NBC gymnastics announcer criticized for comments on Simone Biles' adoptive parents

Twitter Calls for Olympic Commentator's Firing Over Simone Biles Comments
Twitter Calls for Olympic Commentator's Firing Over Simone Biles Comments

Al Trautwig, NBC's gymnastics announcer at the Rio Games, sparked outrage online by suggesting the American gymnast Simone Biles's adoptive parents are not really her parents.

The 19-year-old and her younger sister, Adria, were adopted by their maternal grandparents, Ron and Nellie Biles, in 2001.

Both girls spent time in foster care as Shanon Biles, their biological mother and Ron's daughter, struggled with drugs and alcohol.

SEE MORE: Everything you need to know about the Summer Olympics

But apparently, no one explained that relationship to Trautwig ahead of Sunday night's events.

Emily Mingus, a fed-up Twitter user, sent Trautwig a tweet asking him to please stop calling Ron and Nellie Simone's grandparents.

"THEY ARE HER PARENTS" she said.

"They may be mom and dad but they are NOT her parents," he wrote back in a tweet that has since been deleted.

Thankfully, the internet does not let people forget, and Twitter user Jen Talley was able to preserve Trautwig's tweet with a screenshot.

Naturally, the internet is none too pleased about the incident -- the hashtag #FireTrautwig has since gained traction on Twitter.

Even Biles' long-time coach took to social media to defend her.

Trautwig has apologized for his inflammatory statement, which may be viewed as a blow to adoptive families everywhere.

Trautwig released the following statement to NBC on Monday.

"I regret that I wasn't more clear in my wording on the air. I compounded the error on Twitter, which I quickly corrected," he said. "To set the record straight, Ron and Nellie are Simone's parents."

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