As the Olympic Games proceeded, eyes were increasingly focused on the incredible Simone Biles.
There are many words to describe Biles: Black, woman, superstar, G.O.A.T., even superhuman. The latter is a term that, while intended to be flattering, can actually be dehumanizing when put into context.
Black people across the diaspora have been and continue to be referred to as subhuman or superhuman as a means of justification. The former for the mistreatment of Black people- criminalization, incarceration, adultification, and brutalization. The latter for the valorization or lionization of Black athletes, who can seemingly do things that other athletes are not capable of.
Such ways of seeing Black folks, however, limit our humanity, making it easier for these patterns to continue.
When Jack Johnson, the Galveston Giant, knocked out Tommie Burns in December of 1908 and became the heavyweight champion of the world, the Black athlete was born. Yet this birth faced persistent obstacles and challenges.
It is difficult to deny the ways in which Black athletes are used up until they expire. Then they are discarded and replaced with little or no thought to those who preceded them. In the words of the scholar-activist Dr. Harry Edwards, “like a piece of equipment, the Black athlete is used.”
While it’s easy to argue that sports is a meritocracy in which all athletes are created equal, it’s naive and disingenuous to ignore the ways that race, gender, and class shape the lived experiences of athletes.
Simone Biles has been deemed superhuman.
She has, as I have argued previously, also been punished for her ability to exceed the limits of gymnastics skills as she dominates the competition. However, Biles will continue to do so, “because [she] can,” and the gymnastics world will have to learn to adapt. As Cari Champion said in a recent conversation with Zerlina Matthews, Simone Biles is “unstoppable,” and she and many other Black sportswomen are indeed revolutionary.
Being unstoppable on an apparatus, however, does not lessen one’s humanity.
Earlier today, Simone Biles shockingly faltered on the vault. It’s an event she has practically owned, especially as she is the first woman in the world to land the Yurchenko double pike. Nevertheless, Biles faltered, and many feared the worst. Biles pulled out of the uneven bars rotation and, ultimately, withdrew from the team finals altogether. Team USA eventually took silver behind Russia.
In the aftermath, I can’t help but think of one other word that describes Biles: survivor.
In an interview with Today’s Hoda Kotb, Biles said that she felt that if she didn’t remain active in the sport of gymnastics as a survivor of abuse that the issues would be brushed aside. She felt this was a major part of her purpose and used her social media platforms to make her presence felt.
Being a survivor of any form of abuse takes its toll on a person physically, mentally, and emotionally.
And being an elite athlete also comes with its own set of costs and consequences.
Simone Biles and Black Gymnastics History
At twenty-four years old, this is Biles’ second Olympic games and her first following a global pandemic and a time of social upheaval fueled by anti-Black terrorism in the US.
It’s unclear whether she will be able to continue competing in Tokyo, but her presence will continue to be felt during these games and in the sport. The legacy of Black Olympic gymnasts is a short one, but it is one that shines brightly, particularly through the sport’s most medaled athlete, Simone Biles.
Biles is the first U.S. woman, and the fifth female ever, to win four gymnastics golds at a single Olympic Games (all-around, floor exercise, vault, and team). She joins Gabby Douglas as the only American gymnasts to win gold in both the individual all-around and team competitions in the same Olympic Games.
And they both followed in the footsteps of Dominique Dawes, the first Black American gymnast on the U.S. National Gymnastics team (1988) and U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team. Dawes became the first Black American to win an individual medal during the Olympic games in 1996.
While we marvel at her accomplishments, we must not forget the underlying and systemic abuse that gymnasts, including Simone Biles have faced. Biles also has the additional burden of representing a country where many continue to discriminate against her due to the color of her skin.
Black Women are not Unbreakable
And for all of her greatness and record-setting accomplishments, she is human and not immune to pressure. She can falter.
“I feel like I’m also not having as much fun – and this Olympic Games I wanted it to be for myself and it felt like I was still doing for other people – and that hurts my heart that doing what I love has been taken away from me,” said Biles.
Microaggressions, misogynoir, sexual abuse, and racism are all very real today, and they impact all Black women, including Black sportswomen.
Before today’s events, Biles said she was “fighting all of those demons,” and couldn’t overcome them. It’s something all athletes face at some point.
In these Games, those of us interested in the intersection of race, sports, and society, and in Black sportswomen, in particular, will remain focused on athletes like Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, and those in the pool.
But sports in general, and gymnastics, in particular, has a lot that it needs to seriously address. We need to open our eyes and take honest action to deal with the mistakes and injustices across the spectrum.
So think carefully and critically when deciding to call a Black sportswoman something that doesn’t reflect her humanity. Do you not recognize her as human, or are you just so deeply conditioned to do so that you can no longer recognize your own biases any longer?
Either way, it’s time to make a real change. Black women are not unbreakable.
