*Simone Biles is speaking out about the viral footage of a young Black gymnast being ignored during an awards ceremony in Ireland last year.
The incident occurred in Dublin at the GymSTART event in March 2022, but the story is only now circulating on social media. The video shows a white female official deliberately passing over a Black girl while awarding medals to all the white gymnasts.
The official goes down the line during the awards ceremony, giving every girl a medal except for the Black child.
When the video popped on X (formerly known as Twitter), one user replied, “I would love to see [Biles] reach out to this girl if she’s able.”
The four-time Olympic gold medalist did just by revealing that the girl’s parents reached out to her as the footage went viral.
Imagine the tears and life long trauma.
SOMEBODY FIND THIS B#TCH!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/zoWmkdVfjy— Jenifer Lewis (@JeniferLewis) September 25, 2023
“It broke my heart to see, so I sent her a little video,” Biles wrote. “There is no room for racism in any sport or at all !!!!”
According to The Irish Independent, Biles sent the girl a personal video message, in which she said, “I wanted to let you know that I saw how you were treated at your GymStart event recently. I was completely shocked and wanted to let you know that you deserve a medal just like all of the other girls.”
“I know you’ve worked incredibly hard at the sport and I wanted to say I am rooting for you from here,” she continued in the video. “Sending you my very best and know that there are so many of us here to support you.”
Gymnastics Ireland, host of the GymSTART event, shared a statement stating that the official in the video “accepted fully” that her actions were “not acceptable,” but “stressed that it had not been intentional.”
In the statement, Gymnastics Ireland, the sport’s national governing body, said it received a complaint “from the parents of one of our members” that “alleged racist behaviour” and “Subsequently both parties agreed to enter mediation which was independently facilitated by Sports Disputes Solutions Ireland as per our policy/procedure which led to a resolution agreed by both parties in August 2023,” the statement said.
The mother of the Black girl spoke with The Irish Independent anonymously and claims she never received a “genuine” apology.
“We are often the only Black family at gymnastics events and this has been very hurtful for us,” the mother told the outlet. “Now eight million people have seen the video. From Pakistan to Ethiopia they can see this was wrong, but Gymnastics Ireland still can’t accept it and say sorry.”
The family fears they will be the target of racist backlash as the incident makes international headlines.
“All along we have tried to keep the incident under wraps given the age of the child,” Ken McCue, a former employee of Sports Against Racism Ireland, told The Irish Independent.
“The negative impact on the family has been immense as they fear racist kickbacks,” said McCue, who has been helping the family, per the outlet. “Gymnastics Ireland must issue a public apology as members of the audience were shocked at the incident.”
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