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MyKayla Skinner<\/strong> <\/a>is calling on her former teammate Simone Biles<\/strong><\/a> for help. The 27-year-old former Olympian posted an Instagram video shortly after Simone, 27, and the rest of Team USA closed out the gymnastics portion of the Paris Olympics. In the clip, MyKayla pleaded for Simone to tell her fans to stop bullying her on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cI love our country and don\u2019t want to take anything away from our athletes,\u201d MyKayla captioned the Instagram<\/a> post on Tuesday, August 6. \u201cLet\u2019s use this time to build each other up, not tear others down.\u201d<\/p>\n In the clip, the gymnast began by noting that she \u201csincerely hoped that this topic wouldn\u2019t need to be revisited, but unfortunately, things have really gotten out of hand lately.\u201d<\/p>\n While pointing out that it\u2019s \u201cone thing to disagree with me regarding something I have said or a point I was trying to make,\u201d MyKayla pointed out that it\u2019s \u201csomething else entirely when that turns into cyber bullying or even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The 2020 vault silver medalist went on to explain that she was \u201chere\u201d because, \u201cabout four weeks ago, I made a comment about work ethic and what seems to be taking pace with the rising generation.\u201d<\/p>\n In the video from June, MyKayla criticized the current generation of gymnasts, claiming that they didn\u2019t have the same talent or skills as other athletes from the past.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be totally clear, I take 100 percent responsibility for poorly articulating the point I was trying to make,\u201d MyKayla noted, before adding, \u201cAnd the last thing I wanted was to cause harm or offend our U.S. Olympic team. I know these women are incredible \u2014 the very best of the best \u2014 and almost all of them are my former teammates who I have enjoyed very much cheering on the last few years.\u201d<\/p>\n While acknowledging the public apology she had made along with the alleged \u201cindividual messages\u201d she had sent to Team USA, MyKayla claimed that Simone was the only one who \u201chad responded, and she told me that she was proud of me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou guys can imagine my surprise last week when I was celebrating our team winning gold just to see this brought up all over again by a caption on an Instagram post,\u201d MyKayla added, referring to the viral Instagram caption<\/a> that Simone shared after Team USA won gold. \u201cIf Simone truly believes that I called our team lazy and lacking talent and if that\u2019s really how she feels, I am really heartbroken over it. But not just heartbroken because it isn\u2019t what I feel or even how I previously said, but because Simone\u2019s latest post and others that followed it fueled another wave of hateful comments, DMs, articles and emails. Hate that includes death threats to me my family and even my agent. My family and my friends don\u2019t deserve to be caught in the crossfire here. They\u2019ve done nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n After multiple gymnasts and fans publicly applauded Simone\u2019s caption, MyKayla blocked her<\/a> on Instagram.<\/p>\n Toward the end of her Instagram video, MyKayla spoke directly to Simone, whom she called an \u201cincredible champion for mental health awareness.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am asking you directly and publicly to please put a stop to this,\u201d MyKayla said. \u201cPlease ask your followers to stop. \u2026 Watching people cheer on the bullying is disgusting.\u201d \u00a0She then pointed out, \u201cA lot of people need your help now. We\u2019ve been attacked in ways that I\u2019m certain you never intended.\u201d<\/p>\n Simone has not publicly responded to MyKayla\u2019s plea.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n