Twelve years ago, at the 2012 London Olympics, Gabby Douglas earned the Olympic individual all-around wearing a hot pink metallic leotard. She became the first American woman gymnast of color, the fourth American woman, and the third American woman in succession to achieve the feat. However, her next Olympics trip to Rio was limited to an impressive bar routine in the team event finals, as she scored second-best. The reason? A flood of insults and online harassment engulfed her days before the Olympic appearance.

Later, Gabby Douglas’s mother, Natalie Hawkins, asked a heartbreaking question: “What did she ever do to anyone?” Now, as the three-time Olympian prepares for her Olympic comeback, an old video of her mother from 2016 resurfaced, which discloses an unknown side of Gabby Douglas.

Gabby Douglas’ mother’s message to haters

Following Team USA’s gold medal victory, Gabby’s appearance—including her hair—became the target of unfair mockery; she was said to be not patriotic enough when she didn’t cover her heart during the national anthem. The criticisms peaked when she was forced to explain her position as a good teammate in the face of accusations that she wasn’t showing enough joy when cheering for colleagues Simone Biles and Aly Raisman.

After the incident, Natalie Hawkins discussed these problems and the toll it took on her daughter in a 2016 YouTube video by Inside Edition (Douglas appeared as a correspondent at their 2014 Super Bowl.) Hawkins told IE, “It’s hard because her nature is so giving and so kind; she’s literally a very tender-hearted person, and so she was devastated.”

Her mother’s question to media post-Games—“What had Gabby ever done to deserve such harsh treatment?”—echoed louder than ever when Douglas suffered backlash following her seventh-place result in the uneven bars. With water under the bridge, it looks like Douglas is powered to take charge of the Olympics mats once again.

Gymnastics veteran returns to the mats

Despite the emotional impact and the long absence, Gabby Douglas has returned to the competitive arena in 2023. She will return to the elite mats at the upcoming USA Gymnastics Winter Cup in Louisville, Kentucky, ending the criticism that plagued her Rio performance. Talking about her motivation to join back, Douglas said, “I was watching the 2022 [U.S.] championships, and I was like, ‘Man, I miss competing.'”

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