Opinion: Simone Biles’ silence signals a return on her own terms, and everyone should listen up.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week, you probably know Simone Biles is back – again.

It was announced on June 28 that Biles will be making her competitive return to the sport at next month’s U.S. Classic – her first competition since the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games – but unlike the last time she returned after her post-Olympic hiatus, this reveal wasn’t accompanied by a bunch of hullabaloo on her part.

No big announcement video, no press tour or Today Show appearance, and not a peep from Biles herself – a complete 180 from her 2018 return.

Wednesday brought an end to that week-long silence, when Biles shared a meme on her Instagram story talking about training bars. She followed up later that evening with a short message of gratitude.

“Sorry I’ve been a little MIA since the announcement,” Biles said on her social channels. “I’m overwhelmed with all of your messages, support and love! Excited to get back out on the competition floor! XOXO”

It’s the first time Biles has acknowledged her return, let alone training, at all since Tokyo, and there have been signs for months that the 26-year-old was in the gym: drug testing, hints from her coaches, pictures of her clearly in the middle of a training session, teammates gushing about training alongside her, and even confirmation from the gymnast herself saying she wasn’t retired, just working on her mental health.

For dedicated gymnastics fans, the comeback wasn’t necessarily a surprise; it was really just a matter of when, since Biles has already had a busy year. Add training on top of that? Yea, she’s going to need a minute.

It takes months, if not basically a year, to return to elite gymnastics after a complete break. Last time, Biles started training around November 2017 and made her comeback at the 2018 U.S. Classic in July of that year – approximately nine months later. Biles is now older, wiser, and married, so safe to say, she probably needed at least that much time to get back into competition shape while also living her life and not just doing gymnastics 24/7.

No, the return, in itself, isn’t a signal that something is different this time around; Biles’ lack of acknowledgement is.

There’s no real need to rehash what happened in Tokyo. She got the twisties. She made a tough decision. She made a valiant return to win a bronze medal that she said meant “more than all the golds.” Then she went on the Gold Over America Tour, got over her twisties, and has mostly gone under the radar. If you go to her social channels, there’s rarely a mention of gymnastics and no crazy training videos; it’s just life, love, and leo advertisements.

If her comment on returning to competition is any indication, Biles’ push for Paris is probably going to be relatively low-key on the PR front, and that’s on purpose.

“She was a hero until she quit on the biggest stage.”

“Sorry, but the other girls are better now. She no longer dominates.”

“Is she going to cry again?”

“Nothing like quitting when it counts and then wanting to go back.”

“Oh no, we’ll have to hear her cry again when she loses.”

Those are comments that were left on Gymnastics Now’s Instagram post from the comeback announcement last week. That’s an atom of the hateful comments that people are leaving everywhere about Biles’ return and have been saying since the team final in Tokyo.

If I was Biles, I wouldn’t concern myself with much of the publicity stuff either – it’s not like she needs it.

Biles could not give an interview between now and next summer, and she would still walk into Bercy Arena and be one of the biggest names of the Games.

Her sponsors aren’t going anywhere, her fans aren’t going anywhere, and oh yea, she’s still selling out meets that have her name attached to it.

Biles is the GOAT because of her unmatched talent, technique, work ethic, and poise. She has continuously pushed the boundaries of the sport, attempting and successfully competing skills previously thought impossible, for more than a decade. She won her first world all-around title in Antwerp, Belgium, in 2013. (Fittingly, the world championships return to Antwerp this year, on the 10-year anniversary of that win.)

When people say Biles is a once-in-a-lifetime athlete, it isn’t hyperbole. Chances are, we will not see any gymnast, male or female, competing at this caliber again in our lifetime.

Nadia Comaneci was the gymnast of the 20th Century. Simone Biles is the gymnast of the 21st Century.

And in the 21st Century, athletes aren’t allowing bullies – whether it be coaches, parents, agents, or fans – influence how they live their lives, or in this case, do their job.

Biles isn’t just a professional athlete, she is the expert in her line of work, which just so happens to be gymnastics, and her near-silence is just another sign that she’s taking back control of her life and her career.

It’s no secret that, for a minute there, Biles had lost her passion for gymnastics – the passion that is the foundation for all of her achievements.

“I go to therapy… because there were times when I didn’t want to set foot in a gym,” Biles told The Guardian in 2019, pre-pandemic and pre-twisties, speaking out as a survivor of Larry Nassar. “But am I going to let that keep me from my passion, and the goals that I still have? It’s just another bump you have to get over.”

Joy was radiating from Biles at the Rio Games; that joy was much harder to find in Tokyo. There were glimpses, but even in the pandemic-marred lead-up, you could tell something was off.

Biles is human. The fact is: she’s getting older, and your body fights against you as you get older, even when you’re the queen of defying gravity. A few years back, she literally said, “It feels weird if I’m not in pain.”

Based off Biles’ skill level, she could probably compete as a specialist or with ‘watered down’ (for her) routines for another Games – she’d only be in her early thirties come LA 2028 – but if there’s one thing that has become abundantly clear during this two-year break, it’s that she does have a life outside of gymnastics, and she probably doesn’t want to be the next Oksana Chusovitina.

She has a husband, she’s a dog mom, she wants to become a human mom (down the line), and the zest she’s historically brought to the sport translates to her everyday life. Paris is probably it.

The grand finale. The epic conclusion. The culmination of a legendary career.

I doubt Biles is coming back and knowingly putting herself through pain and mental and physical hardships just for it to be a repeat of Tokyo.

Yes, she inspired millions with her honesty, selflessness, and perseverance, but as someone who also struggles with mental health issues, I know that if I just reverted and approached everything the same before the peak of my own struggles, I’d be back to square one.

Biles is flipping the script. This comeback is on her own terms.

At some point, she’ll probably speak to the media. There will probably be select interviews here and there, and as someone who has had the chance to talk with her many times, I hope she does choose to share her journey with the world, even if it’s only bits and pieces. It’s a joy to talk with Simone. She is bubbly, outgoing, refreshingly candid, and downright hilarious at times.

That being said, as much as people love the interviews, TV appearances, and jaw-dropping training videos, I’d rather see her spend whatever time is left in her career showing up at meets, competing, supporting her teammates, and walking out the door if that is what she needs to take ‘the real Simone’ home, with her mental health intact and a smile on her face.

I don’t know what Biles’ approach to the next, and potentially final, year of her career is, but she doesn’t owe anyone an explanation, no matter how she handles it.

Simone Biles owes the world nothing.

If Biles walks off the floor in Paris, waving with tears in her eyes and her hands over her heart in appreciation, or with the biggest smile that ever graced her face, I’ll be thankful to have witnessed a living legend compete with such grace, power, and strength for so long.

Whether she wins a medal on every event or none, whether she makes it to Paris or calls it along the way, whether we get the privilege of witnessing it or not, as long as Simone gets to tap back into that passion and unleash her infectious joy for the sport, that’s a success in my book. That’s all that matters.

This comeback begins and ends with Simone. She will let the world take part in it as much or as little as she wants, so sit back, grab some popcorn, kindly keep any negative opinions to yourself, and appreciate the remarkable athlete, the powerful woman, and the extraordinary human that is Simone Biles for as long as she’ll let us.