The Truth About Why Gabby Douglas Caught Heat at the 2016 Rio Olympics

Worldview
August 18, 2016
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I like Gabby Douglas. She’s personable. She’s great at what she does. She’s a team player. And she really cares about her work – which is why I choose to believe that her not putting her hand on her heart for the national anthem or her downcast demeanor has been center stage of commentary of her person in the media. I mean, if you really wanted to win but for some reason you just were not putting out at the level you believed you could, you would probably be downcast too. Oh yeah…and the other thing that’s gained more attention than her performance was her hair.

Here you have a world-class athlete who was once everything you could have dreamed of. And now she’s a crabby, salty, shaky person? How did that happen? And is Simone Biles next up as the next target of this kind of character assassination?

I don’t buy it and in fact, I’ve once been Gabby. I’ve been the person people on a so-called professional team hated simply because they needed someone to hate and blame. Simply because I made the mistake of being a human being with feelings and allowing those feelings to show on my face. And when I finally caught on to what was going on and refused to play that role, the heat from the hate was turned up even more.

I’m not going to say it’s because of race. I’m not going to say it’s because of gender. But what I will say is that I don’t believe a bad attitude is the truth about why Gabby Douglas caught heat at the 2016 Rio Olympics. I believe the truth is that people can be vicious – especially when you are doing things they can’t do or when you’re doing it better than they do.

Ask soon to be former President Barak Obama. Ask soon to be former FLOTUS Michelle Obama. You couldn’t have found a more personable and competent pair to place in the White House…yet it seems that President Obama could be the most or one of the most hated presidents in the history of the United States. And whether you agree with his leadership or not, you cannot dispute that he achieved things that few other presidents did. Yet, he was hated. Why? Because people are vicious and they lay it on thick when they think they can get away with it.

I would have loved for Gabby to have walked away from this realizing the truth. Which is that most of the people who accused her of being salty, crabby and having an unkempt appearance really do not matter as it pertains to her future. I would have loved it if Gabby had some type of ritual to build herself up on the inside from vicious attacks designed to tear her down. But her response to it all – tears and confusion – just goes to show that she’s NOT the person she’s been made out to be.

So instead of focusing on ridiculous claims of Gabby’s supposedly bad attitude, hair or unpatriotic behavior. I’m going to support Gabby, like Gabby and at every opportunity showcase why she’s a human being. A young woman who is a world-class athlete who cares very much about her profession. Here’s to Gabby the overcomer.