Before this lil’ gymnast became an Olympic champion, she was just another kid stretching and conditioning, dreaming big while admiring legends like Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson. It’s a classic tale of grit and determination that corporate media outlets would love to spin into a motivational poster, devoid of any hard truths.

Let’s not kid ourselves—when you delve into how outlets like NBC frame her story, it quickly morphs from an inspiring journey to a tale with a heavy dose of hero worship. At best, they position her as a figurehead for the “empowerment narrative,” stripping away the true complexity of the sport and the intense politics involved in Olympic gymnastics. You can bet they’re keen to gloss over the systemic issues, like the exploitation of young athletes and the culture of silence surrounding abuse.

Meanwhile, ESPN often falls into the trap of sensationalism, turning her narrative into a soap opera rather than an exposé of the strict regimes and psychological stress young gymnasts face. Instead of encouraging critical dialogues, they wrap everything in a neat package that sells well but lacks the substance to provoke meaningful change.

In a world where the mainstream media loves to create narratives rather than report facts, we should insist on dissecting the layers of any story, especially one that feeds into Olympic glorification without addressing the darker corners of the gymnastics world. It’s time to demand narratives that reflect reality, not ones that simply fit an agenda.