Simone Biles doesn't want you to call her 'the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps'
Simone Biles took home Olympic gold for her mind boggling performance at Thursday's women's individual all-around gymnastics final, leaving little doubt that she is, indeed, the greatest of all-time.
But as a professional female athlete, Biles is acutely aware of the ways in which sports commentators sometimes frame a woman's athletic achievements.
So she did what any G.O.A.T. would do: She got ahead of the conversation:
"I'm not the next Usain Bolt or Michael Phelps. I'm the next Simone Biles," she told Omnisport after her win, effectively undercutting attempts to compare her achievements next to those of a man's.
Indeed, sexism runs rampant in sports commentary. A small sampling of this week's nonsense include: A reference to Katie Ledecky the "female Michael Phelps"; A commentator who said he thought the U.S. women's gymnastics team looked like it could be standing in a shopping mall; Yet another commentator who credited a Hungarian swimmer's record-breaking time to her husband. The list goes on.
Don't try that garbage with Biles, however-- She's way, way ahead of you.
BONUS: 100 years of Olympic ceremonies
