Gabby Douglas Comeback Thread (New goal: LA 2028)

[RichardL]

Agreed – sorry about the shorthand!

 

[JaJa]

Maybe she’s reconsidering plans that would now mean having to deal with Biles’ drama/bullying again.

Wow. How did Simone “bully” Gabby??? Maybe Gabby’s isolation on the Rio team had more to do with her attitude towards the other athletes. She appears not to be friends with anyone.

 

[rlayt]

Nothing that wasn’t public. Biles’s multiple attacks on Douglas on twitter. Douglas’ isolation on the Rio team (who was ringleading that?) Both Cecile Landi and Biles repeatedly insisting that Nichols deserved to be on the Rio team over Douglas.

The only thing I remember seeing was the kerfuffle when Gabby said women had a responsibility to prevent SA by dressing modestly.

 

[Passion]

 

[JaJa]

How is that “bullying”? Its true that none of the athletes seemed to get along with Gabby. That does NOT mean she was 'bullied." Nor is it “bullying” to say that another athlete deserved the spot more.
And sometimes people don’t like a person for very good reason.

 

[Passion]

Nor is it “bullying” to say that another athlete deserved the spot more. And sometimes people don’t like a person for very good reason.

There was quite a different reaction when Skinner thought she should be on the team over Douglas

Biles (and her coach) directly saying Nichols should have been on the team over Douglas and that Nichols deserved to be on that team is okay though. They must ‘have a very good reason’ for disliking her, so it’s okay. I’m sure Douglas has no hard feelings, as long as people have a very good reason for disliking her, they can say whatever they like.

You can believe whatever you want. Douglas may feel differently about how she’s been treated.

 

[MaryClare]

Gabby seemed a bit isolated on the 2012 team too. I think she’s just quite a reserved person. But I wouldn’t blame Aly for wanting to avoid her

 

[irichluck21]

As I used to say when I was a classroom teacher to parents all of the time:
The word “bullying” is overly used. Mean behavior is not bullying. There are very specific laws about what constitutes true bullying.

Some little twitter tiff is not bullying, but mean girl antics, if anything.

 

[Passion]

As I used to say when I was a classroom teacher to parents all of the time:
The word “bullying” is overly used. Mean behavior is not bullying. There are very specific laws about what constitutes true bullying.

Jesus Christ.

 

[JaJa]

Agreed. And disliking someone is for sure not “bullying.” And when people who are liked by everyone and who get along with everyone – like Aly Raisman – avoid a person , its likely an indication that the problem is with that person. As opposed to everyone else.

 

[YurchenkoLoop]

Biles (and her coach) directly saying Nichols should have been on the team over Douglas

Not to keep derailing but you’ve mentioned this a couple of times and I have no recollection of this. Can you provide evidence?

I’m shocked people are thinking Skinner would’ve been more viable. McCallum had been somewhat of a question mark because of injury but then she proved herself at the domestic selection meets. She didn’t have the best competition in Tokyo, but obviously she was better for a 4 person team because of her UB and BB strength

 

[Passion]

Maybe I’m looking at it from a different perspective, since 20 years later I can still remember every word my bullies said to me. 20 years later it really doesn’t matter to me if the mean things that were said and done met the criteria of the specific laws about what constitutes bullying. It was damaging either way.

Or maybe we’re forgetting the context surrounding the time Biles sent that tweet to Douglas. During and after Rio Douglas was being attacked by the general public for her hair, being attacked for not putting her hand on her heart for the national anthem, was being attacked for people thinking she wasn’t cheering enough on the sidelines. Everything this girl did was being criticized, and here comes Biles out of no where jumping on a positive tweet that had nothing to do with her to complain about Douglas’ text response times. What was even the point of that?

 

[blake]

I believe you can register for classic without being qualified yet. In theory, she could attend the July camp and verify routines there, but I’m not sure if the registration deadline has passed.

 

[JaJa]

Gabby seemed a bit isolated on the 2012 team too. I think she’s just quite a reserved person. But I wouldn’t blame Aly for wanting to avoid her

I remember that documentary of Aly in 2012, “Going for the Gold” and how after they were selected for the Olympic Team all the girls went to Aly’s room for a little celebration (and filming) – all but Gabby that is. I could be very wrong but my sense was then, and still is, that Gabby just held herself apart from and above everyone else and that tendency grew after she won the AA in London. Again, when pretty much none of your peers seems to like you its rarely everyone else who is at fault.

 

[RichardL]

Agreed. She made crucial mistakes in Tokyo, while Skinner had the meet of her life in qualifications. But McCallum was still the best choice, even as we will likely be litigating this until the end of time.

 

[Passion]

Gabby just held herself apart from and above everyone else

 

[YurchenkoLoop]

They were children. I don’t think who did what to whom from nearly a decade ago is all that relevant. Nor do I think we can make any determinations about egos; we’re just speculating

God forbid Biles refer to herself with the nickname that the whole country calls her

 

[Sasha]

Thank you, and to @RedBirdie. So basically, she could register for Classic yet if the registration deadline hasn’t passed; otherwise, she’d need to rely on the powers that be to allow her to get into the Nationals/Worlds/National team pipeline by other means. Assuming 1) that she wants to compete international elite, and 2) that she wants to do it this year, neither of which is confirmed.

As for her relationship with Simone, can we just acknowledge that Rio was seven years ago? I don’t see the point of trying to determine what was or wasn’t bullying in 2016 when both these women have presumably grown and matured since. IF they both end up competing and IF there appears to be an ongoing problem I’ll start worrying about it then. I just don’t get the appeal of re-litigating seven-year-old tweets.

Edit: typo

 

[JaJa]

Simone being proud of being recognized as the GOAT is not at ALL the same thing. The fact is Simone got along very well with her teammates and has long term friendships with some of them. As opposed to Gabby being friends with no one

 

[Passion]

Yes, Simone famously never sent a million twitter followers to go after any of her teammates.