My Opinions About Simone Biles

You probably haven’t noticed but I took a writing break over the past couple of months. I wanted to honor a speaking gig I had at another church and didn’t want to write anything potentially controversial. I also wanted to clear my head from the pressure I put on myself to produce content. But the biggest reason for taking a break was to see if I could just shut up and not have an opinion on all the things pastors are supposed to have opinions on.

So it’s fitting that my first blog back is to share my opinions about Simone Biles.

I was just as shocked as many fellow Americans who saw the greatest gymnast in human history drop out of the Olympics due to mental health issues.

As soon as I found out I started reading many online opinions, blogs, and media outlets. I watched the press conference. I have so many questions I want to ask. But based on the limited information given, I started forming opinions myself.

Then I started getting asked my opinion by the people I was around when we all found out.

My response? Very anticlimactic!

I have none.

Once the pandemic hit last year, so many people were sharing their opinions, conspiracy theories, and ideologies around Covid-19. I decided I would no longer participate in conversations I know very little about. I was going to get very comfortable answering questions with “I don’t know.” Especially if I’m not educated on the topic.

And this may be the greatest pandemic of the modern era. That is - sharing our perspective without knowing a person, studying a topic, or truly examining data unbiasedly.

It’s extremely hard to keep my mouth shut but I’ve decided I’m not going to weigh in on the Simone Biles conversation.

I don’t know her.
I don’t know any of the real details.
I can’t relate to the stress and pressure of Olympic athletes.

Therefore, I have no opinions. Because offering an opinion on this topic does more harm to us collectively as humans. Because offering a judgment only continues the real problem of trying to solve everyone else’s issues except my own. I guess that’s why it’s so easy to chime in, because it would make me feel better to acknowledge the struggles of others than confront my own.