ARE YOU ALLOWED TO CRITICIZE SIMONE BILES?: A DECISION TREE

by CARLOS GREAVES

Via @mcsweeneys pic.twitter.com/4UShdzxgpG

— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) July 28, 2021

Ken Paxton, of all people, told those criticizing Biles to shut it:

Of course, many of those who took the opportunity to immediately criticize Biles were conservatives. After a conservative media publisher posted a video of Kerri Strug’s performance from 25 years ago, during which the legendary gymnast battled through a serious ankle injury to help the U.S. women’s team, other conservatives took to criticizing Biles in a less subtle way. “Contrast this with our selfish, childish national embarrassment, Simone Biles,” Aaron Reitz, Texas’ deputy attorney general, wrote in a tweet that included the Strug video.

Other Texans quickly joined Reitz, including a conservative radio host who wrote a column on how Biles’ decision “reveals our softened world,” the Houston Chronicle reported. But of course, not every conservative or Texan agreed with this bigotry. Reitz’s boss, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, called out Reitz’s inappropriate behavior indirectly by noting that he learned “one of our employees” made a “very inappropriate and insensitive tweet.” He added that the matter would be “handled internally.”

Paxton also took the opportunity to show his support for Biles, stating,: “I know Simone Biles—she is a fantastic athlete but an even better person. Mental health is far more important than any athletic competition and I fully support her decision.”

m.dailykos.com