First, they love Gabby, then they passive-aggressively hate Gabby, and then they love her again.
Gabby Douglas is undoubtedly the most talked about athlete of the 2012 Olympics, but not for being the first African American female to win a gold medal for all around gymnasts.
We’ve talked about Gabby’s hair, her alleged deadbeat daddy, her mother’s financial situation, oh and how could I forget, Gabby’s individual uniform isn’t even patriotic enough!
Every day for the past week, there has been a new sensationalized story about Gabrielle Douglas and her family.
After landing herself in the history books, Gabby found herself at the center of a hair-raising debate.
I don’t quite understand how a few Twitter comments about Gabby’s hair becomes the front-page headline on the New York Post?
The issue of Gabby’s hair was an observation, but nothing worth writing countless articles about or sparking a polarizing debate on national TV.
The New York Post posted an article today stating that Gabby’s dad, an Air Force Sergeant stationed in Afghanistan named Timothy Douglas, is a deadbeat dad.
Although I doubt this story has any validity, why is it even up for national debate?
While the New York Post is running a story about Gabby’s deadbeat dad, the New York Daily News is running a story about how Gabby and her father Skype despite being a world away.
Not to mention that Timothy Douglas came to her competition in San Jose, California before she headed to London for the Olympic games earlier this summer.
Besides Gabby’s apparent daddy issues, the media, Fox News in particular, is questioning Gabby’s patriotism, citing her “uniform” isn’t patriotic enough because it’s not red, white and blue.
Is this some kind of political propaganda?
What’s next for the media? Someone running a story asking for Gabby Douglas’ birth certificate to prove her U.S. citizenship?
Stop it already. Enough is enough!
The media has somehow passive-aggressively bullied Gabby Douglas by sensationalizing every possible stereotype that plagues African Americans.
From insinuating Gabby’s a nappy-headed black girl, to the stereotypes of young black people growing up fatherless, Gabby Douglas is nothing but a hardworking dedicated teenager trying to fulfill her destiny and create an inspirational narrative around her own American dream.
It seems like all the media attacks are just the penalty of leadership, but Gabby Douglas deserves nothing more than support and love.
She is doing her damndest to make our country proud and what does the media give her in return?
A bunch of bad press. Shame on you.
Brittany Lewis is the Music Editor at GlobalGrind and a Howard University Alumna. Brittany considers herself seasoned on all the pop culture ish that matters. Follow her on Twitter @Buttercup_B.
