Gabby Douglas Apologizes After Twitter Reacts To Her Not Placing Hand On Heart During National Anthem

Gabby Douglas became the focus of outrage early Wednesday after she and the rest of the US women’s gymnastics team won gold in the all-around on Tuesday evening.

Gabby Douglas Apologizes

During the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner in the medal ceremony at the Rio Olympic Arena, four of the five members of the US team were shown placing their hands on their hearts. The only one who wasn’t was Douglas, who simply stood, arms at her sides, taking in the immensity of the scene. She also seemed more serious and seemed to slouch more, according to some.

Social media immediately lit up with scores of comments from fans calling out the 20-year-old for being irreverent, disrespectful, and even unpatriotic for not performing the gesture.

Others, however, lauded her for what they interpreted as a protest. One person commended her for what he believed was a statement, exactly two years after Michael Brown was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Douglas eventually took to Twitter herself to respond to the comments, saying she was ‘overwhelmed’–which is arguably understandable for someone her age to feel that way after winning an Olympic gold medal, with millions of fans watching her both live and at home in front of TV screens. She did not claim to be protesting anything. Instead, she simply tweeted:

“In response to a few tweets I saw tonight, I always stand at attention out of respect for our country whenever the national anthem is played. I never meant any disrespect and apologize if I offended anyone. I’m so overwhelmed at what our team accomplished today and overjoyed that we were able to bring home another gold for our country!”

It seems as if Douglas gave a very well-thought-out response. And yet, many still appear unwilling to forgive her. She did not seem to show any sort of emotion during the playing of the anthem, her expression seemingly blank.

Several hours after Douglas’ win on Tuesday night, Michael Phelps nearly cried, then laughed during the end of the anthem following his 200-meter butterfly victory.

Phelps later explained he was laughing at his friends who, as part of a tradition followed by Baltimore Orioles fans, shouted the word “O!” the second time it appears in the anthem. His explanation was accepted and even embraced because he seemed emotional and had his hand over his heart the entire time.

One could debate at length whether or not this is an example of a double-standard. Clearly, not everyone truly agrees on exactly how one should behave during the playing of the national anthem, or on what is considered disrespectful/unpatriotic. However, one can also argue that incidents like the one Douglas was involved in should not take more importance over the athletic accomplishments athletes like her reach during competitive events like the Olympics.

“When it comes to Olympics athlete celebrities, a word to the wise — be careful what you do on the medal stand, you can alienate a lot of your customer base,” said Mark Dyreson, Penn State professor and Olympic scholar.

An official from the US Olympic Committee stated that national-anthem protocol is not included as part of their Olympic athlete orientation, which, given our freedom of expression, makes sense.

“I’m glad we don’t mandate how our athletes should look in any sort of way,” Dyreson said. “In the United States, free speech trumps all.”

Douglas is not the first time an American Olympian has been criticized for being “disrespectful” during the national anthem.

There was the men’s track relay team that clowned on the podium during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Before that, there was the infamous moment in 1972 when track star Dave Wottle forgot to remove his signature ball cap during the entire national anthem.

In both instances, athletes were criticized for committing probably the only true podium crime, that of not taking it seriously.

One things remain certain, nonetheless: Douglas seems to have handled this backlash very well.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 09: (R to L) Gold Medalists Simone Biles, Gabrielle Douglas, Lauren Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Alexandra Raisman of the United States stand on the podium for the national anthem at the medal ceremony for the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Team Final on Day 4 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Rio Olympic Arena on August 9, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)