Simone Biles’s divisive social posts harm innocent lives in Ireland.
Dublin’s Gymnastic Ireland GymStart Competition
Dublin’s Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena was abuzz with excitement as several hundred girls, boys, and spectators gathered for Gymnastic Ireland’s GymStart competition in early March 2022. The organization put major effort into ensuring that the day would live long in the memories of all those present.
An official video from the event shows a multiracial cast of children giddily competing. A second video from that day shows an official of Gymnastics Ireland placing participation medals around the neck of every participant in a mass award ceremony.
Throughout the video, the official seems distracted as she hands out the medals. She glances at colleagues across the arena, communicates with someone over her left shoulder, tries not to get in the way of an eager photographer, and struggles to untangle the medals as she hands them out. She doesn’t have enough and has to run out of the shot to the right to get more. In the fuss, she forgets to place a medal around the neck of one girl who stands there awkwardly and upset thinking she might not get one.
It is a scene familiar and heartbreaking to parents whose kids do sports — things like this happen all the time. This time, however, the young gymnast happened to be black. And this time, Simone Biles and the grievance-hungry non-governmental organization (NGO) scene sensed an opportunity for profit.
On Sept. 22, 2023, the second video was posted on X by Mohamad Safa, the CEO of Patriotic Vision, a UN-accredited NGO. Safa commented on the video saying, “Welcome to Ireland where people get away with racism! This little black girl broke my heart.” Safa immediately followed up with a post in the same thread begging for donations to his NGO.
The Power of NGOs in Ireland
To some, it will still come as a shock to see the transparently race-baiting tactics modern NGOs employ, but for the Irish, it is sadly familiar. Ireland is now one of the most hyper-leftist states in the West. There are currently approximately 33,000 NGOs active in the country with enormous institutional power — and the government funds them to the tune of five billion Euro per annum. Ireland is a soft touch for the NGO vultures whose sole purpose is to leverage power and money at any cost.
Shortly after Safa posted the video, Biles responded, echoing Safa’s claim that the incident was racially motivated. She wrote, “[T]here is no room for racism in any sport or at all !!!!” The post unleashed an expected tsunami of abuse directed at Gymnastics Ireland and at the unnamed official in question. Biles’s Team USA teammate Jordan Chiles also shared the video and it went viral. What started out as a simple oversight from a distracted official has become an international race incident.
Of course, this is not the first time Biles has been involved in racial activism. Take, for example, her early support for Colin Kaepernick.
In a wide-ranging interview in a July 2020 edition of Vogue, Biles stated, “We tried peaceful protesting. Then Colin Kaepernick—he lost his job. He lost his career. They took his whole entire career away from that poor man. And look at us now…It’s working. You just have to be the first and people will follow.” Biles is part of a modern crop of activist athletes like Megan Rapinoe and Raven Saunders who have politicized their sports and used their platforms to push various causes.
Biles, who controversially pulled out of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, also enthusiastically supported Saunders’s podium protests by posting an image of Saunders posing with her hands in an “X” above her head to her Instagram story along with a Saunders quote that read, “Gave EVERYTHING for this. If you are BLACK, LGBTQIA+ or mentally struggling, this one is for you. S/O to all my fighters.”
What’s more, the incident with Gymnastics Ireland was not the first time Biles has used her massive social media influence to pressure a gymnastics official. In 2018, Mary Bono, then interim head of USA Gymnastics, posted an image on X of her blotting out the Nike swooshes on her golf shoes in protest of Nike and Kaepernick.
Biles commented on the post, “*mouth drop* don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter USA gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything.” The backlash was immediate and Bono was forced to tender her resignation.
So when Biles posted on X that the actions of the Gymnastics Ireland official were racist, she knew what she was unleashing. Her past activism tells us what she expects — mea culpas and resignations. It does not seem to matter to her that the Gymnastics Ireland matter has been thoroughly and professionally dealt with.
As reported in the Irish Times, since the incident in 2022 there has been a lengthy internal investigation by Gymnastics Ireland as they opened lines of mediation between the family and the official involved. Gymnastics Ireland included multiple relevant ethics and independent dispute management organizations in resolving the issue. The investigation resulted in a written apology to the family and the official involved left the organization.
An official statement by Gymnastics Ireland released last week says, “The official in question accepted fully that what had happened had not been acceptable but stressed that it had not been intentional. The official concerned said that upon realizing the mistake they [sic] immediately rectified it and ensured that the competitor concerned was presented with her medal before she left the Field of Play (FoP).”
Sure enough, the girl in question appears in the previously mentioned March promotional video, smiling with two medals around her neck. Not only did she get her participation medal, but she also won a competitive medal given out on the podium.
Officialdom aside, let’s consider what Biles, Safar, and the woke mob would have us believe. It is their position that this woman, in front of hundreds of spectators, countless cameras, and the national press committed a blatant and brazen act of racism — one that, as she would have to have known, would get her immediately fired, ruin her life, and brand her a racist forever.
Aside from this being the least generous and most incendiary interpretation of events, it is also the least logical and frankly, most stupidly childish explanation. But that hasn’t stopped Safa, Biles, or their lackeys from trying to sell it.
Since the athletes’ supporter mobs were released, the abuse targeted at Gymnastics Ireland and the official involved have been unrelenting. It has ranged from demands for mass resignations (“Entire board need to be removed immediately. Disgraced us all in Ireland and millions more have seen this Irish racist crap inflicted on a child”) to countless vile personal attacks (“That vile woman needs to be removed from anywhere with children of colour. WTAF!! Get rid of her and do better!”) to accusations of racism (“And for that racist teacher; madam you’ll always be remembered as the scum of the earth!”).
What do the ringleaders have to gain from ruining an innocent woman’s life? Safa, running a little-known NGO, has products to hawk. Biles — with the rumors of a lucrative return to international competition swirling — has a buzz to build and activist cred that needs topping up.
But sadly, for Gymnastics Ireland and the official involved, it means the controversy has been dragged up again. It means they have become collateral damage in the grubby game of international race-baiting for profit.
How did Simone Biles and Safa react to the incident and what claims did they make?
.uk/news/article-12554637/Gymnastics-Ireland-embroiled-racism-row-
young-black-competitor-skipped-medal-ceremony-Olympic-champion-Simone-Biles-condemns-heartbreaking-incident.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=social-
twitter_dailymailUK” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>recent interview with Vogue UK, Biles discussed her decision to withdraw from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: “It wasn’t a coincidence that I withdrew; it was a moment for myself. It was important for me to be a voice for those who don’t have one.”
This incident in Dublin seemed like another opportunity for Biles to play the role of social justice warrior. Her tweet quickly garnered tens of thousands of likes and retweets, further fueling the outrage and spreading the narrative that Gymnastics Ireland was engaging in racist behavior. The truth, however, is quite different.
The Facts of the Incident
When examined objectively, the incident at the GymStart competition was a simple oversight by a distracted official. The video clearly shows the official juggling multiple tasks and struggling to keep up with the demands of the event. The fact that one participant, a young black girl, was momentarily missed does not automatically imply racism.
Gymnastics Ireland, recognizing the sensitivity of the situation, quickly issued a statement acknowledging the mistake and apologizing to the young gymnast and her family. They explained that the official responsible for awarding the medals became overwhelmed by the demands of the event and unintentionally skipped one participant. They assured that steps would be taken to prevent such incidents in the future.
Despite this, the incident was blown out of proportion by activists like Biles and Safa, who saw an opportunity to further their own agendas. By framing the oversight as a racially motivated act, they exploited the emotions of the public and created a divisive narrative that overshadowed the true intentions of Gymnastics Ireland.
The Danger of False Narratives
While it is important to address instances of racism and discrimination, it is equally important to approach such matters with fairness and objectivity. False narratives and exaggerated claims only serve to divide and perpetuate animosity.
By jumping to conclusions and making public accusations based on limited information, individuals like Biles and Safa undermine the credibility of genuine instances of racism, making it harder for real victims to be heard and understood.
The incident at the GymStart competition should serve as a reminder to exercise caution when interpreting events and to refrain from rushing to judgment without a complete understanding of the facts. It is crucial to foster healthy dialogue and promote unity rather than contributing to the polarization of society.
Conclusion
The GymStart competition incident in Dublin was an unfortunate oversight by a distracted official. It was not a deliberate act of racism, as
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