You can see what they were thinking. With Bolt and Phelps gone, NBC needed a new face to promote the Olympics—and what better figure could there be than an apparently invincible black woman? It was PC America at its most cynical and relentless. Biles bought into it, too; she fully embraced the notion that she was the GOAT, and made millions promoting herself. The hype machine was in overdrive. It overwhelmed Biles, and the rest is history.
The worst is yet to come. Racists will go bonkers on social media. Woke people will argue, on the other hand, that she is a victim of an oppressive system that used her and spat her out. It will turn into a culture war issue.
The truth is that Biles is an accomplice to the crime, not a victim. The primary responsibility, however, rests with the people who created and ran the hype machine.