Jordan Chiles' Fight for Bronze: Legal Team Cites Netflix Docuseries Evidence

Jordan Chiles' legal team is appealing the denial of her bronze medal in the women's gymnastics floor routine at the Paris Olympics. The appeal cites footage from a Netflix docuseries on Simone Biles, which the team alleges proves that the request for a review that bumped Chiles' score up was submitted within the deadline. Chiles' lawyers claim that denying her the medal was racially motivated and that the Court of Arbitration for Sport president had a conflict of interest.

Jordan Chiles and her legal team are appealing the denial of her bronze medal in the women's gymnastics floor routine at the Paris Olympics, alleging that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) violated her "right to be heard."

Jordan Chiles' Fight for Bronze: Legal Team Cites Netflix Docuseries Evidence

According to court documents filed in the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland, Chiles' attorney has submitted footage from Netflix's docuseries on Simone Biles that they claim shows visual evidence in favor of Chiles. The footage allegedly proves that the request for the review that bumped Chiles' score up was submitted within the 60-second window granted for appeals.

Chiles' lawyers have argued that the CAS, which made the final ruling, "violated Chiles’s fundamental ‘right to be heard’ by refusing to consider the video evidence that showed her inquiry was submitted on time — in direct contradiction to the findings in CAS’s decision."

Jordan Chiles' Fight for Bronze: Legal Team Cites Netflix Docuseries Evidence

They also alleged that CAS president Hamid G. Gharavi had a conflict of interest, as he had acted as counsel for Romania, the nation that had initially won the bronze medal, for nearly a decade.

Chiles, who has previously claimed she was facing "racially driven attacks" online, expressed her frustration during a panel at the Forbes Power Women's Summit 2024.

Jordan Chiles' Fight for Bronze: Legal Team Cites Netflix Docuseries Evidence

"To me, everything that has gone on is not about the medal, it's about, you know, my skin color," Chiles said, tearing up.

The controversy has also brought scrutiny upon the judges who scored the event. The Center of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) condemned the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and the judging crew, saying that a proper mechanism for appeals should have been in place.

The initial ruling resulted in a wave of backlash, with Gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci and Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu condemning the score change. However, the CAS ruled that the judging panel had improperly granted the inquiry that increased Chiles' score, and the FIG ordered her to return the medal.

Chiles became only the third gymnast in history to have an Olympic medal stripped. The other two were China's Dong Fangxiao and Romania's Andreea Răducan, both of whom lost their medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Meanwhile, Ana Barbosu, who initially won the bronze medal but lost it to Chiles, received her own official bronze medal on Aug. 16 and expressed sympathy for both Chiles and Răducan.

"I can't help but think about Sabrina and Jordan right now," Barbosu said. "It's a difficult situation for us, with so many uncertainties and overwhelming emotions."