I’m going to write this from as much as a non sports perspective as I possibly can. As a fan of the Olympics, I get pretty swept up in it. So is it disappointing to see Simone Biles withdraw from the Team Gymnastics Competition? As a sports fan, sure. I mean, this is Simone Biles!!!! She’s super human!

But this is where the disappointment ends and the the admiration begins. Simome Biles proved today to be human. It took an immense amount of courage for this young woman, with the eyes of the nation and the world on her, to do what she did.

I mean, I just, I’m so proud of her. To have that attention to self care, and have the courage to say, ‘I can’t’, it’s just incredible. As someone who has dealt with their own Mental Health issues, to see someone in the public eye, fail publicly, and somehow be better for it, and come out of it as more of a superstar than anyone could have imagined, is so uplifting.

And her teammates, I’m proud of them too. It could have turned bad. ‘That bitch, she cost us a gold medal, how could she be that self-involved?!?’ Team USA took the high road and rallied. Instead of being disappointed they recognized, ‘hey our leader isn’t doing well today, let’s support her and salvage this’, and they did with a silver medal. Team USA proved today they are a team in the truest sense of the word. And I swear right now, if I see any comments from fans ‘she cost us a Gold’, you will be blocked.

I am proud to be a Team USA fan today. Most proud of a second place finish, when one of the most recognizable and greatest American Olympians ever put her mental health first.

Back tomorrow with the regular blog.