Watch out, Paris! The 2024 Summer Olympics are coming in hot (maybe too hot, even for France). While the games always provide plenty of heartwarming moments, every Olympic season inevitably includes a little bit of international drama (or possibly a lot if your name rhymes with Brian Hockey). TBH, it’s only natural that throwing the world’s most talented athletes on a single stage would attract a lot of thoughts and opinions. Many criticisms of the IOC’s brainchild feel like a necessary balance to keep the games fair for everyone.
On the other hand, some hot takes may not be received so kindly, especially when it sounds like you’re coming for America’s forever acrobatic sweethearts. Former US gymnastics pro-MyKayla Skinner, who competed in the 2021 Tokyo Games, ruffled quite a few feathers when she took to YouTube to give her two cents about the current state of gymnastics. Because the closest I’ll get to a gold medal is deep-diving every drop of Paris 2024 news around the clock, here’s a full breakdown of the MyKayla Skinner Team USA drama.
MyKayla Skinner Comment Explained
In a now-deleted YouTube video (when will YouTubers learn the internet is forever?), the former Olympic alternate shared some fiery opinions about the current US Women’s team and the state of gymnastics as a whole. E! News reports that MyKayla stated on camera, “Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t like what it used to be.” According to MyKayla, “the girls just don’t have the work ethic” gymnasts of her time once did. She specifically named SafeSport, the US center established in 2017 to protect athletes, as a roadblock for coaches to “get on athletes” like they did in the infamous era under Martha Karolyi (who has since faced criticism for her treatment of players).
Long story short, MyKayla pulled the ol’ “back in my day” and the internet nor her ex-teammates were having it. It appears that none of Team USA (Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera) is following MyKayla anymore on IG. Seemingly in response to the situation, Simone posted on the app Threads (Instagram’s ugly step-sister), “Not everyone needs a mic and a platform.” MyKayla has since apologized if her words were “misinterpreted or misunderstood.”
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Who is MyKayla Skinner?
For those of you not yet locked into the gymnastics lore, MyKayla (not to be confused with meme queen McKayla Maroney) is a lifelong gymnast you’ll possibly recognize from her 2021 Toyko appearance. She filled in as an individual event specialist on the vault when Simone Biles took leave for her mental health, but MyKayla was never a member of the core four who performed in the main team competition. She came close in 2016 when she was chosen as an alternate for Rio. MyKayla is considered somewhat of a polarizing figure in the gymnastics world for her commentary and personal beliefs. Now some people may have astutely pointed out the irony of someone who was never a main member of the Olympic team criticizing those who worked hard enough to do just that, but I would never do such a thing. Women supporting women, ya know.
