Throughout my life I have respected athletes who have stepped up against the odds, and many times - against the pain - to deliver. Like many of us in our day-to-day lives, they have evidenced their character and integrity by doing what they had to do, when they had to do it (even when they doubted their ability to do it). Names like Kirk Gibson, Kerri Strug, Sandy Koufax, and many others, immediately come to mind.
The list of those types of people are long. The names on the list are honored. We may never forget them. These are athletes who are respected, if nothing else, for their courage. These are people we would want next to us in the proverbial "fox hole".
One of these people was a vital member of the victorious all-around women's gymnastics team that represented the United States at the 1996 Summer Olympics. This person is best remembered for performing the vault despite having injured her ankle, and for subsequently being carried to the podium by her coach.
And, sadly, again this this year one world class athlete bowed out of the Olympics.
Following her withdrawal from the women's gymnastics team competition on Tuesday, this year's person mentioned "all of those demons" behind the decision they made. This person said, "This Olympic Games, I wanted it to be for myself when I came in — and I felt like I was still doing it for other people". That person said they were "second guessing myself," and didn't want to "go out there and do something dumb and get hurt. It's not worth it. We're not just athletes, we're people." They told how the stressful the Olympic Games were, as a whole. They encouraged other athletes to "put mental health first".
I do not believe this person should be derided for their decision.
I do, however, find it odd (and perhaps, opportunistic) that they should suddenly have this epiphany in the middle of such a world wide platform. Could this type of staggering epiphany not have happened in an earlier time when someone else (perhaps another Kerri Strug) could have participated in their stead? What are the odds, after a life of preparation, that someone should suddenly have such an unexpected change of heart? And, by virtue (possibly an odd phrase, in this case) of having multiple Olympic experience, one might think that this person had every reason to expect just how stressful the Olympics could be (you know, having been there, and done that).
But, I also am nothing less than stunned by the extent to which this person has suddenly become one of the most heroic people of our day, and a new media darling. And who knows? One might believe that this type of thing could unexpectedly lead to lucrative books deals, speaking tours; that type of thing. No one probably ever thought of that.
And they became a hero for ... quitting.
Fortunately, many of us can remember people like Kirk Gibson, Kerri Strug, Sandy Koufax (and so many others), and respect them for being the heroes they were.
