I know I’m not the first one to say that I love the Olympics, and I definitely know I won’t be the last. It’s that one event everyone waits for every four years, and it really brings our country together. It’s amazing to watch these athletes, young and old, compete for themselves, their team and their country. However, this year I was less than impressed with the poor displays of bad sportsmanship and disrespect that Gabby Douglas has been showing during the first week of the Olympics.
To be an Olympian has to be one of life’s greatest accomplishments. Gabby may have qualified, but she wasn’t the best and simply wasn’t chosen to compete above her other two teammates. However, there is no one who can control the result of her performance but her. No one else, not Americans watching at home, not her coach, not Simone, not Aly, just her. Her other two teammates were simply better than she was, and by the attitudes of the whole team last night, it shows that she didn’t deserve a spot anyways. Not only did I notice her bitterness, but so did other watchers, news teams, and you know what that means? Little girls who want to be an Olympian someday or dream of being a gymnast saw that too. At an event like this, there are millions watching, listening and observing everything that is going on, and it’s hard not to notice Gabby’s awful attitude.
During the all-around individual final, NBC played slow motion of everyone’s reactions to both Aly’s and Simone’s winning floor routines. In each instance, Laurie and Madison stood genuinely cheering and smiling for their teammates as Gabby sat in her seat, uninterested and hardly making an effort to clap. My jaw dropped. How could someone with this amazing opportunity act so careless and distanced? After this, I hoped I’d never have to see Gabby on the floor for America again. I also pulled a photo from Aly’s Instagram that pictured a note congratulating Aly on her win, and you know who didn’t sign it? You guessed it. There might be a text, but that is something for you to decide. Gabby has clearly portrayed bad sportsmanship, and this is something I haven’t seen from any other Olympic team, but America should hold themselves to a higher standard.
I know you may be sick of this one, but the national anthem fiasco is a big deal, but in a different way. So chill out, mainstream media, it’s not about her not placing her hand over her heart. What is frustrating is the clear difference between her and everyone else. Yes, I pulled her apology tweet from Twitter, and there is a clear contrast from her actions and her words. I don’t see standing at attention, I see slumping and looking around in everywhere besides at flag. This argument isn’t about politicians or other athletes at home; I don’t even put my hand over my heart. This is about a team, representing our country with the whole world watching, and one of them clearly sticks out for the rest. I get Gabby is bitter, but you can fake it for a minute or two and at least act proud to be there. There have been countless athletes, Michael Phelps included, crying on the podium during our anthem.
