As a rule, people love shorthand explanations and easy comparisons. It’s why “Uber for X” is used in the start-up world and so many movie pitches can be boiled down to “Popular Franchise #1 meets Popular Franchise #2.“ And that sort of comparison is all over the Rio Olympics, but it can get tricky when folks start couching the accomplishments of a great female athlete in terms of men who dominate the Olympic conversation. In a year where winning women are being reduced to their status as wives of other athletes, that’s not going to fly. Simone Biles — who just won all-around gymnastics gold both with the U.S. team and individually — shut down those “next [famous man]” conversations before they could even start.
According to Omnisport, Biles had some choice words for anyone who would paint her success within the frame of other Olympians.
“I’m not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps,” she said. “I’m the first Simone Biles.”
It’s not the first time that Biles has dropped a quote that could be inserted directly into her biopic without any punch-up. She previously shut down noxious trolls who accused her adoptive parents of not being her real parents with another simple declaration.
“My parents are my parents and that’s it,” she said.
Currently, Biles has two gold medals and still has the Women’s Vault ahead of her on August 14.
(Via USA Today)
