November 13, 2024 ()

Mental Health and the Olympics

Was Simone Biles right to sit out the rest of the Olympics, given the challenges to her mental health?

Most people, myself included – are sympathetic, if not completely understanding of her plight.  Simone Biles is twenty-four years old.  We have children and grandchildren who are around twenty-four years old.  Some of us on the younger side may remember being twenty-four years old.  Could one imagine that kind of super-human pressure?  Two years after a pandemic, none of us will ever look at mental health the same.

Yet, leave it to an Israeli to say bluntly what I believe many people are also thinking.  In the Hebrew edition of Haaretz, Rogel Alper wrote a piece entitled (my translation): “In a Moment of Truth, Simone Biles Couldn’t Handle the Pressure, and her Stepping Aside Is Not a Victory.”  The byline goes on to explain what I suspect is the point of the article: “Simone Biles is not a sacrifice to be exploited: she is wealthy, and she failed.”

I may not care for Alper’s harsh semantics, but we cannot dismiss his point. As a young man I was never going to make it to the Olympics; not only do I have no demonstrable athletic ability, but also because I don’t have that competitive drive and mental strength it takes to want to win that badly.  Yogi Berra comically pointed this out when he remarked that “baseball is 90% mental, the other half is physical.”

Biles also did not step aside prior to the games; she stepped aside only after failing to perform in competition.  This kind of shortcoming happens to athletes under stress at the highest levels all the time.

Only is this level of scrutiny, expectation, and pressure on our athletes, and of Biles in particular, grossly unfair?  I believe the fact that I am writing about this in a blog post because it’s all anyone has been talking about proves that point.  It is absolutely unfair beyond measure, and perhaps, as a society it is high time to fight this toxic scrutiny which unfairly poisons athletes.

On the other hand, we know with risk comes reward, whether one is an athlete or not.  It may be an unfair system, but at 24 years old, Simone Biles’ has prospered in it.  Her net worth is six million dollars, and she has endorsement deals with Athleta, Nabisco, Uber, and United Airlines.

Every Shabbat we recite the prayer for healing nicknamed the Mi Shebeyrach.  I also make a point of speaking about mental health, “healing of the soul,” because of the seriousness with which I take mental health challenges in our community.

This Shabbat, I will pray for Simone Biles’ recovery.  Her decision to come forward about her struggle was courageous and a model for other athletes dealing with this challenging system.  Yet, like most Americans who adore her, I also have no doubt with the God-given resiliency and tenacity that this remarkable young woman possess she will persevere through it.

– Rabbi Dan Dorsch

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