The deputy attorney general for Texas has apologized after he called Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, who is from the Lone Star state, a ‘national embarrassment’ upon her withdrawal from the US team finals.
His tweet, which came Tuesday, drew a condemnation from his own boss, who had said the matter would be dealt with ‘internally.’
Now Aaron Reitz, the deputy AG, says he owes Biles an apology – ‘a big one.’
In a now deleted tweet, Reitz on Tuesday shared a video of gymnast Kerri Strug, who in the 1996 Olympics competed with an injured ankle to help the US team win the Gold, and wrote, ‘Contrast this with our selfish, childish national embarrassment, Simone Biles.’
After a backlash, Reitz said he owed Biles an apology.
‘In a moment of frustration and disappointment, I opined on subject for which I am not adequately versed,’ he said in a statement. ‘That was an error. I can’t imagine what Simone Biles has gone through.’
‘Simone Biles is a true patriot and one of the greatest gymnasts of our time,’ he added. ‘I apologize to her, and wish her well.’
Biles, who is from Houston, won four gold medals at the Rio 2016 games, but withdrew suddenly from the team competition on Tuesday, citing mental health issues.
On Wednesday she also pulled out of the individual all-around competition.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a statement in response to the incident.
‘Today I learned about a very inappropriate and insensitive tweet by one of our employees, This will be handled internally,’ he said. ‘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.’
The site says Reitz was in the Marines for five years on active duty and had been deployed to Afghanistan; after his service, he attended the University of Texas School of Law.
Biles decision to withdraw from the team final – following a very uncharacteristic error on her first event, the vault – sparked furious controversy online, with critics accusing her of ‘abandoning’ her three teammates, two of whom were forced to take her place in the three other events at the last minute.
Biles’ fellow Team USA gymnast Jade Carey, 21, who finished ninth in qualifying, took her place in the all-around Thursday.
Carey initially did not qualify because she was the third-ranking American gymnast behind Biles and Sunisa Lee; International Gymnastics Federation rules state that only two athletes per country could take part in the individual event finals.
Following Tuesday’s withdrawal, where the US ultimately finished second to the Russian Olympic Committee, Biles – widely referred to as the the ‘greatest of all time’ (GOAT) in her sport – said she wanted to concentrate on ‘what’s right for me and focus on my mental health’.
Speaking about her sensational exit from competition, which cleared the way for Team USA’s Russian rivals to claim gold in a dramatic upset, Biles said that she made the decision both to prioritize her own ‘wellbeing’ – and out of fear that she would cost her teammates their shot at winning a medal.
To focus on my wellbeing,’ she told reporters of her reasons for pulling out of the competition following a shock flub on the vault.
It is very unfortunate that it has to happen at this stage because I definitely wanted this Olympics to go a little bit better but again, we’ll take it one day at a time and we’re going to see how the rest goes.’
