She may be the GOAT of gymnastics, but Simone Biles prioritizes more than her sport. Ever since Jordan Chiles was stripped of an Olympic bronze medal. the 27-year-old athlete has been rallying around her 23-year-old friend following the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
“I know she’s not on social media, but some of the funny things I’ve seen, I said, ‘OK, Jordan, can I send you something that I think you would really like right now?’” Simone told PEOPLE on Monday, August 26. “And so I’ve sent her little things, and it was like one of them was these four or five girls guarding a medal, and I thought that was the cutest.”
The three-time Olympian then acknowledged the sparkling bronze gift that rapper Flavor Flav made for Jordan.
“And then I sent her Flavor Flav’s bronze [medal he made], and then, I sent her LeBron [James]’s tweet,” Simone said. “So, just things to uplift her and know that she still has that support all around.”
After Team USA learned that Jordan’s bronze medal status had been revoked, Simone explained that she’s stayed in touch with her teammate throughout the ordeal.
“We’ve been FaceTiming, texting, just being girls,” Simone said. “I did talk to her on one of the days, and I was like, ‘You know what, Jordan, you have to feel all these feels. Don’t let these emotions stop you. This will be the healthiest way to get all of this out.’”
Earlier this month, Jordan competed in the women’s gymnastics individual floor final. Simone ended up with the silver medal, and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won gold. Initially, Jordan was in fifth place, and Romania’s Ana Bărbosu was in third. Jordan’s coach, Cecil Landi, submitted an inquiry to the judges, challenging the difficulty score they had given her. As a result, the judges updated Jordan’s score, and moved Ana into fifth place and Jordan into third. Jordan was awarded the bronze medal, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) stripped her of the medal after alleging that Team USA submitted the score inquiry too late. Although USA Gymnastics submitted video evidence proving that the coach acted within the one-minute deadline, the CAS doubled down on its ruling and awarded the medal to Ana.
While speaking with PEOPLE, Simone noted that the situation is “an unfortunate circumstance because something like this has never happened before, and it’s truly a shame.” She also said she wishes both Romania and Team USA “could get the medal, and unfortunately in gymnastics, that’s not the case.”
“Do we think they did the correct procedures to come to this ruling? No,” Simone added, referring to the CAS’ final decision. “That’s really why we want that justice for Jordan and why we’re going to keep supporting her and uplifting her.”
