MyKayla Skinner Harmer on Defending Women's Sports and Past Bullying

Defense of Women's Sports

• 🏅 Olympic silver medalist MyKayla Skinner Harmer is speaking out in defense of women's sports, supporting activist Riley Gaines.
• 🗣️ Harmer felt compelled to speak up due to experiencing similar bullying and belittling, drawing parallels to Riley Gaines' situation.
• 🏳️‍⚧️ A primary advocacy focus for Harmer is the issue of transgender athletes competing in women's sports.

Past Experiences with Bullying

• 😔 Harmer details a difficult period last year where a short clip from a YouTube video was taken out of context, leading to severe online attacks and death threats.
• 💔 This experience was triggered by a tweet from Simone Biles stating, "Not everybody needs a mic and a platform," which amplified the criticism against Harmer.
• ✈️ While traveling for a gymnastics camp, Harmer received further negative attention after Simone Biles posted a tweet with a caption perceived as critical of her.
• 😔 The prolonged online abuse, lasting months, significantly impacted Harmer's mental health, causing physical symptoms and making it difficult to function or care for her daughter.

Simone Biles Relationship and Communication

• ✉️ Despite past closeness and supportive texts from Simone Biles, including a baby gift and well wishes for her wedding, Harmer felt hurt by the lack of direct apology or support regarding the online attacks.
• 🤝 Harmer attempted public apologies multiple times but felt a lack of reciprocal forgiveness or resolution from Biles.
• 💔 Harmer expresses that while she cherishes past positive memories with Biles, the ongoing bullying and hurt have caused significant damage.

Public Opinion and Physical Differences

• 📊 Harmer believes public opinion is shifting, with many people agreeing that biological men should not compete in women's sports, citing polling data.
• 🏃‍♀️ She highlights inherent physical differences between men and women, using personal examples like competing with her husband and observing male gymnasts' capabilities, to emphasize the importance of fairness in sports.
• 👩‍👧‍👦 As a mother, Harmer wants her daughter to have fair opportunities in athletics and believes it's crucial to maintain fairness and integrity in women's sports.

Moving Forward

• ✨ Harmer states that while she wishes Simone Biles well, it's time for her to move on and focus on her own happiness, no longer needing relationships that involve belittling or hurt.
• 🙏 She finds strength and guidance through her faith, believing that forgiveness and a connection to God help in coping with difficult experiences and moving forward.