"Not my topic to speak about"- Simone Biles silences questions on Jordan Chiles bronze medal controversy as she extends support to her teammate
Simone Biles has reiterated her support for Olympic champion gymnast Jordan Chiles. In a recent interview, she extended her support to Chiles, silencing her critics.
In an interview with USA Today, Biles talked about many things, from her life in foster care to her Netflix documentary, 'Simone Biles Rising'.
When she was asked about the documentary footage that could help Chiles in her battle for the bronze medal, Biles replied,
"This is not my topic to speak about, but we are going to support Jordan as much as we can and love her and uplift her because it's a tough situation."
For the unversed, Chiles has filed an appeal with the Swiss Federal Tribunal against the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision to revoke her Olympic bronze medal in the floor exercise event.
The 23-year-old gymnast was stripped of her bronze medal after the CAS upheld the original scores that awarded the bronze medal to Ana Barbosu of Romania. Biles won the silver medal, while Rebeca Andrade of Brazil won the Olympic gold medal in this event.
The controversy has also been documented in Simone Biles' new documentary, 'Simone Biles Rising', which is streaming on the OTT giant 'Netflix'. According to footage in the documentary, Chiles' appeal was reportedly submitted on time, as opposed to the claims made by the CAS in their judgment.
Simone Biles' take on the bronze medal controversy after the Paris Olympics
Simone Biles returned home with an impressive medal haul from the Paris Olympics. The 27-year-old gymnast won three gold medals and a silver to become the most decorated American artistic gymnast of all time, replacing Shannon Miller, who had won a total of 7 medals overall.
However, the floor exercise event dampened Biles' illustrious campaign to some extent. Despite giving her best, the American gymnast fell short on penalties, settling on a silver medal. However, when the CAS revoked Jordan Chiles' bronze medal, Biles was the first gymnast who openly came out in her support.
Terming the decision 'unjust', Biles spoke about it in an interview with People.com,
"It's an unfortunate circumstance because something like this has never happened before and it's truly a shame... Do we think they did the correct procedures to come to this ruling? No. That's really why we want that justice for Jordan and why we're going to keep supporting her and uplifting her."
Biles also revealed that when Chiles took a break from social media after the Paris Olympics, she did her best to lift the latter's spirits.
"I know she’s not on social media, but some of the funny things I’ve seen, I said, ‘Okay, Jordan, can I send you something that I think you would really like right now?’ And so I’ve sent her little things, and it was like one of them was these four or five girls guarding a medal, and I thought that was the cutest. And then I sent her Flavor Flav’s bronze [medal he made for her] and then I sent her LeBron [James]’s tweet," she said. (via People)
Simone Biles is currently leading the second edition of the 'Gold over America Tour'. The next stop of the entourage would be Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio, where the gymnasts would perform on October 27.