Simone Biles takes a dark twist on viral “Little Miss” trend

Simone Biles, the gold medel-winning Olympic gymnast, sent a Tweet following the latest viral format --writing “little miss traumatized by her Olympic experience” to her Twitter followers.

This meme format has brown up and is inspired by children’s books written by the late British author Roger Hargreaves. The style of the books has been carried on by Hargreaves’ son Adam. The trend has garnered significant traffic across social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

The mental trials of Simone Biles’ Olympic Experience

Biles shocked the nation and the world at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, where she withdrew from the competition, citing mental health issues that were threatening her wellbeing and ability to perform. In the end, this was the right choice for her and for her team who went on to win the silver medal in the All-Around. Biles was supported by many other athletes and the public who, for one the first times, saw beyond the facade created around professional athletes.

Adding to the trauma of her Olympic experience was her need to work with United States Gymnastics, which absolutely failed to protect her from sexual abuser Larry Nassar. Last summer, before the Olympics began Nassar was sentenced to over one hundred years in prison after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting hundreds of young women in his role as the Gymnastic Team Doctor at Michigan State University and for the US Olympic Team.

Mikaela Shiffrin, the alpine ski racer, who earned two Olympic gold medals for the United States responded to Biles’ tweet saying “I feel this.”

The affirming message sent by Shiffrin highlights the intensity and pressure imposed on athletes who represent the US. The move by Biles to withdrawn from competition incited a national conversation over mental health, in particular, the challenges faced by professional athletes who start competing at a young age and are effectively raised to win, even when they begin to sacrifice their own mental and physical health.