Gymnast Simone Biles is more than happy to accept the title of "GOAT"...especially because she knows it upsets her haters.
During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the most decorated gymnast of all-time touched on her well-earned GOAT status (meaning the "greatest of all time") and how it evokes both adoration and disgust from fans and foes alike.
“I think it’s funny to play off, obviously all of my fans and people have embraced, loved and supported me throughout my journey,” Biles, told late night host Fallon. “But also the haters, because there’s always the comments like, ‘Stop calling her the G.O.A.T. She’s not the G.O.A.T.’ So it’s like it makes people happy and then it just pisses people off.”
Biles went on to say that even after earning a more-than-impressive 11 Olympic medals, as long as she's "inspiring the next generation and having fun and just making sure that it’s not all about winning" she's doing her job.
"But still putting a good foot forward even when it doesn’t go your way, I think that’s what I would want it to be,” she added.
In a previous interview with People, Biles also touched on her now-famous diamond GOAT necklace (a literal goat covered in diamonds) that she wore during the 2024 Paris Games.
"At the end of the day, it is crazy that I'm in the conversation of greatest of all time athletes because I still think I'm Simone Biles from Spring, Texas, that loves to flip," she told the publication at the time.
"And the haters hate it so I love that even more and it's just a special part of me that I have here, as well as in the village I have like a stuffed goat, just to get a reminder: 'You can go out there, you can do it, you've done it before, so let's go,'" she added.
Teammate Jordan Chiles—who was recently stripped of her 2024 Summer Olympics bronze medal—reportedly gifted Biles the GOAT necklace after she won her second gold medal in this year's Summer Games.
In one 2019 interview, Biles touched on how important it is for young girls to know that it's more than OK to acknowledge how good they are at a job, at school, or at a sport.
“It’s important to teach our female youth that it’s OK to say, ‘Yes, I am good at this,’ and you don’t hold back," Biles said at the time. “You only see the men doing it. And they’re praised for it, and the women are looked down upon for it. But I feel like it’s good (to do) because once you realize you’re confident and good at it, then you’re even better at what you do.”
