Updated 8/15/2024 at 3:33 p.m. ET
As the controversy continues to swirl around her bronze medal in the floor exercise final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Jordan Chiles is speaking out on the situation. On Thursday, she released a statement on social media where she thanked her supporters and asserted her belief that “the people in control will do the right thing.”
“I am overwhelmed by the love I have received over the past few days. I am also incredibly grateful to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, USAG, USOPC for their unwavering support during this difficult time,” Chiles wrote on X. “While celebrating my Olympic accomplishments, I heard the devastating news that my bronze medal had been stripped away. I had confidence in the appeal brought by USAG, who gave conclusive evidence that my score followed all the rules. This appeal was unsuccessful.”
“I have no words. This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow, not just to me, but to everyone who has championed my journey,” she continued. “To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially driven attacks on social media are wrong and extremely hurtful. I’ve poured my heart and soul into this sport and I am so proud to represent my culture and my country.”
Jordan also expressed her renewed “joy” in the sport and that she will “make every effort to ensure that justice is done.”
“I will never waver from my values of competing with integrity, striving for excellence, upholding the values of sportsmanship and the rules that dictate fairness,” Chiles wrote. “I have taken pride in cheering on everyone regardless of team or country. Finding joy again has been a culture shift and I love seeing others embrace it. I feel like I have given everyone permission to be authentic to who they are.”
“I am now confronted with one of the most challenging moments of my career. Believe me when I say I have had many,” she concluded. “I will approach this challenge as I have others - and will make every effort to ensure that justice is done. I believe that at the end of this journey, the people in control will do the right thing.”
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The ongoing drama surrounding American gymnast Jordan Chiles being stripped of her bronze medal in floor exercise at the 2024 Paris Olympics has brought about the seemingly unwavering support of Black Twitter, as well as that of one celebrity who’s no stranger to fighting the power.
As previously reported by The Root, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped Chiles of her bronze medal after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Team USA’s initial inquiry, which resulted in Chiles moving up to third place, came in too late. The IOC is now saying she needs to return her medal so it can be awarded to Romania’s Ana Bărbosu.
One user has a simple explanation for why Chiles is caught up in this controversy, writing on X, “Why do yall refuse to accept the reason Jordan Chiles is being punished. It’s because she’s [Black]. Yall can read and analyze RULES all you want but those rules aren’t for Black gymnasts.”
Another person pointed out how nice it is to see USA Gymnastics supporting the two-time NCAA national champion, posting, “I’m loving that America is standing 10 toes down for Jordan Chiles.”
The Olympic gold medalist also has the support of Public Enemy legend Flava Flav, who was present at multiple events in Paris, had a bronze version of his signature clock necklace created for Chiles.
The situation has led to nonstop backlash against the IOC, CAS and the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) extending beyond Black Twitter. According to Yahoo! sports, on Wednesday, CAS released a 29 page statement about the hearing and its ruling. It explained that it couldn’t award three bronze medals to Chiles, Bărbosu and Romania’s Sabrina Maneca-Voinea—the athletes involved in the inquiry.
CAS also took FIG to task for causing them “a great deal of heartache” because it “did not provide a mechanism or arrangement to implement the one minute rule it established under Article 8.5.”
“If the FIG had put such a mechanism or arrangement in place, a great deal of heartache would have been avoided,” the statement reads. “The Panel expresses the hope that the FIG will draw the consequences of this case, in relation to these three extraordinary Athletes and also for other Athletes and their supporting personnel, in the future, so that this never happens again.”
USA Gymnastics (USAG) responded with its own statement where it asserted that the inquiry was submitted within the allotted one minute deadline, criticized CAS for sending case filings to the wrong email address, which prevented USAG from reacting in a timely manner and questioned its handling of the panel’s conflict of interest disclosures.
The fact that the chair of the panel has been doing legal work for Romania for almost a decade has become a big sticking point.
“USA Gymnastics strongly disagrees with the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s detailed decision released today. As noted in the decision, USA Gymnastics did not become aware of the case until August 9 - three days after it was filed, two days past the deadline to submit objections related to panelists, and less than 24 hours before the hearing. This was due to CAS sending case filings to incorrect email addresses,” the statement says. “Further, CAS did not send the conflict-of-interest disclosures of any panelist to USA Gymnastics, nor have we seen the disclosures to date. As stated previously, video evidence later made available to USA Gymnastics and submitted to CAS conclusively establishes that Head Coach Cecile Landi verbally inquired 47 seconds after the publishing of the score, within the 1-minute deadline required by FIG rule. We will pursue these and other matters upon appeal as we continue to seek justice for Jordan Chiles.”