MyKayla Skinner is clarifying her eyebrow-raising take on the U.S. women’s gymnastics team ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris.
On Wednesday, the former Olympian posted a short video to her Instagram Stories in which she claimed her recent comments about Team USA had been “misinterpreted.”
“A lot of the stuff that I was talking about wasn’t always necessarily about the current team, because I love and support all the girls that made it, and I’m so proud of them,” Skinner, 27, explained in the clip. “It was more about going back into my own gym. Just, the work ethic is different compared to when we were doing gymnastics in the [former team coordinator] Márta [Károlyi] era.”
Skinner described herself as “so pumped” for the members of the current team. “I love those girls and I’m seriously so happy for them, so I would never do anything to make them feel otherwise,” she said.
“Sorry if that came out wrong,” she concluded. “That was not my intentions at all.”
Skinner ― who nabbed a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo when she stepped in for Simone Biles ― drew backlash online earlier this week when she seemingly criticized the current women’s gymnastics team.
“Besides Simone, I feel like the talent and the depth just isn’t what it used to be,” she said in a since-deleted YouTube video, portions of which can be found here. “Obviously, a lot of girls don’t work as hard … The girls just don’t have the work ethic.”
In a succinct post on Threads, Biles offered what seemed to be a reaction to Skinner’s comments.
“Not everyone needs a mic and a platform,” Biles wrote.
