Suni Lee, MyKayla Skinner Taylor Hill;Chris Coduto/Getty Images(2)
Team USA gymnast Suni Lee has broken her silence about controversial comments made by former teammate MyKayla Skinner.
Lee, 21, addressed a dig made by Skinner, 27, in June, when she said in a since-deleted YouTube video, “Besides Simone [Biles], I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be. I mean, obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard. The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
Skinner and Lee were teammates on the 2020 Olympic team that took home all-around silver in Tokyo.
“We have a lot of love for her, but it’s frustrating to see her put us down because she knows, basically, about every single thing that we’ve all been through,” Lee told Glamour in a story published Thursday, October 3. “It was more annoying because of all the things that I’ve been through.”
The 2024 Paris Olympics have created several picture-perfect moments since kicking off on July 26. Perhaps the most viral snap came during the third round of the men’s surfing competition on July 29. After completing a barrel ride in Teahupo’o, Tahiti, Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina soared in the air and pointed his finger toward the […]
In the year leading up to the 2024 Games, Lee was diagnosed with two types of kidney disease.
(L-R) MyKayla Skinner, Sunisa Lee, Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Grace McCallum and Jade Carey of Team United. Jamie Squire/Getty Images
“I wasn’t able to go to the bathroom,” she recalled to Glamour. “I couldn’t bend my legs because they were so swollen, and my fingers too. My eyes were almost swollen shut. I was like, ‘Something is happening.’”
After months of frustration, Lee called USA Gymnastics cohead physician Marcia Faustin who ultimately helped get her tested and diagnosed.
“It just goes to show the importance of speaking up and advocating for yourself, because if I wouldn’t have, who knows what I would have been doing right now,” Lee said.
Once Skinner’s comments about the 2024 squad caught fire, they became a bit of a rallying cry for the group, who took home all-around gold in Paris.
“Lack of talent, lazy, olympic champions ❤️🥇🇺🇸,” Biles, 27, captioned a photo via Instagram after taking home gold alongside teammates Lee, Jade Carey, Hezly Rivera and Jordan Chiles.
As Team USA takes on the 2024 Paris Olympics, the American athletes have already made an impression at the summer Games. The 2024 Olympics kicked off on Friday, July 26, with an illustrious opening ceremony that took place entirely outdoors on the River Seine and featured performances from the likes of Celine Dion and Lady […]
Skinner — who later said her comment was “misinterpreted” and “wasn’t always necessarily about the current team” — returned to social media after Biles’ thinly-veiled jab after winning gold.
“I sincerely hoped that this topic wouldn’t need to be revisited but unfortunately things have really gotten out of hand lately,” Skinner said in a video posted via Instagram August 6. “And it’s one thing to disagree with me regarding something I have said or a point I was trying to make, but it’s something else entirely when that turns into cyber bullying or even worse.”
Skinner continued, “Watching people cheer on the bullying — which has led to threats of physical harm to me, my husband and our daughter — is disgusting. So please at this point, I’m just asking for it to stop for the sake of my family because enough is enough.”
