Rules to praise, rules to punish, and they’re the same rules. And no one was surprised in the slightest.
Edit: I didn’t find the article when I searched for it on The Root, but my search was a simple word search and it didn’t come up in the results. Someone has provided the correction that it used to be illegal, but it no longer is, and I appreciate the correction. There’s enough hate out there that it doesn’t help anyone to misinterpret things.
detox02 on
They move the goal post and change the rules so they can compete with us. We see y’all
To be fair this is less because black and more because woman. Men have been able to do backflips since the 70s only women can’t by rule.
viperspm on
Did a quick search and backflips were banned in 1977 until 2024. The black woman, Surya Bonaly, that made news and was penalized for it was in 1998. Not everything is race related.
andergriff on
backflips were unbanned in 2024
sugardaddymatt5 on
almost as if times change!!
MrMansaMusa on
And a chinese french athlete in 2024 did one on a whim when he was 19th place, hes the reason its back. When she did it it was already banned since 1974… nothing to do with race on this one
jennyfromthedocks on
What’s the connection here?
Difficult-Role-8131 on
I remember watching her real time and felt the broadcasters were always so disrespectful of her.
Aola3 on
She was AMAZING
brookleinneinnein on
I was absolutely enchanted with Surya Bonaly as a child. I remember watching her skate then start crying when she would get her scores because they were never high enough.
Versiannie on
It was just unbanned back in 2024. Don’t make this a race thing when it isn’t.
HeyLookAHorse on
This needs some context. The move was illegal and everyone knew it when it was done in 1998. It was legalized in 2024 and now can be done and there is no penalty. Not everything is racism.
fnkdrspok on
I got downvoted to shit when I said something like this in r/nextfuckinglevel when they posted dudes shitty flip. I brought up my girl Surya and said I smell some bias and the whites got mad.
figuring_ItOut12 on
The rules changed to allow athletics that were once proven to be harmful before today’s science. Now we have the knowledge to protect athletes.
You call this racism. I wonder why you don’t think all the advances in protective gear, coaching, and medicine is also racism. Feels like a cheap shot to stir up folks.
Primrose_Master on
Figure skating history really has some *wild* selective memory. The same move can be “groundbreaking artistry” or “too aggressive” depending on who’s doing it.
That’s why context matters. Give people their flowers while they’re here and don’t rewrite the past when it’s inconvenient.
The sport didn’t suddenly evolve overnight… the standards just mysteriously did.
JayPizzl3 on
It was banned then. Its not banned now.
That simple
texaushorn on
When the French athlete did it, it was banned. They lifted the ban last year. With all of the real issues PoC face, we don’t need to invent any.
johnnytron on
As if all the stunts aren’t life threatening.
Figure skaters have my upmost respect.
TheodoraWimsey on
Important point on one of the reasons it was banned was it was being landed on two blades and all jumps had to landed on one blade.
Bonaly was the first to land it on one blade negating that reason for it being banned.
21 Comments
More context:
Google “Surya Bonaly”

Rules to praise, rules to punish, and they’re the same rules. And no one was surprised in the slightest.
Edit: I didn’t find the article when I searched for it on The Root, but my search was a simple word search and it didn’t come up in the results. Someone has provided the correction that it used to be illegal, but it no longer is, and I appreciate the correction. There’s enough hate out there that it doesn’t help anyone to misinterpret things.
They move the goal post and change the rules so they can compete with us. We see y’all
https://preview.redd.it/akbv3erkfrig1.jpeg?width=844&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a957cd020242a9d641791645b9451d000ec0ff42
To be fair this is less because black and more because woman. Men have been able to do backflips since the 70s only women can’t by rule.
Did a quick search and backflips were banned in 1977 until 2024. The black woman, Surya Bonaly, that made news and was penalized for it was in 1998. Not everything is race related.
backflips were unbanned in 2024
almost as if times change!!
And a chinese french athlete in 2024 did one on a whim when he was 19th place, hes the reason its back. When she did it it was already banned since 1974… nothing to do with race on this one
What’s the connection here?
I remember watching her real time and felt the broadcasters were always so disrespectful of her.
She was AMAZING
I was absolutely enchanted with Surya Bonaly as a child. I remember watching her skate then start crying when she would get her scores because they were never high enough.
It was just unbanned back in 2024. Don’t make this a race thing when it isn’t.
This needs some context. The move was illegal and everyone knew it when it was done in 1998. It was legalized in 2024 and now can be done and there is no penalty. Not everything is racism.
I got downvoted to shit when I said something like this in r/nextfuckinglevel when they posted dudes shitty flip. I brought up my girl Surya and said I smell some bias and the whites got mad.
The rules changed to allow athletics that were once proven to be harmful before today’s science. Now we have the knowledge to protect athletes.
You call this racism. I wonder why you don’t think all the advances in protective gear, coaching, and medicine is also racism. Feels like a cheap shot to stir up folks.
Figure skating history really has some *wild* selective memory. The same move can be “groundbreaking artistry” or “too aggressive” depending on who’s doing it.
That’s why context matters. Give people their flowers while they’re here and don’t rewrite the past when it’s inconvenient.
The sport didn’t suddenly evolve overnight… the standards just mysteriously did.
It was banned then. Its not banned now.
That simple
When the French athlete did it, it was banned. They lifted the ban last year. With all of the real issues PoC face, we don’t need to invent any.
As if all the stunts aren’t life threatening.
Figure skaters have my upmost respect.
Important point on one of the reasons it was banned was it was being landed on two blades and all jumps had to landed on one blade.
Bonaly was the first to land it on one blade negating that reason for it being banned.