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“Do Not Get Roped Into This”: Simone Biles’ Mother Warned Her From Italian’s Awful Comments on Her Body in 2013

Published 11/17/2022, 10:15 AM EST

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Simone Biles is one of the most decorated gymnasts of all time. She won a total of 7 medals, including four gold, two silver, and one bronze. Biles started training when she was just eight and won two World Championships at 16.

However, success didn’t come easy for Simone Biles. Even after dedicating herself entirely to her sport, Biles faced criticism and unfortunate remarks at times. In her book, she opened up about one such remark and her mother’s reaction to it.

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Simone Biles faced distressful racist remarks after her first win

In her book, “Courage To Soar,” Biles talked about an incident when she had just won the 2013 World Championship. Biles claimed that she woke up to a storm of tweets mentioning her. She ran to her mother’s office to enquire about what had happened.

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Biles and her mother found that Italian gymnast, Carlotta Ferlito, had made a racist remark to her teammate Vanessa Ferrari. Ferlito told Ferrari, “Next time we should also paint our skin black so then we can win too.”

“No Need to Be Dramatic”: Simone Biles’ Recalled Mother’s Reaction to Her Emotional Breakdown When an Unexpected News Put Her Gymnastics Career at Risk

This remark was in reference to Gabby Douglas becoming the first black woman to win gold in Olympics all-around last year. Biles’ mother asked her to be proud of what she had achieved and not let these remarks spoil her moment. She said, “Do not get roped into this.”

Biles’ mother acted level-headed in all situations

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Simone Biles has opened up about her mother being level-headed in other instances too. When Biles’ first coach Aimee Boorman left the gym where Simone and Adria trained, Biles was utterly devastated. She started crying hysterically and called her mother.

 

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Her mother asked her to calm down and not overreact about the situation. Biles insisted on emptying the lockers and leaving the gym, but her mother advised her not to do so. She advised Biles and her sister Adria to skip training and attend church while she talked to Boorman.

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WATCH THIS STORY: Simone Biles Drops Hints on Her Honeymoon Destination with Jonathan Owens

All in all, Momma Biles played an important role in calming her down and making her reach where she is today. What do you think about the mother-daughter duo? Tell us in the comments!

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Written by:

Somya Jain

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Somya Jain is a US Sports author at EssentiallySports. She has been a Psychology student for six years, holds a Master’s degree from Panjab University, Chandigarh, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D.
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Edited by:

Rupak Kumar Jha