The world has been showering praise and support to Team USA gymnast Simone Biles over the last few days. The gymnast, who is considered a prodigy in the sport, recently came out and said she would withdraw from individual competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, sighting mental health concerns. Her move sparked a huge debate among sports fans and analysts about what constitutes strength in the field of sport. Many athletes across the world have come forward to share support for Biles, telling her that she will return to the world stage and find great success and that she is stronger for taking a stance for her mental health.
One person who has come out with his own message of support is the former trainer of Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, Tim Grover. Grover took to Instagram to share his thoughts on the situation surrounding Simone Biles. He said that athletes who find great success in their sport are actually haunted by their victories. Their desire to win and drive will never let them rest and celebrate too much. Success is not momentary, and the drive to be better keeps them in a flux of having to work harder. Grover noted that success drags athletes down to hell, and does everything in its power to keep them there. He applauded Biles for finding her way out of hell and said that people in that place need to do the same for their own sake.
If you’re reading W1NNING, you understand what happened to @simonebiles today.
Winning sets unreasonable goals, and requires you to bear the burden of responsibility for achieving them. That means doing anything and everything possible to get out of the situation you’re in, and into position to win.
You can pay the price of Winning and succeed, or you can quit, stay where you are, and pay the price of regret.
The road to paradise is a two-way street, and just as quickly as you travel to the top, you can slide right back down. In fact, you can pretty much count on it. Winning doesn’t let you hang around. It meets you at the parade, cheers the loudest when you get the trophy, and then escorts you out to the parking lot, where the bus that brought you has a new sign with its next destination: Hell.
Winning will use every dirty trick in the book—and make up new ones just to entertain itself—to keep you in hell.It’s up to you to find your way out.
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Grover is not the only basketball-related personality to come forward with a message of support to Biles. Jayson Tatum and Kendrick Perkins were just a few of the stars that extended their support to the Olympian.
