Throughout history, systems have failed us. They are the very things made to uphold our society and ensure that we do not ensue in chaos. When the sting of injustice hits, no matter how big or small, we hope that our systems will make it right. Whether we are at home, at our workplaces, at school, in any walk of life, when the processes are broken, we must take a closer look and recognize how to fix the problem. A system failure robbed Jordan Chiles of her bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics Games.
Chiles, a beloved member of the U.S. Olympic team whose contributions have led the American gymnastics team to victories, faced a heart-breaking controversy in August. She went into the Olympics and gave it her all, expecting to be judged fairly in return. Instead, she faced injustice and (later on) discrimination, racism, and harassment online. The debacle began when Chiles was announced as the bronze medalist for gymnastics at the Olympics, however, the International Olympic Committee later on demanded that she give up the medal to Romanian competitor Ana Barbosu, claiming that there had been an error with Chiles’s score. Chiles had initially been underscored, then later her scores were corrected, and they went up, leading her to a bronze medal victory. Her medal was then taken away a few days later because the International Olympic Committee stated that her coaches failed to report the miscalculation on time.
Despite the claims, there is not one, but two pieces of evidence that the coaches submitted the report in less than one minute, much earlier than Romanian coaches claimed. Although the U.S. decided to appeal to the International Olympic Committee, the powers that be have decided not to entertain the appeal, leaving a wronged Chiles without a victory that is not indicative of her ability and hard work, but of a technicality that has been proven in her favor. But they will not budge.
What this circumstance teaches us is that there must be fail-safes set in place for situations such as these, to protect against clearly proven errors in unfair situations. A fail-safe plan comes into operation in the event of something going wrong or to prevent such an occurrence from happening. Systems should be challenged when processes are broken. No longer can we allow excuses or brick walls to further inequalities. We need to advocate for change, build solidarity, and speak up for one another for our voices to be heard. The failure of the system in Chiles’ situation is an example of what it looks like when we are failed by those who hold power, even though everything was done right by her coaches. She certainly isn’t the first, nor will she be the last.
The metaphor of losing the bronze due to a miscalculation in score and time can be used as a guide for what can go wrong when the rules don’t follow the truth. In this case it is a bronze medal. How can we learn from this when the stakes are much higher? As in the case of Breona Taylor? Or Emmitt Till? Or Trayvon Martin? Evaluating the fairness of systems helps thwart corruption, in any case. There is much to be lost when injustice is a wrench thrown into the proper operation of institutions. Power cannot be a shield.
The lesson in all of this? We as a society, as a people, should come together to challenge power when there is a power failure. In the great words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects us all indirectly.”