RIO DE JANEIRO _ U.S. gymnast Gabby Douglas was criticized in some quarters for not placing her hand over her heart during the playing of the national anthem and then got hit hard for a seeming lack of support for teammates Simone Biles and Aly Raisman during their all-around final event.
Douglas responded at length Sunday after finishing seventh in the uneven bars, her only individual event.
"I support them and I'm sorry that I wasn't showing it," Douglas said. "And I should have but for me, it's been a lot. And I've been through a lot. I still love the people who love me. Still love them who hate me. I just got to stand on that."
She also reiterated that she stood at attention in respect for the anthem and wondered why it was perceived as disrespectful. Douglas said she had "no regrets" in coming back for a second Olympics run.
"For me, when you go through a lot and you have so many difficulties and people against you, sometimes, it just determines your character," she said. "Are you going to stand or are you going to crumble? In the face of everything, still stand."
Douglas had sought a "little bit of redemption," on the uneven bars, and like most of her time at the Olympics in Rio, it did not proceed according to plan. She had a small flub on her opening handstand and earned a score of 15.066, well below her 15.776 from qualifying.
The all-around gold medalist from the 2012 London Games will leave Rio with one medal, gold from the team competition.
Her mother, Natalie Hawkins, told Reuters that she felt her daughter was being bullied on social media, noting that hashtag CrabbyGabby was making the rounds on the internet.
"You name it and she got trampled," Hawkins told the wire service.
Douglas referenced some of that and alluded to the nasty remarks made on the internet about her hair from the 2012 Olympics.
"For me, when I read certain comments, I'm just like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa.' That's far from me and far from my personality," she said. "It's the comments and social media and people attacking you, 'Your hair is like, blah, blah, blah.'
"I'm like, 'Did I choose my hair texture? No.' I'm actually grateful for having this hair on my head. Sometimes when you read hurtful stuff, you're like, 'OK, wow.' "
