RIO DE JANEIRO -- At the risk of allowing the internet trolls and conspiracy theorists to enjoy one more little frisson of undeserved recognition about what ugly little pieces of work they are, this needs to be said as simply and loudly as possible:
American gymnast Gabby Douglas has nothing to apologize for about her podium behavior during the playing of the national anthem Tuesday, after the U.S. women's gymnastics team won the gold medal.
Get off her back.
The gripes that Douglas looked a little "distracted" during the playing of the anthem, or didn't put her hand over her heart like the rest of her teammates -- that's the complaint? Seriously, that's it? That's what sparked a feeding frenzy that has metastasized into some even more ludicrous conjecture that Douglas' decision to stand with her arms at her side was some sort of "protest" gesture because ... well, why? Because she's black?
It's absurd. It speaks more to the fatuous junk that passes for "news" today and the ugly tenor of racial politics in the U.S. and beyond than it does anything Douglas is actually "guilty" of. But that didn't stop the story from going viral for more than a day. Which also would be laughable, if Douglas didn't feel so badly she posted a statement on Twitter saying she hoped she didn't offend anyone. She also reasserted how much she considers representing the U.S. an honor.
Anyone who knows anything about Douglas knows she has done nothing to contradict those claims.
Douglas has been exemplary during her U.S. national team career, both in London in 2012, when she became the first African-American gymnast to win the Olympic all-around, and again here in Rio, even though she's now a role player on the team instead of its unabashed star.
#GoUSA?? #TeamUSA?? #FinalFive?? ???????????????????? pic.twitter.com/vzhFZxYOWb
- Gabrielle Douglas (@gabrielledoug) August 10, 2016
Her groundbreaking win in 2012 was as unexpected as her performance was sensational. She was an effervescent, talented kid of 16 back then who became an instant role model. She's a tender, talented woman of 20 now who pauses before she speaks, being thoughtful and respectful.
Like teammate Aly Raisman, who is 22, Douglas took some time off after the London Games, then made a comeback to the world-class level that has been more grueling than anyone will ever know.
Both of them are tough, tough athletes. But Douglas is also a sensitive person, and it has been a little melancholy to watch how the constant questions about her status on the U.S. team have drained a little joy out of the whole journey for her these last few weeks of her career, even before she got here to Rio. Nobody on the team seems to be asked to defend themselves more, right down to how she styles her hair. She doesn't deserve it.
National team coordinator Martha Karolyi and her Olympic selection committee have great discretion in picking the final team, and Karolyi in particular believed in Douglas' ability so much, she kept Douglas on this Olympic team though a couple other gymnasts posted higher scores than she did at the U.S. national championships and, weeks later, again at the two-day U.S. Olympic trials. What nobody knew until afterward was Douglas, who finished second behind Simone Biles at last year's world championships, had suffered an unannounced knee injury that wasn't revealed until after the trials when she heard her mother, Natalie Hawkins, finally disclosed it to a few reporters.
Douglas, overhearing her, groaned, "Aw, mom ..." as if she didn't approve.
Douglas refused to make excuses then. And she has gone on to vindicate Karlolyi's trust at every turn since. So again, get off her back.
Tuesday, she was part of a team effort that hit all 12 of the routines without a notable mistake. The U.S. won by the most impressive margin of victory ever, given the era they compete in. Douglas also scored high enough on the uneven bars to make the individual finals Saturday. And if there wasn't a limit of two gymnasts per country in the individual all-around competition that Biles won Thursday, Douglas would have been here, too, because she had the third-best overall qualifying score. She would've had the chance to defend her all-around title and compete with Biles and Raisman for a U.S. medal sweep.
"Yeah, it'll be a little weird to watch," Douglas allowed with a smile Tuesday, "but I'll be cheering my heart out for Simone and Aly to win."
So that's just a little of the backstory about what Douglas went through by the time she arrived on the medal podium Tuesday. It's perfectly understandable if she was feeling a mix of joy, exhaustion, nostalgia and melancholy all at once. ("A tornado of emotions," in Biles' words.)
Douglas had just experienced the beginning of the end of her gymnastics career. She knew her life-altering reign as Olympic all-around champ was officially over.
Douglas had talked for weeks before Rio about how she wanted to try to remember this Olympics, because everything was "a blur" in London. Hopefully that's where she'll assign the criticism of her medal podium appearance when these Games are over. The only thought Gabby Douglas should have as she walks away from Rio is she's one of the best, most admirable Olympic gymnasts the United States has had.