Gabrielle Douglas: "I Was Bullied, & My Virginia Ex-Teammates Called Me A 'Slave'"

Gabrielle with her Team USA mates (who didn't call her a 'slave')

Since Miss Douglas publicly stated that she prefers to be called Gabrielle, we're honoring her wish. This story reminds me of a classic Booker T. Washington quote: The individual who can do something that the world wants done will, in the end, make his way regardless of his race. While her Virginia ex-teammates remain unknown, Miss Douglas has two Olympic gold medals, is the cover girl for Kellogg's Corn Flakes and raking in endorsements, and been all over our television sets. From theGrio: "In her highly-anticipated sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey on Oprah’s Next Chapter, Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas spoke candidly about the bullying, taunts and racism she endured from her fellow gymnasts on her historic rise to the top."

Ex-teammates even expected her to clean up after them: "She says that the she experienced the most disrespect at her hometown gym in [Virginia Beach,] Virginia, where she alleges that another girl once quipped that Douglas was her 'slave.' 'I definitely felt isolated. I felt, why am I deserving this?' said Douglas. 'Is it because I’m black? Like, those thoughts would go through my mind.' The unpleasant atmosphere in Virginia forced Douglas to relocate to Iowa [at age 14], where her career really began to take off."

The New York Daily News provides some more information about Ms. Douglas's interview with Oprah Winfrey: "'The 16-year-old's mother, Natalie Hawkins, also sat in on the Oprah interview, and chimed in that Douglas had brought up the bullying before, though the young gymnast kept a lot of things to herself. 'There were some things that were going on that she was sharing with me and some things that she wasn't because she knew how I would react,' Hawkins told the talk show host. But the concerned mother recognized that the problem was something bigger when, at age 14, Douglas told her that she’d reached a breaking point. 'She said, 'I'd rather quit. If I can't move and train and get another coach, I'd rather quit the sport,'' Hawkins said."