Simone Biles’ perfect response to hair criticism highlights grim issue that’s always affected sport
With the 2024 Paris Olympics in full swing, viewers have been hooked to the highs and lows of the competition, but lurking beneath the surface in professional sports, Black women have always faced further challenges as a result of attitudes towards their hair.
With some athletes pushing back against the double standards, it is no longer something that can be overlooked.
Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history, currently holding eight Olympic and 30 World Championship medals.
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Following her spellbinding performance at this year's Olympics - that helped her team win gold - she was faced with cruel taunts aimed at the way her hair looked.
One public comment aimed at Biles' hair on X reads: "Simone Biles = flawless. Her hair, not so much."
'Next time you wanna comment on a Black girl’s hair. JUST DON’T'
This led to Biles stating on Instagram: "Gonna hold your hand when I say this. Next time you wanna comment on a Black girl’s hair. JUST DON’T.”
The recent pushback from Biles follows her recent comments explaining that she refuses to 'worry' or feel 'embarrassed' about her hair being deemed 'not professional', in an interview with Elle.
The treatment of Biles is the norm in the sporting world - with non-competitors believing they have the right to cast judgement or bestow further challenges on Black women due to their hair, while their white counterparts don't face the same treatment, or face accusations of having 'unprofessional' hair.
Alongside this, needless barriers have been implemented throughout the years that have prevented Black women athletes from performing comfortably.
Afro hair swimming caps banned at Tokyo Olympics
Soul Caps, a Black-owned company, created swimming caps to protect afro hair that were banned from use in the Tokyo Olympics (which took place in 2021 rather than 2020 due to being postponed as a result of Covid).
The water sports governing body banned them due to them not fitting 'the natural form of the head'.
After a huge amount of backlash from the general public alongside the Black Swimming Association (BSA), they were approved for use in 2022.
'Unprofessional' and 'unkempt' hair
American gymnast Gabby Douglas, who was just 16 years old when she made her Olympics debut in 2012 and won gold, was on the receiving end of insulting comments about her hair.
Social media jibes suggested her hair was 'unprofessional' and 'embarrassing', while another implied Gabby didn't belong on camera.
Her mother was forced to step in and defend her, saying: "I was looking at the pictures and I was like, 'I'm missing it,' because I don't see what they're talking about. I mean, she doesn't have fly-aways all sticking out, it's not like it's all over her head. It's pulled back into a ponytail."
Douglas herself weighed in at the time, commenting: "I just made history and people are focused on my hair? It can be bald or short; it doesn't matter about [my] hair."
The athlete has since embraced her natural hair, and explained that wearing her hair in a ponytail for gymnastics caused lasting damage which would leave her in tears - only to then receive an influx of criticism when she competed at the Olympics.
She wrote on Instagram in 2020: "I used to think: why can’t I have healthy hair? Despite yet another challenge, I kept going. Fast forward to the Olympics and my hair was the topic of conversation," followed by a crying emoji.
Venus Williams' infamous hair beads
Back in 1999, a tennis match during the Australian Open made headlines around the world - sparked by Williams' hair.
The tennis star had become synonymous with her hair beads, which began to fall out during the match.
The umpire, Denis Overberg, penalised Williams a point during a crucial part of the game for causing a 'disturbance.'
Williams ultimately lost the match, after pleading: "This has never happened to me before. There’s no disturbance. No one is being disturbed.
“As if I was doing this on purpose. Do you see me pulling hair, pulling them out? This is so out of control. This is out of control!”
'Black women are reclaiming their crown'
100-meter sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who makes her Olympics debut on 2 August, has made headlines - and attracted similar criticism to the likes of Biles and Douglas from online trolls - for her array of wigs and styles on the track.
She stated to Vogue: "My lane is my catwalk. We glam up! We put it on! When we step forward we’re ready no matter what. Look good, feel good, do good."
Director of the Center for Race and Ethnicity in Sport at the University of Michigan, Ketra Armstrong, told NBC: “For a while, Black women have had to make themselves presentable in a way that wasn’t perceived to be unkept or unprofessional.
“Black women were judged by their hair, called not professional or not qualified. We’re at a point now where Black women are reclaiming their crown.”
Many Black women athletes are tackling this by wearing their hair however they'd like to - whether that's braided, beaded, worn naturally, or in a style of their choosing - and refusing to listen to critics.
Ultimately, it's a choice both political and personal - pushed forward by the relentless scrutiny that has been bestowed upon Black women in sport for years.
Biles' pushback as well as Richardson's clear celebration of the versatility of her hair should be embraced - and will hopefully spark a huge shift in attitudes that is already long overdue.
Kya Buller