i don’t like what is happening with gabby douglas.
this poor gymast vixen has been through way too much in her young life.
she went to rio to compete in the olympics and it has been nothing but drama.
you go in her twitter mentions and it’s even more confusion.
i don’t get it.
unfortunately in the olympics,
she didn’t make it anything further like her teammates,
but she did address all of the social media criticisms she has been facing.
well this is more of the story via the washington post…
As younger U.S. teammates added to their medal haul Sunday, Gabby Douglas, the Virginia Beach native who captivated the gymnastics world in winning all-around gold at the 2012 Olympics, struggled to a disappointing and emotional finish at the Rio Games.
After finishing seventh in a field of eight in her lone individual event, the uneven bars, Douglas fought back tears when reporters’ questions about her performance turned to questions about a wide range of criticism that has been directed at her, much of it on social media: about her stance during the playing of the national anthem, her expression in the stands as Simone Biles and Aly Raisman vied for all-around honors and a perception that she has distanced herself from teammates.
Douglas said she had avoided the Internet while in Rio because of the “negativity,” which she said she didn’t understand.
“When they talk about my hair or me not putting my hand up on my heart or me being very salty in the stands, they’re really criticizing me, and it doesn’t really feel good,” Douglas said, her eyes tearing up. “It was a little bit hurtful.”
The struggles Douglas endured, both on the arena floor and in the 20-minute exchange with reporters afterward, tugged at the heart, as well.
Douglas’s post-competition interview began in a cheerful tone, even as she acknowledged that she’d come to Rio hoping to achieve more. While she contributed valuable skills to the U.S. team gold medal through her uneven-bars routine, Douglas had hoped to defend her 2012 all-around title.
But she qualified third, behind Biles and Raisman, and was barred from the all-around final by the Olympics’ two-per-country limit.
“You always want to picture yourself being on top and doing those routines and being amazing,” Douglas said. “I pictured it differently, but that’s okay because I’m just going to take this experience as a really good, positive one.”
The tenor of the interview changed when a reporter asked, “Do you think your Olympics got ruined?”
After a pause, Douglas said that it had been “an amazing, crazy — also fun experience.”
She was asked what she would have done differently this week, other than score higher. She looked puzzled, so the reporter recounted various criticism.
“Obviously I wanted to finish on a better bar routine,” Douglas said. Then she spoke of difficulties she had endured during these Games and apologized if her gestures or facial expressions had been misconstrued.
“Everything I’ve gone through has been a lot this time around,” Douglas said, “and I apologize if [I seemed] really mad in the stands. I wasn’t. I was supporting Aly. And I always will support them and respect them in everything they do. I never want anyone to take it as I was jealous or I wanted attention. Never. I support them, and I’m sorry that I wasn’t showing it.
“I’ve been through a lot,” she added. “I still love them. I still love the people who love me. Still love them who hate me. I’m just going to stand on that.”
between you and me,
i think the hate from the net,
plus her teammates caused her to break.
you can tell who was cliqued up.
every time i saw gabby,
she looked ostracized from her team.
even when she went to congratulate certain ones on their wins.
as far as the net,
i mostly saw “us” talking about her negatively.
sure the snow kind joined in,
but some of “us” had negative things to say about her (i.e her hair).
even her mother spoke out about gabby ( x being bullied ).
that article made me feel sad at work today.
i’ve been there so i could relate.
i hope she knows she is still a champion regardless of her loss in rio.
she has paid her dues and made history.
i pray gabby can continue to be strong and stay blessed.
lowkey: aly rubs me the wrong way.
something about simone does as well.
i’m sure it will all come out in the wash eventually.
article taken: the washington post
I’m glad you brought this up J. From the very start the media focus leading up to Rio has been about Simone Biles as if there can only be one great black gymnast at a time. Don’t get me wrong Simone is a great gymnast but so is Gabby. If you watched the events, even the commentators down played Gabby. The camera man showed her at bad times when she wasn’t cheering or while she was sitting down. It always looked as if something was bothering her. And I too noticed when Gabby tried to congratulate her teammates they didn’t react or respond to her the same way. She seems like an outcast. I feel sorry for her but glad she got another gold medal.
i hope that Simone don’t get too full of herself. just the way they praise Gabby. then turn her on her. they will do the same to Simone
I am up late with an upset stomach(lactose intolerance ain’t no joke)😂
I think a lot of people feel Gabby is jealous of Simone’s success .You know how people always pit black woman against each other as if there is only room for one (example in modeling Naomi vs Tyra).Simone has said when she won her Gold ,Gabby was the first to text her.I support Simone and Gabby.I also support Houston’s other Simone(Manuel) the swimmer who won four medals.She recently talked about BLM and police brutality,I hope that doesn’t hurt her marketability.You know how they don’t like athletes to talk about social issues.Simone Biles would probably never discuss racism.
Regarding Gabby’s hair I have noticed most of the Black people criticizing her hair are Black women with weaves or wigs.Don’t criticize her hair when you are wearing some Asian(Indian)’s women hair you purchased.💁
Love her positive outlook even during hard times
Man this burns me up when people mess with young people especially our young people of color who are literally the only one in the field competing such as gymnastics, swimming, ice skating, hockey. My people talking about this young lady hair and she is an athlete, social media brings out the ignorance ten fold. I am proud of Gabby, I really havent watch any of the Olympics coverage and do not really know any of these other young ladies but I am proud of all the athletes in every sport from the USA, especially our athletes of color who have achieved against the odds. I hope Gabby will continue to strive and rise to the top despite all the haters, it is like a given that the more successful you get the more people enjoy tearing you down. These others will learn soon enough.
You can definitely tell there was something going on in the team as much as you try to hide it , the body language alone….I really feel for her
^i read that aly is an alleged lowkey racist and she showed her true colors years back.
she allegedly doesn’t like gabby so she is using simone to torment her.
all alleged,
but you can sorta tell.
Am I wrong if I say that I do not like Simone? It does not surprise how Simone is acting, because the main ones from the ghetto be the first ones to sell out or be a coon…
Wait, what’s wrong with Simone and what’s not to like? I haven’t been in tune with the Olympics this cycle, so I kinda feel outta the loop. Please don’t tell me people are sayin she “acts white” or some shit
At the end of it all she added another Gold medal to the two she won at the last Olympics. I thought she did a great job with the team. People will always have something to say. I hope this doesn’t bring down her confidence as she goes to accomplish other things in and outside of gymnastics.