7:25 AM PT — Biles just gave a tearful explanation for her withdrawal from the competition … saying it was NOT injury related — she’s been struggling with mental health issues.
“Just my pride is hurt a little bit,” Biles told reporters.
“After the performance that I did, I didn’t want to go into the other events so I thought I would take a step back,” she added.
Biles says she’s been seeing a therapist to help battle her “demons” … and is going to use Wednesday as a “mental health day.”
One of the most remarkable mixed zone press conferences I’ve known. In which Simone Biles described pulling out of tonight’s team event because she had to put her mental health first….