The COVIDLympics, Day 4 Part 2: She does not need to answer these questions at all, but something's bugging me about the timing of all this...

I guess I am going to give this Simone Biles story it's own post.

Because I think it's going to be the biggest Olympic story in a mounting list of American disappointments in Tokyo, I think this Simone Biles story may be the largest.

It is already being colored as someone finally having the perspective as to putting health in front of medals.

For those living under a rock the last 12 hours:  Simone Biles performed in the vault in the team competition last night, then abruptly and shockingly withdrew from the team competition, allowing the illegal Russian Olympic Committee team to win the women's team competition.

In a later statement, she said she withdrew to "take a step back" for her mental health and to prevent injury.  The mental strain of the Olympics became too much for her, and she will evaluate further participation on a day-to-day basis.  (Personally, I think this is a statement she's out for the Games, but doesn't want to say it yet.)

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I'm queasy on this one.  VERY QUEASY...  The Spider Sense is going off as if it's a five-alarm fire.

Let's lay three (and a fourth later added) very important facts out on the table in support of Biles' statement:

1) The Russian drug-waiver hack of 2016 showed that Biles suffers from, and takes medication for, ADHD.  (She publicly outed that information herself afterward, and does have a medical waiver -- which is how the hack found it.)

2) Biles is already known to be one of Larry Nassar's victims in his widespread sexual-assault spree among Olympic hopeful athletes.

3) And Biles, more than anyone else, probably has millions, if not tens of millions, of USOC, NBC, and USA sponsor dollars backing her because of what was to be an expected haul of anywhere between four and six medals, many (if not ALL) of them gold.

ADDING 12:55 PM PDT 4) A chronicle of Biles being done for these Games has reported through the Sporting News that Biles went through the Olympic trials with a foot injury -- possible ligament damage in her foot.  (From which she still landed an unheard-of Yuchenko Double Pike vault in podium training, apparently...)

So there IS a plausible case that this is a mental health situation.  If it is, she needs to withdraw and take care of herself.  She's already won gold for her nation multiple times over in Rio and has nothing further to prove in any respect of the term.  As disappointing as it would be to many Americans, that's legit.

So why is this getting it's own post?

I don't see the timing of this at all.  I hope I'm wrong -- and will be the first to admit I'm wrong, but it may take many weeks, months, even years to confirm it if I am truly wrong and this is just a personal mental-health issue and the first major case of putting self-health before nation and medal count in what ESPN, at least, is calling a possible new era in sports in this regard.

(Holy run-on sentence...)

The only thing which stinks high-heaven with me is:  WHY NOW?  (And, in light of #4, why mental health and not disclose the foot injury?)  Why didn't this happen as part of a pattern -- say a World Championships here, another competition there, etc. and so forth and so on?  Why would she withdraw to prevent injury now, at what she's been training the last four years to do?  She could've retired from the sport as one of the greats at 19 and  no one would've batted a damn eyelash!

And (adding with the new Sporting News information) if the foot was that injured, why did Biles risk Tokyo in the first place?  (See cause #3 above...)  Was Simone Biles forced by NBC and the USOC to compete in Tokyo because of the monetary and sponsor influences with her name and likeness all over them?

And if the foot injury was part of the equation, why not disclose THAT???  She apparently did get her foot wrapped before withdrawing.  So why is it "mental health" if there's a very legitimate foot injury in play she's been dealing with for three months?

She does not need to ever answer those questions, or any similar.  I would hope someone would, but I cannot ever expect Simone herself (or anyone else) to do so.  It would be arrogant of me to do so.

But I have a couple very real and queasy possibilities, all of which I hope are wrong:

1) She's positive for COVID, a number of the other women on the USA gymnastics team are too, and, because of NBC's influence, it gets swept under the rug.

Consider:  The "Russian Olympic Committee" team.

The ENTIRE BASIS of the disqualification of Russia from formal recognition as a nation in these Games is a disqualification of their National Olympic Committee!!

If they are not to technically represent Russia, then why do they get to represent, in any form, forget the change in flag and the use of Tchaikovsky for the "national anthem", the very National Olympic Committee which created the disqualification.

Four words:  Too Big To Fail.

And if you think Russia is bad in that regard, the United States is a six-ton elephant, Too Big To Fail.  Remember, also, in seven years, the USA is supposed to host these Games!!!

So, if it came back, Justin Turner (mid-Game 6 World Series)-style, that she had COVID mid-competition, you don't think NBC, with so much invested (monetarily and otherwise) in Biles, would not do everything in it's power to cover it up?

2) Someone got to Biles and ordered her to take a dive.

Now, this is not likely.  But do recall that she is compromised, at least by the Russian drug-waiver hack.

If (and only if) someone has something on Biles which would basically upset the apple cart, she could've been blackmailed.

3) And then a possibility I have gravely feared for African-American Olympians in these Games:  She no longer, in good conscience, can represent a country where at least 40% of the population is turning it's back on sports because it is "too Black".

Of the three possibilities, this one, to me, would be the most likely.  And I wouldn't blame Biles or any other Black USA athlete for this stand, if this was the problem.

 I can easily imagine the MAGA/BLM conflict in this country being such a mental strain on Biles, as it is for many Blacks.  Could it finally have gotten to the point she can no longer, in good conscience, represent her nation?

I can't answer that, nor can I expect her to.