Tokyo COVympics: July 23 to August 8

[Kepler]

The Jordan comparisons also don't include what sport Simone is going to play for a mid-life crisis/family loss before returning. I say NASCAR.

Equestrian.

Such a shame she wandered into our enclosure
It's unfortunate this person has forced us to be blunt
No, we wouldn't mind seeing her at Harrods
But behind the jewelry counter, not in front

[Handyman]

The injury aspect is the one that I can’t believe is being overlooked. There are certainly people making bad faith arguments, but for those who genuinely believe she should’ve powered through it, I’m trying to think of another sport where a case of the yips could be so catastrophic. I’ve seen more MJ comparisons than I’d like to count, but if Jordan got a hitch in his jump shot in the middle of the Finals, that’s not going to lead to a broken neck.

Football has been showing how stupid the "put your head down and power through" mentality works.

[Kepler]

Football has been showing how stupid the "put your head down and power through" mentality works.

Works great for the owners. The gladiators are fungible.

[Kepler]

You mean gambling-related suspension, right?

Is that what happened? Did the NBA tell him "you don't have to go home but you can't stay here"?

[Russell Jaslow]

Is that what happened? Did the NBA tell him "you don't have to go home but you can't stay here"?

That's always been the rumor (conspiracy theory?). We'll never know.

[unofan]

Is that what happened? Did the NBA tell him "you don't have to go home but you can't stay here"?

Never been officially confirmed by anyone, but it's an oft- held belief that also has never been officially denied, either, and it fits with what is known about his proclivities.

[Kepler]

That's always been the rumor (conspiracy theory?). We'll never know.

It does make sense. I've always thought Jordan's decision was bizarre behavior which really isn't mirrored by any other really stupid/rash (non-gambling) decisions.

But it would have to have been just him and Stern with nobody else, not even their slaves, otherwise by now there would be twenty tell-alls.

[Handyman]

I see an awful lot of white male experts on social media and now this thread, trying to explain why a black woman pulling out of a competition for health reasons is bad. The only people she really owes any explanation to are her coaches and teammates, whom she continued to support from the sidelines. She owes everyone else absolutely nothing.

And her team doesn't seem all that upset at her...though I am not paying too close attention.

I am sorry but this is the Olympics, not war. Until we have walked a centimeter in her shoes we have no right to criticize her. She has done more, in harder situations, than most of us can even fathom.

[Handyman]

Never been officially confirmed by anyone, but it's an oft- held belief that also has never been officially denied, either, and it fits with what is known about his proclivities.

There is no way it wasn't at least part of it. They would have never suspended him because he was the NBA at that point and if they didn't take action it would have neutered the NBA on any sort of enforcement of rules.

[Kepler]

Never been officially confirmed by anyone, but it's an oft- held belief that also has never been officially denied, either, and it fits with what is known about his proclivities.

I'm kicking myself I didn't tweak to it immediately. In retrospect it is Occam's Obvious Meat Cleaver.

[Kepler]

There is no way it wasn't at least part of it. They would have never suspended him because he was the NBA at that point and if they didn't take action it would have neutered the NBA on any sort of enforcement of rules.

Plus Nike would never have allowed it. Too much $$$ invested by everyone along the food chain: league --> media --> merch.

[SJHovey]

Never been officially confirmed by anyone, but it's an oft- held belief that also has never been officially denied, either, and it fits with what is known about his proclivities.

I don't think the claim that the belief has never been officially denied is true. In The Last Dance documentary, both Michael Jordan and David Stern were asked point blank about it, and both said the story is complete B.S.

It doesn't even make sense if you think about it, since, a) Jordan never stopped gambling, b) apparently whatever it was wasn't bad enough to prevent Jordan from becoming a team owner, and c) other than rumor mongering, no one has ever produced a shred of evidence supporting it.

It's a classic conspiracy theory in that it's created to try to give some explanation to something that some people can't seem to wrap their heads around.

[MichVandal]

That is a mental health issue. The huge assumption you're making is that pressure/stress is the cause of her twisties, when there's been no indication that's the case. Most often the yips are caused by....nothing definable. You suddenly just can't.

Seems like an assumption to think that the twisties are NOT caused by pressure/stress that is exactly like someone having a mental breakdown.... Especially when one looks at the degree of pressure that has been put on Biles over the last few years. She's dealt with pressure better than 99.9999999999% of the public, but when she goes over her limit, it's just mental toughness...

So we will just have to agree to disagree.

[The Sicatoka]

And her team doesn't seem all that upset at her...though I am not paying too close attention.

Not upset, or not surprised.

Teammates tend to know what to expect out of one-another.

Is the lack of overt teammate response telling on its own?

[Kepler]

Maybe we just listen to Biles and take her at her word because she knows her motivation and also knows this stuff a billion times more than a bunch of people who stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.