Rio Olympics 2016's darling, gymnast Simone Biles, is being thrown at the center of an adoption drama that started when a TV commenter made snide remarks about her parents. Now, her biological mother is speaking up and the Olympian is also shutting down the adoption shamer.
In an exclusive with Daily Mail, Shanon Biles, Simone Biles' biological mother, revealed the circumstances surrounding her children's adoption. She said that she was forced to give up Simone and her sister, Adria, to the girls' grandparents because of her addiction. The children's father was also a user.
Prior to this, Simone Biles and her siblings were in foster care. When Ronald Biles took the younger girls in, he had Shanon sign adoption papers to make the children legally his. Meanwhile, Simone's older siblings, Tevon and Ashley, were adopted by the sister of Ronald.
Simone Biles spent time in foster care & was adopted. Regardless of the medals she wins, we think she's already a winner. #adoption #rio2016
— Lifesong for Orphans (@LifesongOrphans) August 6, 2016
Shanon further said that her father disallowed her from communicating with her children until she stopped using drugs and alcohol, and straightened up her life. "It was hard to give up my kids but I had to do what I had to, I wasn't able to care for them," she said.
It took her six years to be able to talk to her children, but Shanon believes having her dad adopt Simone and Adria was the best decision. She couldn't understand this and had been angry at her father in the beginning.
Now, the mom has been watching Simone Biles' performance at the Rio Olympics 2016 and couldn't be more proud about her wins. Meanwhile, TMZ reports that her relationship with her children has since been mended.
Simone Biles believes her adoption shouldn't make headlines at all, as it happens to many kids in America. Except that a commenter from NBC made an issue out of it when Al Trautwig pointed out Simone Biles' parents are "not her parents," per Us Weekly. To that, Simone Biles simply said, "My parents are my parents and that's it."
