The athletes withdrawing from competition remind me of actors who achieve fame but resent having to give up their privacy because they are so easily recognized when they go out in public.

These athletes strive their entire young lives to achieve fortune and fame, and then after attaining it, quarrel with the fact that there are either news conferences to appear at or records to try to maintain or break.

In Biles’ case, she gained a spot on the Olympic team that a more desirous applicant might have been given. She owes her fans, her teammates, her country and other athletes striving to make the Olympic team a better posture and attitude.

Barry S. Rubin Beverly Hills