PARIS — Get yourself a teammate like Simone Biles.
Biles used an Instagram post celebrating the U.S. women’s gold medal to defend her teammates against MyKayla Skinner’s criticism of them last month. In a since-deleted YouTube video, Skinner said with the exception of Biles, the Americans lack talent and and the current gymnasts don’t work hard enough.
“Lack of talent, lazy, Olympic champions,” Biles wrote, adding heart, gold medal and U.S. flag emojis. Her post included four photos of the Americans celebrating their win Tuesday night.
Suni Lee, who added the team gold to her all-around title from Tokyo, chimed in, saying, “Put a finger down if Simone Biles just ended you.” Skinner made a TikTok video of the “Put a finger down” challenge over the weekend, citing her Olympic experience.
Skinner was passed over for the Rio Olympic team despite finishing fourth at trials, and was named an alternate instead. She didn’t make the Tokyo team, either, going instead as an event specialist. She won a silver medal on vault.
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The team gold gave Biles eight Olympic medals, more than any other U.S. gymnast. The other three veterans on the Paris team — Lee, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles — now have at least two gold medals from the Olympics or world championships.
The fifth member of the team, Hezly Rivera, only turned 16 in June and is in her first year as a senior level gymnast.
In a YouTube video recapping the trials, Skinner said, “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be. I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.” She also said SafeSport was contributing to the problem because coaches couldn’t be as tough on their athletes as they once were.
The U.S. Center for SafeSport is an independent agency that investigates abuse complaints in the Olympic movement. It was formed in the wake of revelations that former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar had sexually abused hundreds of women under the guise of medical treatment, including Biles and other Olympic champions.
Skinner tried to walk back her comments, claiming it was “not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work.” But it’s obvious from Biles’ post, and the responses to it, that her attempt at an apology fell flat.
“micdrop,” Nastia Liukin, the 2008 Olympic all-around champion whose parents coach Rivera, said in a reply to Biles’ post.
McKayla Maroney, a member of the 2012 U.S. team that won gold in London, called Biles’ post “iconic,” adding, “Feels like I need to apologize just to redeem my first name.”
