Simone Biles and monetizing outrage
MINOT, N.D. — I’ll admit to not caring much about the Olympics.
I have a passing interest in watching the American athletes do well, and every once in a while a particular team or athlete will be possessed of a story that intrigues me, but beyond that my attention is usually elsewhere.
The Simone Biles story has been hard to avoid, though, if only because so many people have a take on her decision to forego competing in some of the events she qualified for. As I write this, Biles is back, saying she’ll compete in the balance beam event, but the opprobrium her decision to sit out engendered still lingers.
Particularly from conservative media, bizarrely.
Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk called Biles a “selfish sociopath” and a “shame to the country.” Right-wing sports commentator Clay Travis said Biles should “apologize to her teammates for quitting on them at the moment they needed her the most.”
