called our team lazy and lacking talent and if that’s really how she feels, I am really heartbroken over it."
Skinner added: "But not just heartbroken because it isn’t what I feel or even how I previously said, but because Simone’s latest post and others that followed it fuelled another wave of hateful comments, DMs, articles and emails."
Most Popular
Comments / 0