Explaining the MyKayla Skinner and Simone Biles drama
Simone seemingly clapped back at comments MyKayla had made about work ethic after Team USA’s historic win at the Paris Olympics.
Simone seemingly clapped back at comments MyKayla had made about work ethic after Team USA’s historic win at the Paris Olympics.
The 2024 Paris Olympics are in full swing, and Team USA is already making history and breaking a ton of records. Case in point: The women’s rugby team captured their first-ever Olympic medal in rugby sevens during a match against Australia on July 30, and Simone Biles became the most decorated U.S. gymnast of all time after she and her teammates took home the gold at the women’s gymnastics team final.
Simone celebrated the historic moment on Instagram by posting a pic with Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera, writing, “Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions”
Fans immediately took notice of Simone’s caption, tying it back to comments her former teammate, MyKayla Skinner, made about the lack of work ethic in gymnastics.
Since Simone’s post, Suni Lee and 2012 Fierce Five gymnast McKayla Maroney have entered the chat, too.
So, what did MyKayla Skinner say about the U.S. gymnastics team?
How did this all happen to begin with? In a since-deleted YouTube video, MyKayla shared her reaction to the gymnastics trials for Team USA, saying, “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be.”
“A lot of girls don't work as hard....The girls just don’t have the work ethic,” she continued in the video, per "E! News."
MyKayla also claimed that the U.S. Center for SafeSport, a nonprofit that helps end abuse in athletics, played a part in the “lack of effort” from the athletes.
“Like, coaches can’t get on athletes and they have to be really careful what they say,” she said. “Which, in some ways is really good, but at the same time, to get to where you need to be in gymnastics you do have to be, I feel, like, a little aggressive and a little intense.”
Have other athletes said anything about the drama?
Suni Lee, who competed alongside Simone on July 30, also tapped into the conversation with a comment on Simone’s celebratory post. “Put a finger down if Simone Biles just ended you,” the gold medalist wrote while men’s gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik added, “Caption goes crazy, congratulations!!”
MyKayla showed support for Team USA after her comments made their rounds online
After Team USA's gold medal-winning performance at the team all-around final, MyKayla posted a pic of Simone, Suni, Jordan, Jade, and Hezly on her Instagram Stories with a series of heart emojis.
It seemed like there were no hard feelings until...
Skinner blocked Simone on Instagram
According to Jordan Chiles’s Instagram Stories on July 31, MyKayla blocked Simone on Instagram after she posted about Team USA’s Olympic win.
“When she blocks Simone,” Jordan wrote with a pic of her teammate’s phone showing MyKayla’s profile.
Simone also posted, "Oop I’ve been blocked."
Skinner apologized for her comments multiple times before the Olympics
Before the block, MyKayla took to her Instagram to explain her perspective and apologize for her comments. Per People, the Olympic gymnast said “a lot of the stuff” she talked about in her YouTube video “wasn’t always necessarily about the current team, because I love and support all the girls that made it and I’m so proud of them.”
“It was more about going back into my own gym, just the work ethic is different compared to when we were doing gymnastics in the Márta era. And I’m not sticking up for Márta or saying what she did was good, I’m just saying it was different,” she said, clarifying that she was referencing the pressure she experienced while being coached by Márta Károlyi. “So, anyway, sorry for anything that got out of context or seemed hurtful. That is never my intention. And seriously, throughout the video, I was so pumped for the girls, and it was so fun watching trials and doing a live with everybody.”
She also penned a lengthy apology on Instagram, which was posted ahead of the Olympics on July 3.
"I want to formally apologize to Team USA and to our gymnastic community for my comments during my recent YouTube episodes of the gymnastics olympic trials. It was not my intention to offend or disrespect any of the athletes or to take away from their hard work. Your hard work and dedication has paid off and I congratulate each and every one of you,” she wrote in part.
“I take full responsibility for what I said and I deeply apologize. It is most important to me that the sport I love continue down the path of healing and ensures a positive environment for all,” she finished, wishing the team luck in Paris.