RIO DE JANEIRO – Ron Biles sat quietly as he watched his daughter Simone fulfill the first part of her golden Olympic destiny, joining in with an occasional chant of “U-S-A” but for the most part watching contentedly with fatherly pride.
And as Simone and her victorious teammates charged around the venue Tuesday to where the American families sat, the world’s finest gymnast looked into the stands and blew kisses.
“Mom!,” she yelled. “Dad!”
Ron is not only Simone's maternal grandfather but also her father – legally, practically and emotionally. He and his wife Nellie adopted Simone and her sister Adria when Simone was six, after their biological mother, Shanon Biles, experienced drug and alcohol issues and the children went through various foster homes.
With Simone’s team event victory likely to precede a swath of additional gold medals in the individual competition, the 19-year-old is on a fast track to becoming one of America’s best known and most popular athletes. On Wednesday, she sent out a social media message to celebrate that reached 1 million Instagram followers. More are surely on the way.
Ron is a quiet man and he and his wife remained that way even after NBC commentator Al Trautwig sparked controversy by referring to them on air as Simone’s grandfather and his wife, then getting into a social media dispute with a commenter and claiming they were “NOT her real parents.” Trautwig later apologized.
Ron said he hopes that the attention from the brouhaha will have a positive affect on American society and encouraged prospective parents to consider adopting or fostering a child. Child welfare group Children’s Rights estimated that on any given day there are around 415,000 children in foster care in the United States.
“It is a wonderful thing,” he told USA TODAY Sports, when asked what advice he would have for people considering fostering or adoption. “It gives you the opportunity to enrich the life of yourself and the child, and enrich everyone who is involved in your life.
“Raising kids is just a wonderful thing. You get to see them grow and be a part of that and I can’t think of anything more satisfying. It is an important issue and I could only say good things about it.”
According to Dr. Suan Stapatyanon, who runs the Our Small World foster agency in Orange, Calif., the emergence of a high-profile adopted athlete such as Biles could provide a boost to a stretched system.
“There is always a need for good people to help these kids,” Stapatyanon said in a telephone interview. “There is always a stigma attached to foster care or kids who come through the system and a positive role model like this can raise understanding and awareness greatly.”
Simone rounded out the team competition with a spectacular floor performance and is an overwhelming favorite in the individual all-around. She was too young to compete in London in 2012 but set her sights on Rio and won 10 gold medals at the three world championships since.
“It was after London that she decided she wanted to be in the next one,” Ron Biles said. “How proud am I? That is a good question. I am still getting used to it. Yes, I am pretty darn proud. It is an interesting time. It has been a wonderful journey.
“We have had so much satisfaction from all of our kids. We love family and everything involved with it. We share all the special moments together and this is a pretty special one.”
While enjoying the Athletes Village and spending time and posing for photos with other competitors such as Michael Phelps and members of the USA men’s basketball team, Biles has still found time to stay in regular contact with her parents via FaceTime and sent her Dad a happy birthday message.
