It’s been a whirlwind week for Simone Biles.
With her Gold Over America Tour on a one-week break, Biles unveiled a partnership with Barefoot wine and was named the world’s most marketable athlete of the year by SportsPro. She attended the Los Angeles premiere of the second part of her Netflix docuseries, ‘Simone Biles: Rising.’ And on Thursday night, she donated $50,000 at a gala for Friends of Children, a nonprofit that provides mentors for kids facing adversity − including those in the foster care system, as Biles once was.
‘It’s so important to me because I can see myself in these kids and what they go through and what they grow through,’ Biles told USA TODAY Sports. ‘… Sometimes the statistics can be against you, but having someone like me advocate for these kids, and knowing I went through some of the same similar situations that these kids have gone through and come out of it on top really inspires them.’
During an interview at a luxury hotel in Santa Monica, California, Biles spoke with USA TODAY Sports’ visual journalist Sandy Hooper about her philanthropic work and a wide range of other topics.
Simone Biles on supporting kids in foster care
Biles has been open about her experience with the foster care system. She has said she spent about three years in foster care before she was 6 years old, as her biological mother, Shannon, struggled with drugs and alcohol.
‘Growing up in foster (care), the statistics are just against you and it is what it is,’ she said Thursday. ‘But coming out on top of that, rising above − obviously I had my family to help, but I am who I am today because of foster care. And so I want the kids to also cherish and remember that and that you can do anything. It doesn’t matter.’
Biles said she’s felt more strongly about the importance of speaking out about her past as she’s gotten older. She’s also tried to be available for questions from kids in foster care, she said, to act as a resource and inspiration.
‘Most of the time it’s all silly questions because they’re so young and they’re curious,’ she said when asked about her interactions with the kids. ‘How old are you? How tall are you? Do you have a boyfriend? … It usually doesn’t get too serious with the kids, except for the older ones. They want to know why I did it, what I’m passionate about, stuff like that. But they are hilarious. I love them.’
Simone Biles on her Netflix documentary
Biles said the pre-Olympic release of the docuseries didn’t bring any pressure.
‘I actually got to see the episodes beforehand and I talked with my therapist about it,’ she said. ‘And yes, the timing was a little bit risky, but I knew that I had already done all the work mentally that I was OK that it came out at the time that it did.’
Biles also filmed a docuseries ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She said the process for ‘Simone Biles: Rising’ was significantly easier, without the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it helped having the same director, Katie Walsh.
‘The team that I’ve worked with for so many years, I feel really comfortable with them. So it was really a breeze,’ Biles said.
Simone Biles on Jordan Chiles’ appeal
In an unusual twist, Biles’ Netflix documentary also led to footage that could help her teammate, Jordan Chiles, retain her bronze medal on floor exercise from the Paris Games.
Chiles recently filed an appeal with the highest court in Switzerland in hopes of resolving a dispute about whether the scoring inquiry she filed was submitted past the 60-second deadline. After the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that it was submitted late, footage from the documentary appears to show that the inquiry was on time, giving Chiles a route for an appeal.
When asked about her reaction when she found out that the footage from her documentary could help Chiles, Biles demurred.
‘This is not my topic to speak about, but we are going to support Jordan as much as we can and love her and uplift her because it’s a tough situation,’ she said.
Simone Biles on her husband’s Olympic interest
With the Olympics behind her, Biles said she is excited to have more time to pursue other interests − and cheer on her husband, Jonathan Owens, who is a safety for the Chicago Bears.
Biles has not said whether she intends to compete at the next Summer Olympics, in Los Angeles in 2028, though it’s now possible that her husband could be there. Flag football will be on the Olympic sports program in 2028 for the first time, and there are ongoing discussions about whether NFL players could or should compete for Team USA.
‘I think it’d be very interesting. I think it’d be a lot of fun,’ Biles said when asked about her husband and his Bears teammates possibly competing in 2028. ‘I know that my husband and his teammates have talked a lot about it, if they’re going to do it. But it’s a lot of sacrifice. It’s in the summer, right when they start training camp, so I know it’d be really tough on their body just because of how long their season is. But they’re very excited about it, and they’re enticed. So we’ll see.’
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.
