Simone Biles has a message for her haters and like always, we’re here for it.
The highly acclaimed gymnast shared why she chose to wear a leotard bedazzled with rhinestones in the shape of a goat’s head at the recent U.S. Gymnastics Championship.
Many took the gesture as a nod to her being considered the G.O.A.T. or the “greatest of all time.”
“The idea was to hit back at the haters,” she told Marie Claire. “[The haters] were joking like, ‘I swear, if she put a goat on her leo, blah, blah, blah.’ That would make them so angry. And then I was like, ‘Oh, that’s actually a good idea.’ And so that’s exactly what we did and why we did it.”
Though Biles is a five-time Olympic medalist, she still remains humble and said that her goat leotard, nicknamed “Goldie” was all done in good fun.
“I don’t think of myself as the G.O.A.T. and that’s not why I wear the goat on my leo. It was kind of a joke in the beginning,” the 24-year-old said to People. “I wore one in 2019 and it was just funny because the haters were so upset.”
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“What we did is to kind of tick them off even more. So I was happy because it’s like good, now you guys are annoyed because you’re annoying me,” she added.
Despite people criticizing her extraordinary athleticism, Biles said she just wants young athletes to be inspired by their talents and have confidence in themselves regardless of what the haters may say.
“I just hope that kids growing up watching this don’t or aren’t ashamed of being good at whatever they do. And that’s my problem: when people kind of harp on other people that are good at something,” she told Marie Clare.
“And it’s like, everybody can say you’re good, but once you acknowledge it, it’s not cool anymore. And I want kids to learn that, yes, it’s OK to acknowledge that you’re good or even great at something,” she continued.
