Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, and the media’s coverage of mental health in sports

YESTERDAY, during the women’s gymnastics team final at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Simone Biles, of the USA, lost her bearings while performing a vault, and stumbled as she landed. Soon after, she left the venue, accompanied by a medical official; when she returned, it was only to watch her teammates. All this happened early in the morning, US time. NBC, which holds the rights to the Olympics, was broadcasting the event live on Peacock, its streaming service, but not on linear TV. The Today show picked up the story of Biles’s exit—speaking from inside the venue, Hoda Kotb, an anchor, described it as “a really, really big deal” that sent “this ripple, this wave, through this arena.” Later, we learned that Biles had pulled out of the event because she wasn’t in “the right head space” to continue. Yesterday evening, Mike Tirico, an NBC anchor, addressed Biles’s withdrawal as he introduced the prime-time rebroadcast of the event. At the end of the broadcast, Tirico said, “whether or not we see the great Simone Biles compete again, hopefully the next stop on her journey is joy.” Early today, Biles withdrew from tomorrow’s all-around competition. It’s unclear if she will participate in events next week.