Olympic champion Simone Biles appeared less than impressed on Saturday
with the appointment of former US congresswoman Mary Bono as the latest
interim president of embattled USA Gymnastics.
Biles took to Twitter to take issue with a tweet Bono posted last month
that was critical of apparel maker Nike after the company's ad campaign
featuring Colin Kaepernick.
Bono posted a photo of herself blacking out a Nike logo on a golf shoe.
"Playing in a charity golf tournament raising money for our nation's
Special Forces operators and their families. Unfortunately had these
shoes in my bag. Luckily I had a marker in my bag too...." wrote Bono,
who also re-tweeted a response that said "#BoycottNike."
In response, the Nike-sponsored Biles tweeted on Saturday: "*mouth drop*
... don't worry, it's not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics
president, or any sponsors or anything."
Critics of Nike were angered in September by the company's decision to
embrace Kaepernick, the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who
triggered a political firestorm after kneeling during the US national
anthem in 2016 to protest racial injustice.
The tension is another setback for a USA Gymnastics federation
desperately seeking stability in the wake of the sexual abuse scandal
involving former team doctor Larry Nassar.
More than 200 women, including Biles and other Olympians, have come
forward over the past two years saying they were sexually abused by
Nassar under the guise of treatment.
USA Gymnastics announced Bono's appointment on Friday, saying she would
serve as interim president and chief executive until a permanent
replacement for Kerry Perry is found.
Perry resigned last month under pressure from the US Olympic Committee after nine months in the job.
Her departure came after the appointment and resignation of elite coach
Mary Lee Tracy -- who had made comments supportive of Nassar in 2016
when allegations of abuse against him had begun to emerge.
Biles, the reigning Olympic all-around champion and winner of four golds
at the 2016 Rio Games, will lead the US team for the Gymnastics World
Championships in Doha October 25-November 3.
The team was named on Friday at the conclusion of a selection camp in Florida
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