US gymnastic legend leads social media condemnation of black girl who was snubbed in medal presentation

US gymnastic legend, Simone Biles, has led a social media outreach to condemn Gymnastics Ireland (GI) for ignoring a black girl during a medal presentation.

Video of the incident that occurred in March 2022 resurfaced online as many criticize GI for their unpleasant behavior.

Simone Biles, who is regarded as one of the greatest of all time, was one of the few figures who privately reached out to the family and the girl via a private video message of support.

When the video resurfaced online, Biles wrote "it broke my heart to see … There is no room for racism in any sport or at all," she shared on X, formerly Twitter.

Also, 22-year-old Olympic silver medallist, Jordan Chiles added her voice tweeting that it "is beyond hurtful on so many levels."

The girl's mother, whose name has been withheld, believes GI's refusal to publicly apologise signifies that the body endorses the act.

“Its unbelievable that you treat a little girl this way. It’s a systemic problem, because when you [GI] don’t speak out, the message is that you are happy for it to go on,” she told The Guardian.

GI in response stated that they decided to handle the issue as a "member-to-member complaint", and "only recently became aware that the family wanted a public apology."

After sending a letter to the mother, the body is said to make a public statement and apologise on Monday, September 25, 2023.

The girl’s mother in her response to GI's letter, cited that it came a year after the incident and also failed to address the concerning issue.

“After this horrendous incident, who wouldn’t think they should apologise? They have just sent me a letter this evening. It took well over a year, and after millions of people internationally have been disgusted by the incident.

“It is useless to me, because they are not addressing the issues of racism and safety. I would love to hear them say things like ‘the next black child who comes into gymnastics will be safe’. There is nothing like that.”

Welcome to Ireland where people get away with racism! This little black girl broke my heart. Don’t skip this post without leaving a million heart for her. Make her famous… pic.twitter.com/YYMIP1IALZ

— Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) September 22, 2023