Jordan Chiles’ Mother Responds to Flavor Flav Offer After Olympic Controversy

Jordan Chiles’ mother responded to Flavor Flav’s offer after her daughter competed for an Olympic medal.

On Sunday, the rapper, whose real name is William Jonathan Drayton, Jr., shared a message of support for the gymnast via X, formerly Twitter.

“Ayyy YOOOO @ChilesJordan,,, im gonna make you a BRONZE BELL NECKLACE,,, and thats something NO ONE else has,!!! Message me girl,,, i got you,!!!” he said.

In a follow-up post, Flav added: “USA is going to fight the powers that be… In the meantime I will always be a man of my word @ChilesJordan.”

Flav, co-founder of Public Enemy, was at the Paris Olympics cheering on athletes from the stands. In July, Flav signed a five-year sponsorship deal with the U.S. women’s and men’s national water polo teams as their official hype man.

Chiles’ mother, Gina Chiles, saw Flav’s gesture and responded to X.

“Thank you. Means the world,” she said. “She’s not on socials right now, as you can imagine. I’ll share it with her.”

At the time of publication, Gina Chiles’ post had been viewed more than 1.6 million times.

In the comments, people shared messages of support.

“I hope she knows how many people are on her side,” wrote fellow user @smars319.

“We stand behind you and your family 100 percent!!!” said @phxsunz25, while @BracketNky chimed in, “This is amazing. I’m so glad Flavor is doing this.”

“Absolutely amazing that you responded to @FlavorFlav on her behalf,” @AmyTrask added. “Please let her know that millions of us are behind her—and thank you again @flavorflav for all you do, you are a leader and you do what the best people do, you help others be their best.”

Gina Chiles previously pointed out the racism her daughter faces.

“The racist, disgusting comments are still happening in 2024,” she wrote on X. “I’m tired of people saying it doesn’t exist anymore. My daughter is a highly decorated Olympian with the biggest heart and an unmatched level of sportsmanship… and she’s being called disgusting.”

Jordan Chiles, representing Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics, finished fifth in the individual floor exercise with her Beyoncé-inspired routine on August 5. However, she was later demoted to third place after her coach Cecile Landi filed an investigation into a split leap, claiming she did not receive credit for it.

The score change left Chiles on the podium, leaving Romanian gymnast Ana Barbosu in fourth place.

“This is just a dream come true,” Chiles told NBC at the time after winning the bronze medal. “It’s my first time in an event final. Like we said, it was a redemption tour, and I just wanted to go out there and do the best I could. So this medal means everything. First event final, first event medal, oh my gosh! I have no words, but I’m so proud of myself.”

Her celebrations did not last long, however, as the Romanian Gymnastics Federation filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), stating that Chiles’s investigation had been filed too late. The CAS agreed, demoting Chiles to fifth place.

On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that Barbosu would receive the bronze medal.

Team USA appealed the ruling, saying in a statement on X that it had submitted “a letter and video evidence” to CAS “showing that head coach Cecile Landi’s request for an investigation was submitted 47 seconds after the score was posted, within the 1-minute deadline required by the FIG rule.”

Despite new evidence, CAS will not hear Chiles’ appeal.

“USA Gymnastics was notified on Monday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) that its rules do not permit review of an arbitral award, even when compelling new evidence is presented,” USA Gymnastics said in a statement Monday. “We are deeply disappointed by the notification and will continue to pursue every possible avenue and appeal, including through the Swiss Federal Tribunal, to ensure the correct score, placement and medal issuance for Jordan.”