As if the rigors of intense gymnastics training weren't stressful enough, Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas says she also dealt with bullying by her teammates so troubling that it almost drove her to quit the sport.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Sunday on Oprah's Next Chapter, Gabby told the host that, before she moved to Iowa to work with coach Liang Chow, she felt isolated at her Virginia Beach gym and was even called a "slave" by fellow gymnasts. From Us Weekly:
Now 16 and in possession of two gold medals, Douglas (with mom Natalie Hawkins) told Oprah Winfrey on Sunday's Oprah's Next Chapter about the less-than-ideal atmosphere at a local gym. "One of my teammates was like, 'Can you scrape the bar?' And they were like, 'Why doesn't Gabby do it, she's our slave?'"
"I definitely felt isolated, I felt why am I deserving this? Is it because I'm black? Those thoughts would go through my mind," said the champ, who became the first-ever African-American to win the coveted All-Around trophy. The teasing got so bad that, at age 14, Douglas threatened to quit the sport altogether if they couldn't move away and find a new coach.
"I felt like I was bullied and isolated from the group, and they treated me not how they would treat the other teammates," Douglas admitted.
Indeed, Douglas eventually did move to Des Moines, Iowa, in order to train at Liang Chow's gym, where fellow Olympic champ Shawn Johnson trained.
Watch a clip of the interview here:
It's a story that makes her rise to success even more impressive.
Source at The Root.
Edited at 2012-08-28 03:55 pm (UTC)
Because people like that? delusional little shits whose first lesson in life was to reframe everything so that nothing challenges their thinking.
Edited at 2012-08-28 04:48 pm (UTC)
Edited at 2012-08-28 04:08 pm (UTC)
Though the title was rather misleading. I thought it was referring to the US Women's team, and that doesn't seem to be the case. Just some small minded people at a gym who if it had any rep just lost it.
Alas, probably not. She went to a well-known gym and, well.
Is Des Moines any better in general, curious because I have friends who want to move and Virginia came up as an option.
Uggh, I'm sl glad she didn't quit and I hope those racist shitfucks are drowing in jealousy.
I'm glad that Gabby was able to rise above all the racism and bullying and go on to become the fantastic gymnast that she is. Hope that all those girls who made fun of her are overcome with a lot of jealousy.
I think the first way frames racism as this nebulous obstacle for people of color to defeat rather than an institutional oppression it's the responsibility of white people to fix.
I didn't even watch Olympics so I only know her from this article, but she seems like a strong young woman. I hope her the best.
I was about to post all the reasons why Gabby is flawless and awesome, but you know what? It doesn't matter. Even if she were the meanest, nastiest person to ever grace the face of the planet, this shit would still not be okay.
Dayum.
ETA: Good on her for sticking it out. Which makes the kerfuffle around her hair even more of a gobsmack.
Edited at 2012-08-28 07:07 pm (UTC)
And really good for her coming out about this. I'm sure it was not an easy thing to talk about publicly.