LeBron James extends his support to Jordan Chiles after she was stripped of her medal at Paris Olympics 2024

American basketball icon LeBron James has lended his support to gymnast Jordan Chiles after she was stripped of her floor exercise bronze medal that she won at the Paris Olympics. This follows the Court of Arbitration for Sport's decision requiring Chiles to return the medal.

After claiming gold with the USA gymnastics team, Chiles secured the first individual Olympic medal of her career by placing third with a score of 13.766 in the women's floor exercise on Monday, August 5. However, Chiles did not win the bronze initially, as she finished fifth with 13.666, and the Romanian gymnasts Ana Barbosu and Sabrina Voinea were ahead of her with scores of 13.700. But after the American team coach Cecile Landi's appeal, Chiles' score was updated and changed to 13.766, placing her in third.

Subsequently, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation appealed Chiles' result to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). CAS gave their verdict on the case, ruling that Landi's appeal was submitted four seconds past the permissible window of one minute. As a result, it was determined that the 23-year-old American must return her medal. Since then, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially announced that the bronze medal will be given to Ana Barbosu.

"We are in touch with the (national Olympic committee) of Romania to discuss the reallocation ceremony and with (the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee) regarding the return of the bronze medal," the IOC said in a statement (as quoted by USA Today).

Jordan Chiles garnered support from her fellow gymnasts like Simone Biles and Suni Lee after the incident. Now joining the list of her supporters is Paris Olympics champion LeBron James. He took to his X handle, reposted Team USA's tweet, and expressed his support with "infinity, heart, and the United States' flag" emojis.

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Jordan Chiles decides to quit social media after CAS ruling

Jordan Chiles at Olympic Games Paris 2024 - Source: Getty

Jordan Chiles shared her disappointment with the ruling and decided to step away from social media after her Paris Olympics bronze medal was taken back following the CAS ruling. In their ruling, CAS stated (via People):

"The inquiry submitted on behalf of Ms Jordan Chiles in the Final of the women’s Floor exercise was raised after the conclusion of the one-minute deadline provided by article 8.5 of the 2024 FIG Technical Regulations and is determined to be without effect."

In response to the decision, the American gymnast announced:

"I am taking this time and removing myself from social media for my mental health, thank you."

In another story post, Chiles shared a series of heartbroken emojis.