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“Guys Were Treated Differently”: NBA World Comes to Ben Simmons’ Defence by Making Simone Biles Comparisons to Prove a Crucial Point

Published 04/27/2022, 7:00 AM EDT

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Ben Simmons has been missing for a year. Where is he? Every NBA fan has the same question. Simmons last played for the Philadelphia 76ers in their second-round playoff match against the Atlanta Hawks. Since then, he had held out on his contract and missed training sessions. He got traded to the Brooklyn Nets, but he hasn’t played with them yet because of injury.

There have been reports stating that Simmons and his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, met franchise officials on Monday in Brooklyn. According to sources, Simmons told those in the room that a mental block exists for him, dating in part to last summer’s postseason, which is creating stress that could serve as a trigger point for his back issues. He added he wants to play basketball and play for the Nets as he works on solutions regarding his well-being.

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Simmons was healthy, according to those reports. But on Sunday, he informed the team his back was sore. Players in the Nets camp were confused because of his perceived lack of attempt to play, effort to be in uniform and push his body in these high-stakes playoffs,

Fans have mocked him for his outfits from the bench. His emotionless face doesn’t help. But there have been some fans pushing back against the criticism by citing Simon Biles’ example.

Support for Ben Simmons

USA Today via Reuters

These fans have mentioned that there is an underlying element of sexism. They think Biles was treated more lightly than Simmons by the media because of the former being a woman.

These are some of the tweets which scream out “sexism” on this:

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Simone Biles: The Context

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via Getty

Simone Biles is an Olympic champion. She has won 32 medals in the Olympics and the World Championships. This includes four gold medals in Rio 2016. She largely missed the Tokyo Olympics because of the “Twisties”. It can set in when doing high-level elements, typically on the floor or vault, and it becomes difficult to compartmentalise the exact element a gymnast’s body is attempting. It is very dangerous for a gymnast to have this.

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In normal circumstances, a gymnast might perform elements into the safety of a foam pit, allowing them to once again feel comfortable that their body will respond as they want. But at the Olympic Games, the training facilities do not offer a foam pit. It causes the athlete to doubt herself.

Can Biles’ case be compared to Simmons? Or is it false equivalence? Discuss it among yourselves and come out with an amswer.

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Written by:

Aditya Kar

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Aditya Kar is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports. A holder of Bachelors and Masters degrees in History, he has been a fan of the NBA since 2011. He has a very keen interest in the stories that define the league and the sport.
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Edited by:

Ajinkya Aswale