WAG Gabby Douglas movie on lifetime next Saturday.

[txgymfan]

There is still hope for both of them ( Bieber and Gabby) but I don't like the path they are on. The real movie of the week would be Gabby and her mom going back to school ( while still doing appearances) and making amends to the people she hurt along the way.

Dunno, I wasn't sure if Nastia was still in school. Alicia also went to Brown and Sam is a Junior at UCLA and on a gym scholarship. Six years out the Beijing team is doing great! There are many older gymnasts that are still in the gym coaching, owning gyms or successful in other areas. They are some of the inspiring role models for young gymnasts to follow.

 

[billise]

I don't get the feeling that her mom is a bad person. I just think her family has found themselves in a situation that they have no idea how to navigate, both socially and financially. Most of the highly successful gymnasts that we see come from, at the very least middle to upper middle class backgrounds (the shear expense of the sport typically demands that). For most families, the rise up the socioeconomic ladder is a gradual one that allows time to learn and adjust to new financial circumstances as well as new social circles/situations. For most, those adjustment happen in a much less public fashion. For Gabby and her family things happened over night and they are having to learn and a adjust publicly. As I stated in a previous thread, as the mother of a black gymnast, I had major issues with the way Gabby's mother handled Excalibur and with the families allegations of racism. But I am speaking as a highly educated woman with decades of experience dealing with corporate/professional environments and people. My experiences have taught me how to handle difficult situations in a responsible and dignified manner, but I am very glad I didn't have to go through that learning curve in front of the world!

I was also born and raised in Southern California and I know that the SoCal lifestyle can eat you alive. I truly hope they are able to get a handle on things before they blow through that young lady's money. Their financial background has not prepared them to handle that type of money and I don't think they have a clue how fast that money will disappear. All that being said, I do not think Gabby's a "bad role model" and I'm rooting for her (along with the rest of the "Fab 5") both as a gymnast and as a person!

 

[BlairBob]

I watched the trailer and it actually peaked my interest despite my knowledge of what Gabby and her mom have done. Personally, I think Gabby is just naive and heck she's young (aka dumb about the world). I know both her and her dad were fighting over her and mom probably thought that if her daughter had a chance to be an olympian it would be a big cash cow.

Gabby is probably training just like Shawn and Nastia were, lol. A front to keep up the image. TBH, who would take her after treating Chow's that way? Her best option may just be setting up her own gym to keep training up. Tough. A better option would be to escape and see about staying with the Karolyis.

She just turned 18 so maybe she can move away from her mom but that is a TOUGH decision.

 

[happychaos]

After reading many of the comments, I think it's safe to say that we gymnastics fans hold our athletes to a higher standard than fans of most other sports. Which is a GREAT thing. I do not agree with the lifestyle that Gabby is now living, or the dishonesty in her past. I despise the "celebrity" culture of athletics (mostly basketball and football).

But, I do give her a bit more leeway in her current situation than I would give someone from a different background. Although I can't speak specifically to her situation, there is a huge "celebrity sports star" culture among the poor (and often minority) families in my city. The young men see professional basketball or football as a way (often the only way) to "make it". The dream revolves more around the money and lifestyle than actually achieving greatness in their sport. For example, my DD has many dreams about gymnastics, but none of them revolve around money or fame. A young man from less ideal circumstances may also have dreams about a future in sports, but much of that dream revolves around the "rich celebrity" mentality. Another example of this is the college athlete who invests little energy in school because he cannot see any value in an education when he is planning to be a rich and famous basketball player.

I wonder if Gabby's family might be influenced by these ideals, and acting accordingly. I'm not suggesting that Gabby was in gymnastics to become rich and famous, but I think that since it happened, her background might incline her behave a little differently than gymnasts who've become famous in the past.

 

[Terry]

After reading many of the comments, I think it's safe to say that we gymnastics fans hold our athletes to a higher standard than fans of most other sports. Which is a GREAT thing. I do not agree with the lifestyle that Gabby is now living, or the dishonesty in her past. I despise the "celebrity" culture of athletics (mostly basketball and football).

But, I do give her a bit more leeway in her current situation than I would give someone from a different background. Although I can't speak specifically to her situation, there is a huge "celebrity sports star" culture among the poor (and often minority) families in my city. The young men see professional basketball or football as a way (often the only way) to "make it". The dream revolves more around the money and lifestyle than actually achieving greatness in their sport. For example, my DD has many dreams about gymnastics, but none of them revolve around money or fame. A young man from less ideal circumstances may also have dreams about a future in sports, but much of that dream revolves around the "rich celebrity" mentality. Another example of this is the college athlete who invests little energy in school because he cannot see any value in an education when he is planning to be a rich and famous basketball player.

I wonder if Gabby's family might be influenced by these ideals, and acting accordingly. I'm not suggesting that Gabby was in gymnastics to become rich and famous, but I think that since it happened, her background might incline her behave a little differently than gymnasts who've become famous in the past.

these are some good points. The big difference though between gymnastics and baseball, football, basketball, is that in the latter 3 sports there really is very significant earning potential. Even the Olympic gymnasts (thats 5 every 4 years) do not come anywhere near to earning what those other athletes earn. Their lifespan is so short and gymnastics does not have nearly the same wide fan base. 2 years from now there will be another group of girls going to the Olympics and they will get the attention and endorsements that the Fierce Five are getting now. It is just not a sport where you can go to get rich and famous.

So the young Olympic gymnasts need very good guidance. Sure they can make some money after the Olympics -- or they may prefer, like Kyla Ross, not to go pro and get a college scholarship. But mostly what they need to be doing is learning business savvy, and developing skills for their post-gymnastics life. Otherwise its like the many lottery winners who are broke a few years after winning millions.