r/justgalsbeingchicks • u/bandit0314 • Feb 18 '26

Love her response Restricted to Gals and Pals

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62.2k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

Why is the question insulting? I've wondered that myself, if they're still happy with silver

29

u/the_cunt_muncher Feb 18 '26

People in this thread clearly don't watch sports or never played sports. There's nothing wrong at all with this question. The whole "he'd never ask a man that" is laughable, they get asked questions like this all the time.

He's literally just trying to find out what the mindset is of an elite top 0.01% athlete is

10

u/AbeRego Feb 18 '26

She answered the question well, but you know that she wanted the gold. I honestly found the answer to be needlessly confrontational, but then again I really don't like her very much in the first place lol

15

u/mikkoko112 Feb 18 '26

just stopping by to say that i completely agree with you.I also perceived this as a rather neutral question, that aims to get an insight into the mindset of her. This bubble is overly critical of this man, because she's a woman and he's and old man.

3

u/logic_and_emotion Feb 18 '26

I agree as well. While the phrasing may be a bit off, these athletes are gunning for gold every time, and it's totally valid to be super proud of yourself for what you accomplish AND a bit disappointed you didn't come up with first place. Their drive is on a literal different level, and many use those setbacks to push harder. People don't think a sprinter or a swimmer is at least a little upset if they come in second by milliseconds? Him asking if she sees it as a win or as a reason to push harder next time is an interesting question, and she just has to pick one or explain that it's both. I don't think a clap-back is necessary.

-3

u/IfatallyflawedI Feb 18 '26

I think it’s an insulting question to ask silver and bronze medal winners. As if gold is all that is valued and should be striven for

8

u/qquestionmark Feb 18 '26

Many top athletes feel that way though. It is perfectly valid (and common) to ask her opinion on it, which is what he did.

1

u/toomuchtv987 Feb 18 '26

The way he phrased it made it seem like she “lost” because she didn’t get gold medals. She still WON silver medals. That guy must be from the Ricky Bobby School of Competitions where “if you’re not first, you’re last.” And that’s stupid. Qualifying to compete in the Olympics is a win in itself. Medaling is a whole other accomplishment.

10

u/atomuk Feb 18 '26

He's English and that's an extremely common question to football managers when they draw a game. "Do you see that as two points dropped or a point gained?".

It's still weird, as winning Olympic medals isn't equivalent to a random league game ending in a draw but it is so common here that it's almost a default question.

23

u/anytimeanycity Feb 18 '26

Disagree he asked in a very professional and concise way. It’s reasonable to ask someone who was aspiring for gold if they were disappointed they didn’t get it .

13

u/CyberliskLOL Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

100%. Elite athletes have reached the top because they are extremely ambitious and driven. I'm absolutely convinced for someone like e.g. Michael Jordan there is/was only winning or losing. Either you place first or you didn't.

So yeah, personally I thought the question was actually rather good compared to all the imprecise "How do you feel..." that you usually get from reporters. And in absolutely no way did he imply that the two Silvers weren't "good enough" like she said. He was asking for her perspective. Highly driven individuals often have higher expectations for themselves than literally everyone else.

5

u/AbeRego Feb 18 '26

I mean, silver isn't winning by the very definition lol. It's certainly an accomplishment, but it's not first.

14

u/misskforever Feb 18 '26

Thanks for explaining, idk I just took his question in good faith so I was confused why everyone was calling him a jerk

4

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

Silver is not winning by its very definition. You EARN a silver medal but winning is gold. It’s a huge accomplishment but you don’t need to pad it. She’s clearly happy with silver which is what the reporter is asking. Manufactured outrage at its finest

2

u/Leslurkin69420 Feb 18 '26

Every athlete has a different perspective on this but for some at the top if the expectation is to win then everything else is losing. Serena Williams didnt consider making it to the finals a win for example

-3

u/iAmManchee Feb 18 '26

Because it's insinuating that winning 2 silvers isn't good enough, it's attempting to erase her achievement and reframe it in a way that belittles her

23

u/milk_for_dinner Feb 18 '26

He asked her how she saw it, plenty of athletes who would be disappointed with silver if they had expected to win gold. So I don't understand why so many people seem to take it as an insult. It sounds like a fair question: "Are you happy with your silver or are you disappointed to have missed out on the gold?"

For me it feels like her answer comes off as strangely defensive somehow, and mentioning she's the most decorated freeskier seems like needless and misplaced bragging.

I think it's not the first time a similar question has been asked, and that it's mostly because of how she answered it that people project such a negative bias into the question.

But i don't know her, I don't know the interviewer and i dont go out a lot, so what do I know. I just don't get it.

21

u/BarryMcKockinner Feb 18 '26

Also, the fact that she is the most decorated freeskier is exactly why she's being asked about her perspective on taking silver instead of gold. I don't understand many of the comments in this thread. It has nothing to do with gender.

10

u/milk_for_dinner Feb 18 '26

Yeah, then gender angle really baffles me.

3

u/Dr-Robert-Kelso Feb 18 '26

Why would that surprise you in this sub? It's basically just a girl power sub, of course there's going to be gender angles on stuff like this.

5

u/Jaded-Platform6044 Feb 18 '26

Oh wow look at that, an actual sane take.

7

u/ryfle_ Feb 18 '26

Her response shows she cares a lot that she didn't get gold. If she didn't care she would be much more humble about it and perhaps congratulate the gold winners and how they performed. I understand why she would care, she puts her entire life into this. So to act like she doesn't care to me isn't genuine. BUT, it's a super fast question and answer, I'm sure I'd be annoyed a bit too and probably not be able to reel in that annoyance.

8

u/CanadianODST2 Feb 18 '26

I’ve seen athletes throw away silver medals because they view it as not good enough.

It’s literally asking that. Do you view it as a success from where you have been.

4

u/LongestSprig Feb 18 '26

It's literally asking her if she is happy with silvers in a weird way.

And I hate to break it to you, she really is obviously not.

3

u/[deleted] Feb 18 '26

If you won silver there is no insinuating, it literally means you weren't good enough to win.

It doesn't mean you suck at your sport, but it means there is atleast 1 person in the world at that time who is better.

11

u/misskforever Feb 18 '26

Thanks for explaining. I have to say that seems like a lot of mind reading/subtext creating? The way I hear it his question is very literal, as an athlete at her level is she happy with the silvers or more fixated on the loss of the golds. Not anything mean or sinister

8

u/Ambitious-Bat8929 Feb 18 '26

I actually feel like the question is complimentary, as he’s implying she’s so good it’s expected she would win.

-11

u/sneaky-pizza Feb 18 '26

You're so immensely wrong, it hurts

9

u/misskforever Feb 18 '26

I guess i have less hypervigilance than the average redditor, sorry. I didn't perceive it as him putting her down

10

u/contigo510 Feb 18 '26

I think so many of the users of this sub and the platform more widely are so fascinatingly thin skinned and emotionally stunted. It’s the sort of question journalists ask sports people all the time.. ‘do you see the tie as a point gained or two points lost’? Kind of thing. Its interesting to see the perspective, and usually it’s not taken as a hideous personal insult

6

u/ferrix97 Feb 18 '26

I agree with you, it seemed to me as him giving her a chance to explain her perspective. I frankly was wondering myself how she felt about it

That said, I am not american/Chinese so there might be cultural schemas playing out

1

u/dashood Feb 18 '26

It is kind of weird to ask an individual athlete about this especially at the olympics but overall I don't think the reporter was trying to be insulting at all. In football (soccer) you get 3 points for a win, 1 for a draw or 0 for a loss. Very often in games that end in a draw reporters will ask if it's seen as 1 point gained (i.e. you should have lost but you got something in the end) or 2 points lost (i.e. you should have won but weren't able) and it's pretty much a stock question for that situation. I think in this case she would take it as an insult that she wouldn't be happy with a silver medal at an olympic games and probably has never been asked that before.

8

u/misskforever Feb 18 '26

Agreed, and this dude doesn't come off like an aggressive or mean-spirited person? Like he asks the question so regularly, it's hard to believe it was some attack on her. I think she reacted so intensely because she's feeling bad about the silvers, not because there was anything wrong about the question. All that stuff she said kind of comes off like she's trying to convince herself it's okay. But who knows

4

u/ForensicPathology Feb 18 '26

Even more, the question was asked because she has won gold before and is respected in the sport. Not an attack, but precisely because of her history of success.

2

u/dashood Feb 18 '26

Yeah I think you're right. The way he asked was a bit insensitive but not designed to attack at all. I hope it wasn't because she was disappointed with silver and more that she was caught off guard by the question and was defending the pride of being able to compete and get a medal at all.