Biles brought attention to the subject of mental health when she stepped back from some events during the Tokyo games in 2021. A pair of professionals talk about what they call a mental health crisis for female athletes.Houston gymnast Simone Biles before a practice in Paris prior to the Olympic games. During the Tokyo games in 2021, Biles made the conversation about mental health front and center.The Paris Olympics get underway today, and a number of Houston-area athletes will be taking part. The one we all know best, of course, is gymnast Simone Biles, who will be back in the spotlight after stepping back from some events during the Tokyo games in 2021.What Biles did then put the conversation about mental health front and center and highlighted what a pair of mental health professionals call a crisis — particularly for female athletes.Katie Steele and Dr. Tiffany Brown don’t want us to call what Biles is doing in Paris a comeback because it implies that mental health issues are something that can fixed and forgotten, like a broken bone.Steele and Brown are licensed therapists and co-founders of the Athletes Mental Health Foundation. They’ve co-authored a book about the subject called The Price She Pays: Confronting the Hidden Mental Health Crisis in Women’s Sports – From the Schoolyard to the Stadium.In the audio above, they tell Houston Matters producer Michael Hagerty how coaches and loved ones can address the issue at all levels of competition.
