Neither Simone Biles or any other athlete owe you an explanation for doing what is best for them

Last time I checked, elite level athletes own nobody an explanation for the things they do to protect their health and the well being of people around them.

Which is why though I'm not surprised, I'm saddened to see the reaction of a um, "certain segment" of the allegedly adult population who've decided to go voice their complaints about things like Olympic Gymnast/Superstar Simone Biles pulling herself out of the Tokyo/COVID Olympics.

She, nor really anyone else owes that group of people (mostly dumb-ass white males) an explanation as to why she felt it best for everyone. There's not really a good excuse for anyone who disagrees either.

Yet here we are.

Yeah, I know, this guy is one of the 10 biggest "Douchebags" to walk the face of the earth, but he speaks for more people than I care to believe or can comprehend. None of those guys, including the "Douchebag" has ever tried to compete at a professional...or for that matter even close to professional level in sports and have no earthly idea what goes along with that commitment. Yet, they still complain like they are owed something.

Biles felt the need to explain herself to the public, something she didn't have to do.

Now, mind you, we just went through this a few months ago with Tennis star Naomi Osaka. Osaka had issues standing in front of 100 or so gathered journalists asking questions about every single thought that ran through her head over the previous 24-hours. The anxiety got so bad, she took time off from the sport.

And before you say "Well than why was she in Sports Illustrated's swimsuit magazine?", um, no, she really doesn't owe you an explanation for that.

It's the same for other athletes who get labeled as "woke" by the right-wing political types who think anyone who doesn't agree with them is evil.

Yup, another member of the the 10 "Biggest Douchebags" list here. What exactly qualifies this man to talk about anything having to do with sports or athletes? No, being an excommunicated lawyer who managed to build a social media business based on trolling people by saying the worst things possible doesn't count.

If you ever want to read about everything wrong with social media and a society who blames everyone but themselves for problems, read this dumbasses twitter feed.

But enough negativity.

It might surprise people live Morgan or Travis, but athletes are people too. They have their own personalities, quirks, individual behaviors, things that their passionate about off the field and that should be understood and respected. It's their choice. They don't owe anyone an explanation for that.

Athletes should not and don't ask to be pigeonholed into what you think they should be because well, nobody should. Just because YOU don't like them having a breakdown or taking up a social cause or doing something for them that takes away from you sitting on the couch and watching is not their problem. Nor should it be yours.

Athletes and performers for generations have been treated like money making, expendable pieces of meat by people sitting at home on their couches, tabloid/exploitative people masquerading as journalists, coaches and more. Yet the minute they raise their voice, take up a cause or try to reach out for help, you think they are a failure.

Imagine going through your life with that burden.

Imagine just for day having to have cameras follow your every move, every day. Imagine having people who's entire job it is to quiz you about every thought that enters your head during competition and feeling obligated to justify what you did----over and over and over again.

Imagine knowing that millions of people are hanging on the edge of their seat waiting for you to give your best performance and suddenly, you make a mistake or aren't perfect. Something you've trained your entire life for, and then something happens--you slip on a slick mat, and then its over. You didn't win because of that one thing you can't do over and half of the population watching you immediately goes online and calls YOU a failure.

No...you couldn't do it. You'd break down and curl up in a fetal position within minutes.

Yet that's what some of those complaining don't seem to either understand or care about. Better to mock and make jokes about someone not living up to your expectations at a level you can't even comprehend.

And yet here we are.

I wish there was some magic bullet that would fix this. Something that would allow fans to be fans and applaud success, yet understand there may be failures along the way. And that's ok. It's not something to be mocked or made fun of. Fans should be allowed to cheer for their favorite athlete.

But please, understand, they are not you. They may or may not act, behave or do the exact same things that you do or believe in.

And we all should be perfectly ok with that.