NBC gymnastics commentator Al Trautwig stuck his foot in his mouth big time.
American Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and her sister were adopted from foster care by their maternal grandfather Ron Biles and his wife, whom we know as Nellie. According to reports, Simone’s biological mother was fighting drug and alcohol addiction, and therefore, was in no shape to take care of her kids, at which point her dad took over.
The 19-year-old gymnast has gone on record about her adoptive parents, saying she views them as her actual parents. “When I was younger, I was adopted by my grandparents, which are now my parents,” she explained. “I call them Mom and Dad. Everything’s just been so normal.”
Oddly, throughout his announcements at the 2016 Rio Games‘ Women’s Team Gymnastic competition on Sunday night, Trautwig refused to acknowledge Ron and Nellie’s rightful place in Simone’s life, and one viewer had enough of his antics.
Twitter user @EmilyMingus tweeted, “Hey @AlTrautwig stop calling her PARENTS her grandfather and his wife. A. Nelly is more important than ‘his wife.’ B. THEY ARE HER PARENTS.”
Spot on, Ms. Mingus. In a since-deleted rebuttal, Trautwig responded, “They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents.”
Then Biles’ coach Aimee Boorman chimed in:
Of course, Trautwig is now apologizing for his ignorance. In a statement emailed by NBC Sports, he said, “I regret that I wasn’t more clear in my wording on the air. I compounded the error on Twitter, which I quickly corrected. To set the record straight, Ron and Nellie are Simone’s parents.”
Seriously, dude? Trautwig’s comment was as unnecessary as it was incorrect.
SOURCE: USA Today | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Twitter
Why? NBC Announcer Insists Simone Biles’ Parents Aren’t Really Her Parents was originally published on globalgrind.com
