Simone Biles was caught on a hot mic encouraging Team USA to 'kick ass' after mental health withdrawal
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Simone Biles told her teammates to "kick ass" after she withdrew from Tuesday's gymnastics team final.
Biles pulled out of the final over mental health concerns.
She said her teammates were "freaking out," but she insisted they would be "just fine" without her.
Simone Biles was caught on video encouraging her teammates to "kick ass" after she broke the news that she was withdrawing from the gymnastics team final over mental health concerns.
"I'm sorry - I love you guys, but you're gonna be just fine," Biles told teammates Sunisa "Suni" Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Grace McCallum in a clip shared by Axios Sports' Kendall Baker. "You guys have trained your whole entire life for this, it's fine."
"I've been to an Olympics, I'll be fine," the 24-year-old added. "This is your first - you go out there and kick ass, okay?"
-Kendall Baker (@TheKendallBaker) July 27, 2021
She relayed a similar message to "Today" host Hoda Kotb in an appearance later on Tuesay.
"You have done all the training, you can do this without me and it will be just fine," she remembered telling her teammates.
"They were freaking out," she added. "They were like, crying, and I was like, 'You guys need to relax, you're going to be fine without me, go out there and kick some butt, just like we've done in training. And just lay it out on the floor and see what happens!'"
The women's gymnastics team ended up winning silver medals in the team final, with the Russian gymnastics team earning the gold.
Biles said in a press conference after the competition that she had endured a "really stressful day" and had been shaking because of the anticipation.
"It's been really stressful this Olympic games... it's been a long week, a long Olympic process, a long year," Biles said, per ESPN's Michele Steele. "I think we're a little too stressed out - we should be out here having fun and that's just not the case."
"Once I came out here, I was like, no the mental is not there," she added. "I had to let the girls do it."
Biles is scheduled to defend her title in the individual all-around final on Thursday and compete in several individual finals in the following days.
She said she will "hopefully" compete in her upcoming events.
Read the original article on Insider
