Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles expressed her deep sadness at witnessing a young Black girl being denied a medal during a gymnastics ceremony in Ireland, a moment captured in a now-viral video.
The video in question, recorded at a GymStart event in March 2022, has recently resurfaced on social media platforms. It portrays a lineup of girls receiving medals, but conspicuously, the lone Black girl is excluded from this recognition.
Simone Biles, a beacon of inspiration and an advocate for equality, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her sentiments.
"When this video was circulating, her parents reached out. It broke my heart to see, so I sent her a little video. There is no room for racism in any sport or at all," she said.
In response to the public outcry, Gymnastics Ireland released a statement on Friday, acknowledging that they had received a complaint about alleged racist behavior from a parent after the event.
A resolution was reportedly reached in August of this year.
According to the statement, the official involved admitted that the incident had been unacceptable, though they emphasized that it had not been intentional.
They acknowledged their mistake and promptly rectified it, ensuring that the deserving competitor received her medal before departing the field of play.
The statement further conveyed the official's regret for what they characterized as an "honest error."
Initially, a request to personally apologize to the competitor and her family had been declined.
However, a written apology from the individual in question has since been issued to the competitor and her family.
Despite these efforts, the mother of the young gymnast, who chose to remain anonymous, voiced her dissatisfaction with the situation in an interview with The Irish Independent. She asserted that the complaint had not been fully resolved and deemed the apology insincere.
"We are often the only Black family at gymnastics events, which has been very hurtful for us," she told the publication. "Now 8 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."
As of the time of writing, the video depicting the incident has garnered more than 40 million views on X, underscoring the magnitude of the issue.
Responding to the growing outrage, Gymnastics Ireland issued a statement to CNN on Monday, offering an unequivocal apology to the gymnast and her family for the distress caused by the incident at the GymStart event in March 2022.
The statement expressed deep regret, acknowledging that the incident should never have transpired. Furthermore, it expressed remorse for any additional upset caused since the incident.
Although the statement did not directly address the comments made by the mother to the Irish Independent, it did assert that the gymnast continues to participate in Gymnastics Ireland events.
The organization concluded the statement by anticipating welcoming her back to future events.
