Poor sportsmanship at Olympics

[Geoff_M]

You see mere seconds of the entire time she was sitting there watching. You have no idea what she was doing the rest of the time. NBC loves to play up the drama.

I think we're seeing a trend develop where social media decides to put a gymnast under the "enthusiasm microscope" based on a photo or video snippet at the Olympics and then assign all sorts of thoughts and attitudes towards them as a result. Remember this one from 2012?:

 

[OhMari]

Simone invited Aly onto the mat!!!!! Aly is known as Grandma to those girls and they walked to their last rotation hand in hand. It is amazing how much people want to tear these girls down. If Simone wanted to go hug anyone else she would have. Aly wasn't holding her captive or trying to push her down.

Go back and look at the replay, and look at Simone. Yep, I am guilty for seeing something that is not there.

 

[cabanafrau]

Very true - and it's not the athlete's fault if they're focused on so much by NBC. The same goes for their family as well.

I know, and I try to remind myself when I'm feeling annoyed who it is that's really annoying me.

Heck, if I was Michael's mom, if I was the mom of anybody competing at the Olympics I would probably be an absolute bundle of anxiety through every competition and bawling my head off with relief and pride at every success. Trust me, nobody wants to see the meme or gif I'd bring to the world stage. No doubt my kids would make sure my behind was securely tied up and stowed in a closet before they set off for the games.

 

[JaneBanks]

Simone just posted this picture of herself and Aly

and captioned it with "Best Friend Goals <3"

I think that sums it up.

 

[pryncess527]

But Aly really made it all about her-while celebrating with Simone. She kept hugging Simone and had her under her arms, like she was pushing her down. I felt like poor Simone was trying to get out from under her.

I watched it again, but I'm not seeing what you are seeing.
FWIW, there is a 6 inch height difference between Aly and Simone, I'm not sure Aly CAN hug her an not be have Simone under her arms, lol

 

[hopemax]

I really don't know much about gymnastics and only casually watch it when Olympics roll around. I know Gabby was a huge deal four years ago when she was even younger and I've heard a few bits and pieces about her over the years. Sounds like she doesn't have what a lot of her teammates do, a solid homelife under her feet to help shelter her from overwhelming attention and fame with such young success and all the baggage that comes with it. That's a lot for anybody to deal with, much more when you're very young and don't have a family to both protect you and rein you in.

And how many times have we heard about people's inner circle, taking advantage of an athlete or celebrities success? We don't know what is going on in her personal life that might be weighing on her. Everyone assumes that winning a Gold medal, and all the fame and sponsorships is such a great thing, but we've heard plenty of stories about the dark side of all that "success." Just last night Michael Phelps was talking about how messed up he felt after the London games when he thought it was all over. He had tied his identity to swimming so much, he didn't know how to be when it was gone. Post athletic career depression should not be underestimated, and it doesn't have to start after the competition is finished. It's rare enough for American gymnasts to survive 2 Olympic cycles, let alone 3, so this period likely represents a big transition for Gabby. What does she do now? Courtney Kupets mentioned on the live stream that training is a full time job, 6 days a week 36 hours at least. And when someone makes a big transition you never know which people will still be there. Her fellow gymnasts and coaches may really be like family, but they have their own paths so how much will they still be there, aside from social media, and catching up from time to time, not people you see daily or monthly in camp. So take that away, and what does her life look like? None of us know if she is leaving Rio to go home to "happily ever after." And then there is the pressures of competition. Aly and Simone look live they have a great support system, and Laurie and Madison seem young enough where this is just an amazing step on the road, and then they go home to school or training or something.

I watched the live stream, and there were definitely moments where when they were finishing routines Gabby was smiling, and seemed genuinely happy for her teammates. More as the day's events progressed. They know her, they'll know when she needs space, and what is normal for her. The rest of them don't seem bothered by Gabby, so I'm not going to let it bother me either.

 

[declansdad]

Hope Solo at the end of today's match.

 

[cabanafrau]

And how many times have we heard about people's inner circle, taking advantage of an athlete or celebrities success? We don't know what is going on in her personal life that might be weighing on her. Everyone assumes that winning a Gold medal, and all the fame and sponsorships is such a great thing, but we've heard plenty of stories about the dark side of all that "success." Just last night Michael Phelps was talking about how messed up he felt after the London games when he thought it was all over. He had tied his identity to swimming so much, he didn't know how to be when it was gone. Post athletic career depression should not be underestimated, and it doesn't have to start after the competition is finished. It's rare enough for American gymnasts to survive 2 Olympic cycles, let alone 3, so this period likely represents a big transition for Gabby. What does she do now? Courtney Kupets mentioned on the live stream that training is a full time job, 6 days a week 36 hours at least. And when someone makes a big transition you never know which people will still be there. Her fellow gymnasts and coaches may really be like family, but they have their own paths so how much will they still be there, aside from social media, and catching up from time to time, not people you see daily or monthly in camp. So take that away, and what does her life look like? None of us know if she is leaving Rio to go home to "happily ever after." And then there is the pressures of competition. Aly and Simone look live they have a great support system, and Laurie and Madison seem young enough where this is just an amazing step on the road, and then they go home to school or training or something.

I watched the live stream, and there were definitely moments where when they were finishing routines Gabby was smiling, and seemed genuinely happy for her teammates. More as the day's events progressed. They know her, they'll know when she needs space, and what is normal for her. The rest of them don't seem bothered by Gabby, so I'm not going to let it bother me either.

Yep, without being able to get into a person's head it's difficult to understand clearly all that's going on. It would be totally normal, human and understandable that someone in her shoes could have something as mundane as a crummy headache that day and it's an effort simply to attend the event, let alone be "on" for the cameras. I think all the HD images and the extensive coverage with details picked up from every possible source give the audience the idea we know a lot more of the reality and the totality of the circumstances than we do.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

If you've watched any of Phelps' swimming over the last 8 years, you'd know that he always, always celebrates a win passionately. He shouts, he smiles, he gets involved with the crowd, he's an intense guy, pretty much in every way. His celebration was just that, an intense guy celebrating. He didn't look over to the other swimmer and rub it in his face, he was happy. The finger wagging was a great support to Lily King and the whole "winning clean" episode, because Phelps also doesn't use performance enhancing drugs, heck, if anything, he smokes weed so he can mellow out!

From my perspective, the only "bad sportsmanship" I've seen is by the network because they continually put chryons over the men's divers to make it look like we're watching a porn flick. Otherwise I haven't really watched much of the Olympics.

 

[King Schultz]

Hope Solo at the end of today's match.

No doubt about that. . . she reinforced every negative feeling about her.

 

[Diznygrl]

As someone who is short (even shorter than Simone, actually), I know what it's like to be hugged by taller people and that's exactly how it is. You can't help but have your head pulled into their chest or whatever. It's not an intentional move to try and "push the person down".


Anyway, speaking of sportsmanship...this probably doesn't count, but I'm watching women's volleyball right now (US vs. Italy) and the crowd systematically boos loudly every time the US serves. This is not the first time I've witnessed this during this volleyball tournament, and it doesn't seem to matter who the US is playing against, they always get booed. Anyone know what's up with that?

 

[Disney_traveler]

As someone who is short (even shorter than Simone, actually), I know what it's like to be hugged by taller people and that's exactly how it is. You can't help but have your head pulled into their chest or whatever. It's not an intentional move to try and "push the person down".


Anyway, speaking of sportsmanship...this probably doesn't count, but I'm watching women's volleyball right now (US vs. Italy) and the crowd systematically boos loudly every time the US serves. This is not the first time I've witnessed this during this volleyball tournament, and it doesn't seem to matter who the US is playing against, they always get booed. Anyone know what's up with that?

As someone who is short (even shorter than Simone, actually), I know what it's like to be hugged by taller people and that's exactly how it is. You can't help but have your head pulled into their chest or whatever. It's not an intentional move to try and "push the person down".


Anyway, speaking of sportsmanship...this probably doesn't count, but I'm watching women's volleyball right now (US vs. Italy) and the crowd systematically boos loudly every time the US serves. This is not the first time I've witnessed this during this volleyball tournament, and it doesn't seem to matter who the US is playing against, they always get booed. Anyone know what's up with that?

It's like chattering at a baseball game. Trying to psych out the server and get a net ball.

 

[Allison]

Simone invited Aly onto the mat!!!!! Aly is known as Grandma to those girls and they walked to their last rotation hand in hand. It is amazing how much people want to tear these girls down. If Simone wanted to go hug anyone else she would have. Aly wasn't holding her captive or trying to push her down.

I agree. Simone gestured to her to come to the mat. I don't see what the other poster saw at all.

 

[Pixie Dust ✨]

I think we're seeing a trend develop where social media decides to put a gymnast under the "enthusiasm microscope" based on a photo or video snippet at the Olympics and then assign all sorts of thoughts and attitudes towards them as a result. Remember this one from 2012?:

To be fair, I saw behavior from McKayla Maroney (refusing to hug the other girls, rolling her eyes when they tried to comfort her, scowling) that I would consider poor sportsmanship while I saw nothing of the sort from any of the Final Five OR from Michael Phelps.

 

[leebee]

I feel badly for Gabby Douglas. She is a victim of "stupid rules" just like Aly was at the last Olympics. Simone, Aly, and Gabby ALL scored over 60 points and were the top three scorers in the all-around preliminaries, but because the Olympics has the "only 2 competitors per country" rule, Gabby had to sit out and watch gymnasts who scored lower than she compete. It might be "the rule," and I'm sure she's aware of it, but it seems pretty unfair and is a bitter pill to swallow. As far as Gabby not having her hand over her heart during the national anthem? That's just silly. It's a song, not a pledge. When I was growing up, nobody ever put their hands over their hearts for the anthem. While it's become customary for many to do so, it's not an issue worth arguing. MANY people display the flag in all sorts of ways that are considered disrespectful ("No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform," "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel") and nobody gets their panties in a bunch over that. (quotations from https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-109sdoc18/pdf/CDOC-109sdoc18.pdf)

 

[gwynne]

I feel badly for Gabby Douglas. She is a victim of "stupid rules" just like Aly was at the last Olympics. Simone, Aly, and Gabby ALL scored over 60 points and were the top three scorers in the all-around preliminaries, but because the Olympics has the "only 2 competitors per country" rule, Gabby had to sit out and watch gymnasts who scored lower than she compete. It might be "the rule," but it seems pretty unfair. As far as Gabby not having her hand over her heart during the national anthem? That's just silly. It's a song, not a pledge. When I was growing up, nobody ever put their hands over their hearts for the anthem. While it's become customary for many to do so, it's not an issue worth arguing. MANY people display the flag in all sorts of ways that are considered disrespectful ("No part of the flag should ever be used as a costume or athletic uniform," "The flag should never be used as wearing apparel") and nobody gets their panties in a bunch over that. (quotations from https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-109sdoc18/pdf/CDOC-109sdoc18.pdf)

Amen to this. Hand over the heart has become a new tradition, and that's fine. But you shouldn't get extra bonus point for doing it, and you shouldn't get demerits for not doing it.
The "old" way was to stand respectfully, quietly and still, with your hands by your side. I can't count the number of times I did just that at retreat on a military installation.
Now, I place my hand over my heart, mostly because it's the expected new tradition.

 

[Albort]

So it's NBC's fault that Gabby didn't look supportive of her teammates? That's how I perceived her the past few nights. Sure she's under pressure and no one knows how they would react but from what I've seen, limited as it may be, I think she's not handling it well.

to add to that, shes at the event... isnt that supportive?

 

[Owlpost23]

No, I don't hate Phelps, I just know the bare minimum about him, really. I agree with everyone who says he's an amazing athlete..there's no denying that. It's my opinion though, that he's grandstanding a bit too much.

It ain't bragging if you can back it up...

 

[Diznygrl]

It's like chattering at a baseball game. Trying to psych out the server and get a net ball.

Yeah, I get that, but I've been watching a lot of volleyball and they ONLY seem to do that to the US. I was just wondering if there was any particular reason why they were so hated above any other team. I'm assuming because they've always been so dominant in the sport and other countries are tired of it, but I still think it's kind of obnoxious. If you're going to boo, at least be an equal opportunity booer!!

 

[bcla]

I thought I posted this earlier, but can't find it. The Chinese swimmer Sun Yang is pretty notorious for doing stuff like annoying other swimmers before a race or during training time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/12/world/asia/rio-sun-yang-mack-horton-olympics.html