The United States’ most decorated gymnast, Simone Biles, will be the focus of an upcoming “Religion of Sports” docuseries called “Simone vs. Herself.”
The show will give an intimate behind-the-scenes look into the life of the four-time Olympic gold medalist and is expected to air this summer on Facebook Watch. Previous spotlights have included interviews with Steph Curry and Tom Brady.
“Religion of Sports” co-founder Gotham Chopra told USA Today Sports that besides her accomplishments on the mat, her inner strength and overcoming adversity were also major reasons for her being selected. Biles and her sister Adria were in foster care for a while, as their mother battled substance abuse problems, before eventually being adopted by her paternal grandfather Ron Biles and his wife Nellie Biles.
“As a filmmaker and storyteller … you need a compelling character,” Chopra said. “The sports of it all is cinematic and amazing and beautiful and fun. But the complexity comes in who is this person, and she’s got an endless amount of that. The level of candor with which she talks through those things, and talks through the massive challenges and struggles and ongoing struggles – when you put her ongoing success in the context of that, I don’t know. I don’t know who you compare her to. She’s sort of in an arena all by herself.”
Biles was also one of many young girls molested by former Michigan State University and USA Olympics doctor Larry Nassar. Nassar is currently serving almost 300 years in prison after abusing more than 300 female athletes at Michigan State University and on U.S. Olympic teams.
Biles wants her story to inspire young girls and confessed to USA Today Sports that she still struggles with personal issues like everyone else. “Getting to talk about different topics and really open up and share those details was harder because I didn’t do that outside of therapy,” she added.
“It’s hard, but it’s gotten easier along the way. I’m a normal human being. I live in this world just like you guys. My days just look a little bit different. But I think people forget that elite athletes … we have feelings and still have emotions. We still have to get our [stuff] together on a daily basis.”
Check out the trailer of “Simone vs. Herself” on the next page.
