Three years ago, when Simone Biles withdrew from the U.S. women’s gymnastics team final at the Tokyo Olympics to focus on her mental health, she faced a barrage of criticism, including from right-wing pundits who called her “weak” and “selfish.”
On Tuesday, Biles led Team USA to a triumphant gold medal after they scored a nearly six-point win over their competitors.
In an Instagram post later in the day, Biles appeared to respond to critics, writing “lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions” alongside photos of her and her teammates Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera celebrating their win on the floor.
Biles’ caption appeared to be a pointed reference to her former teammate Mykayla Skinner’s comments last month. In a now-deleted YouTube video, Skinner — who replaced Biles in the 2020 team final after she withdrew — criticized the team, saying “a lot of girls don’t work as hard.”
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be,” Skinner said. “The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”








