The Breaking Point for Biles: When it comes to Black women in sports, we’re ignoring the real issue

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One of the biggest stories to come out of the Tokyo Olympics was U.S. gymnast Simone Biles’s decision to press pause on competing and withdraw from some events in order to protect her mental health. Tennis player Naomi Osaka made a similar call when she skipped Wimbledon earlier this summer.

Both women received public criticism and praise for their choices. But from my perspective, we need less applause for the pause and more support for Black women athletes so their mental health does not reach this kind of breaking point.

I don’t know what it feels like to experience “the twisties” — what Biles and other gymnasts call losing control of their bodies while in the air — but it makes me reflect on my clients who dissociate. When you have a moment outside of your body or disconnected from their surroundings and actions. 

Biles has faced racism in a sport where she does not look like past Olympic champions. She has suffered sexual abuse by a doctor for the U.S. women's national gymnastics team. And like other elite Black women athletes before her — including tennis player Serena Williams’ powerful serve and figure skater Surya Bonaly’s backflip — Biles’s sport failed to give her credit for the athletic feats only she can do. Even being at the Olympics could be triggering for Biles, bringing up the trauma of past events, even though it is tied so closely to something she clearly loves to do.

The obstacles these women face and have faced are too great for them to be able to maintain their mental health. What we should be focused on is how Black women can compete at the highest levels of sports or any other field without the stress, microaggressions and trauma that weigh heavily on them daily. There's so much commentary about toughness when it comes to athletes, but Biles and other Black women athletes have to be tough every day of their lives, not just in competition.

It should not be this way. There needs to be more of a public conversation about how we can change systems to support Black women athletes, rather than pushing them to a breaking point. It was heartbreaking to watch Biles step back from Olympic competition, because she has worked so hard to be there. And even though it was the right decision, because nothing is more important than her mental health, Biles and others shouldn't have to endure this kind of trauma to achieve their dreams.

We need to normalize people taking time off for their mental health, including Black women. But the bigger focus needs to be on systemic racism and sexism and how that affects Black women's mental health and how that needs to change. Our conversations shouldn't just be about Simone Biles or Naomi Osaka — they are simply the most public examples of how systemic racism and sexism affects people’s mental health, even the greatest athletes.