It was the twist nobody saw coming. In the summer of 2021, the world held its breath as Simone Biles, arguably the greatest gymnast to ever touch a balance beam, walked away from the team competition at the Tokyo Olympics. She had the "twisties"—a terrifying mental block where a gymnast loses their sense of where they are in the air. Most people saw a human being pushed to the brink. Charlie Kirk saw something else entirely.
The fallout was immediate. Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, didn't just disagree with the decision; he went on a verbal offensive that sparked a firestorm across social media and cable news. He called her a "sociopath" and a "shame to the country."
Why? Because in Kirk’s worldview, the Olympics isn't about the individual. It's about the flag. It's about a specific brand of American grit that doesn't allow for "quitting," regardless of the neurological or physical risks involved. Honestly, it was a moment that perfectly captured the massive divide in how we view mental health, patriotism, and the crushing weight of being a "GOAT."
The Comments That Set the Internet on Fire
If you weren't on Twitter (now X) during that week in 2021, count yourself lucky. It was toxic. Charlie Kirk took to his podcast and radio show to unload. He wasn't just critiquing her performance; he was attacking her character.
"We are raising a generation of weak people," Kirk said at the time. He leaned heavily into the idea that Biles was being selfish. He argued that because she was part of a team, her "mental health break" was actually a betrayal of her teammates and her country. He basically painted her as the poster child for a "therapeutic culture" that he believes is ruining the United States.
It’s worth looking at the specifics of what he said:
- He called her a "selfish sociopath."
- He claimed her exit was a "national embarrassment."
- He suggested that we shouldn't be celebrating "weakness."
These weren't just off-hand remarks. They were part of a calculated narrative. Kirk has built a massive platform by railing against what he calls "woke" culture, and to him, Biles prioritizing her safety over a gold medal was the ultimate "woke" sin.
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Understanding the "Twisties" vs. the Narrative
Here is what many critics, including Kirk, seemed to fundamentally misunderstand: the twisties aren't just "stress." They are a literal disconnection between the brain and the body.
Imagine driving a car at 70 miles per hour and suddenly the steering wheel stops responding to your hands. That is what Simone Biles felt while spinning through the air. In gymnastics, that doesn't just mean you lose points. It means you land on your neck. It means paralysis.
When Kirk called her "weak," he was ignoring the sheer physical courage it takes to admit you can't safely perform. Most elite athletes will tell you that pushing through a physical injury is easy compared to admitting your brain has hit a wall. Biles was making a high-stakes safety call in real-time.
But Kirk's audience doesn't tune in for nuance about neurological motor patterns. They tune in for a defense of traditional American "toughness." By framing Biles as a "quitter," Kirk tapped into a deep-seated nostalgia for an era of sports where athletes were expected to suffer in silence for the glory of the state. It’s an old-school gladiatorial mindset.
The Backlash to the Backlash
The reaction to Kirk wasn't just coming from "liberals." Even some conservative voices felt he went too far. Why? Because Biles isn't just any athlete. She’s a survivor of the Larry Nassar abuse scandal. She’s someone who has carried the weight of a broken organization on her back for years.
When Kirk attacked her, he wasn't just attacking a gymnast; he was attacking a woman who had already given more to her country and her sport than almost anyone else in history.
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Athletes like Kerri Strug—who famously performed on a broken ankle in 1996—were brought up as the "correct" way to be an Olympian. But the world had changed since 1996. The medical understanding of athlete burnout and psychological safety had evolved. Kirk’s comments felt to many like a relic of a harsher, less informed past.
The 2024 Redemption and the Silence
Fast forward to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Simone Biles didn't just return; she dominated. She led the U.S. team to gold and cemented her status as the most decorated gymnast of all time.
So, what happened to the "sociopath" narrative?
Interestingly, the tone from the Kirk camp shifted. While there wasn't exactly a public apology tour, the narrative of "weakness" became much harder to sell when Biles was standing on top of the podium with gold around her neck. Her comeback proved that her 2021 decision wasn't an end—it was a preservation. She stepped back so she could come back.
This is where the political commentary usually gets quiet. When an athlete proves their critics wrong through sheer, undeniable excellence, the pundits often move on to the next culture war target. It’s a cycle.
Why This Still Matters
The "Charlie Kirk on Simone Biles" saga is about more than just a pundit and a gymnast. It’s about the expectations we place on public figures.
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We live in an era where every personal decision is filtered through a political lens. If you support Biles, you're "progressive." If you agree with Kirk, you're "conservative." But sports used to be the one place where we could escape that binary.
Kirk’s rhetoric pushed sports into the center of the culture war. It turned a medical/safety issue into a loyalty test. And while Kirk might have gained some listeners or clicks from the controversy, the lasting impact was a realization that the way we talk about mental health in high-pressure environments is still incredibly fractured.
Lessons from the Controversy
The reality is that Biles won in the long run. Not just in medals, but in the conversation. Since 2021, more athletes have felt empowered to speak up about their limits. The "win at all costs" mentality is being replaced by a "sustain excellence" mentality.
If you're looking for the takeaway here, it's pretty simple.
- Context is everything. You can't judge an athlete's decision without understanding the physical mechanics of their sport.
- Punditry is often performance. Kirk’s job is to provoke. Biles’s job is to perform. Sometimes those two roles collide in ways that get very ugly.
- Longevity beats a moment. Biles's career lasted another Olympic cycle because she knew when to stop.
The next time a major public figure steps back for their own well-being, expect the same script. There will be the "toughness" crowd and the "wellness" crowd. The Charlie Kirk vs. Simone Biles moment was just the first major battle in a war that is still being fought over the soul of American achievement.
Moving forward, if you want to understand the impact of these events, look at how sports organizations are changing their mental health protocols. The USOPC (United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee) significantly increased their mental health resources following the 2021 Games. You should also check out the documentary work Biles has done, which offers a much more intimate look at the "twisties" than any 15-minute podcast segment ever could. Understanding the science behind the struggle is the best way to cut through the political noise.