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“Mad at My Parents”: Simone Biles Blames Texas Law for Missing a Normal Teenage Life While Chasing Gymnastics Dream

Published 04/20/2024, 9:15 AM CDT

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Did you know that Simone Biles never went to a prom in high school? While Simone Biles continues to make history on the gymnastics floor, her two most devoted cheerleaders have always been in the stands: Ronald and Nellie Biles. She first stepped onto the gymnastics mat at the age of 6 after visiting a gym on a daycare field trip. Impressed by her talent, the coaches encouraged her to enroll in classes; Ronald and Nellie instantly signed her up and there was no looking back. But that decision hindered her teenage life.

Even though Biles has even credited her parents “for making sacrifices since day 1 so I can live out my dream. But most importantly thanks for always being there for me through all the highs and lows,” she recently revealed On the ‘Call Her Daddy’ podcast, the frustration she had as a young girl. Simone Biles was home-schooled during her high school years. The show’s host, Alex, asked Simone candidly, “Did you resent it at all?”

Simone Biles said, “At that point? No, because I still loved doing gymnastics. ” She shared how she had her gym friends to hang around with and it was all she needed at that point in time. “But going into high school, I was mad at my parents, like mad as hell. I was like, ‘You figure it out. Why can’t I do both school and gymnastics?’” Simone had already missed out on moments like sleepovers with friends because they lived “40 minutes away” when she attended public school until eighth grade.

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She made another interesting revelation about the Texas law. It was observed at the time that in California, as long as you did your schoolwork, you could miss school. Biles said, “But Texas law states you can only miss X amount before they fail you, even if you do your schoolwork. So that just wasn’t an option for us.” But Simone Biles said she had no option because Texas had the best gymnastics training programs.

However, being in high school while some of her friends from other states could balance gymnastics and school left Simone frustrated. She even mentioned that she started doing national team camps and missed so much school that she had no choice.

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Reflecting on these words, it’s clear what sacrifices she has made throughout her life to become the most decorated gymnast in the world.

Simone Biles danced with a boy for the first time on a show

Success of this magnitude comes with immense discipline and sacrifices. Simone’s sacrifices have turned to gold. At the tender age of 14, she decided to fully commit to gymnastics. She took this hard step to leave public school and get home-schooled so that she could dedicate more than 30 hours a week to her training.

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Looking at her dedication her mother Nellie sold a group of 14 nursing homes to build a gym and hired, Aimee Boorman, as her coach. She sat out for Friday night football games, homecomings, and even proms. During the podcast, she revealed that, “The first time I danced with a boy was on Dancing with the Stars with Sasha and it was after the Olympics. I was like 19 years old.” Recounting the moment, she said, “I remember he got in my face, grabbed me, and I was like, ah. Like freaking out.”

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However, she had created a philosophy for herself during the process. It was not like she did not want to go out with friends, she did not have enough time for practice, so she did not go. Though it was not always fun to practice, she consistently chose to do it. Biles’ attitude and discipline helped her practice and condition her body. She felt that the more she practiced she felt something new would click and help her progress. Her journey to the pinnacle reflects the immense hard work she has put in all her life to become the greatest athlete of all time in her sport.

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Written by:

Christaline Meyers

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Christaline Meyers is a senior Olympics writer at EssentiallySports who specializes in gymnastics and alpine skiing. Christaline is one of the acclaimed authorities in the coverage of 6x All-Around champion, Simone Biles. She has written extensively, covering every detail of Biles’s life stories as well as providing her perspective on Simone Biles’ Yurchenko Double Pike controversy.
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Edited by:

Sampurna Pal