'I've Gotten Told That I Wasn't Black': Jordan Chiles Recalls People ‘Racially Attacking’ Her as a Child

Jordan Chiles is opening up about the racism she faced as a young Black girl in gymnastics.

Ahead of the Summer Olympics in Paris, the 23-year-old gymnast covered Teen Vogue’s July/August issue — and in her wide-ranging conversation with the magazine, she recounted an incident of racial discrimination she experienced as a child.

"Some lady in the crowd basically was like, ‘She doesn’t deserve to be on the floor. She doesn’t even look like anybody else,’ ” she told Teen Vogue. “People were racially attacking me without me even really knowing.”

Though Chiles — who began her journey to the Olympics at just 7 years old — did not specify her age at the time of the incident, she did reveal that she was young enough to not remember it on her own.

“I’m young, so I only know the story because my mom told me,” she told the magazine. “Security had to come and say, ‘Ma’am, she’s doing everything just like everybody else.’ ”

Recalling other instances of racism she has experienced during her gymnastics career, Chiles revealed she has “gotten medals taken away from me.” 

“I’ve been told that my mom wasn’t my mom,” she continued. “I’ve gotten told that I wasn’t Black.”

The Olympian also offered some advice to any up-and-coming athletes of who have faced or are facing discrimination in their sport.

“I can tell the younger generation, ‘Look, if this ever happens, use your voice, say what you need to say,’ ” she said. “And if you get kicked out of the gym, you get kicked out of the gy -

YouTube Q2 Ad Revenue Hits $8.66 Billion,...

m. But at least you were able to stand up for yourself.”

“At least you were able to tell them how you truly feel,” she added.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Elsewhere in her cover story, Chiles opened up about how she has moved past low moments when body-shaming, doubt in her abilities and more pushed her to ponder quitting the sport altogether.

“I was traumatized when I was younger. I was getting weighed. I was told I could only eat certain things. There were a lot of things that I was told because I had to ‘look a certain way.’ But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized we’re human,” she said, per Teen Vogue.

She added, “Our bodies go through different changes. I’m a woman, so obviously, when it comes to hormonal situations or my cycle, I can’t control that.”

Her ability to tune out the noise and be herself also came with age, she told the magazine.

“Around 14 years old, I was like: ‘You know what? I’m not going to listen to anybody. I’m just going to do me, go out there and have fun, and just live life to the fullest,’ ” she said. “That’s how I overcame people always telling me to dim my light.”

“It’s something that I don’t want to happen ever again,” Chiles continued.

Related Articles

Follow Us

Carlos Marqués-Marcet Orchestrates a Del,...