Simone Biles Reacts to NBC Olympics Host Al Trautwig Saying Adoptive Parents 'Are Not Parents'
Countless people are calling for the firing of NBC gymnastics announcer Al Trautwig who refused to call Simone Biles' mother and father her parents due to her adoption.
Simone's longtime Coach Aimee Boorman took to Twitter to reveal the gymnast's reaction.
"She thinks the whole thing is stupid. She knows who her parents are, just a matter of stating the facts," the coach wrote on Sunday.
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Simone and her younger sister, Adria, were adopted by their maternal grandparents, Ron and Nellie Biles, after the 19-year-old gymnast's biological mother, Shanon, struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. She refers to her adoptive parents as "mom and dad," a fact that Trautwig refused to agree with on social media.
As Trautwig continued to refer to Ron and Nellie as Simone's grandfather and his wife on national TV, one Twitter user took exception and let him know that they are, in fact, her parents.
Trautwig responded in a tweet saying, "They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents." The tweet has since been deleted.
Boorman also took to social media to inform the NBC host that he was speaking and tweeting in error.
"@AlTrautwig actually they are her parents," he tweeted.
Trautwig decided to delete his tweets and release an apologetic statement through NBC.
"I regret that I wasn't more clear in my wording on the air. I compounded the error on Twitter, which I quickly corrected," he said. "To set the record straight, Ron and Nellie are Simone's parents."
People on Twitter, however, have since created a "#firetrautwig" hashtag, calling for NBC to cut ties with the gymnastics announcer.
In interviews, Simone has referred to NelIie and Ron as "mom and dad." In an interview with Us magazine, she revealed that her mother gifted her with a white rosary that she takes with her everywhere.
"My mom, Nellie, got me a rosary at church," the Catholic athlete said. "I don't use it to pray before a competition. I'll just pray normally to myself, but it's there just in case."
The first female gymnast to win three straight world titles and has now earned a gold medal in Rio De Janeiro during the women's team all-around competition, also revealed that she leans on her Catholic faith before competitions.
"Before a big event, I usually go to church and light a candle for St Sebastian, who is the patron saint of athletes," she said on the Olympics website.
