If you like gymnastics or have been watching the Olympics you probably already know that Simone Biles is an amazing athlete.
Did you know she has ACEs as well? Biles lived in foster care, had an absent father and parents who reportedly struggled with addiction to drugs.
I didn't know any of this unitl NBC commentator, Al Trautwig, refused to call her adoptive parents her parents, first on air and later via Twitter. This angered many people. Luckily, Biles' coach and the public responded quickly and effectively on social media to challenge and educate Trautwig and his employer, NBC.
Trautwig deleted his Twitter comment and apologized on Twitter.
Maybe more people will realize how common ACEs are and that it's important not to define family or parental roles and relationships for others based only on biology. Especially when doing so ignores words, experiences and reality.
On Sunday, Al Trautwig mentioned Ron and Nellie Biles as being gymnast Simone Biles’ grandparents rather than as her parents.
In response to his comment, a woman, Emily Mingus, tweeted at Trautwig saying, “Hey @AlTrautwig stop calling her PARENTS her grandfather and his wife. A. Nelly is more important than ‘his wife’ B. THEY ARE HER PARENTS.”
Ron and Nellie Biles adopted Simone and her little sister Adria in 2001. The girls’ biological mother, Ron Biles’ daughter, struggled with drugs and alcohol, and the sisters had been in foster care for some time before the adoption was secured.
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