Gabby Douglas bullied on social media; Despite gold medals for her country she's accused of jealousy & lack of patriotism

Christian gymnast Gabrielle "Gabby" Douglas is not new to being under the harsh spotlight of social media users, having received criticism regarding her hair during the 2012 London Olympics in which she bagged the gold. At the Rio Olympics, the bombardment has gone to the extreme and has been tough for the 20-year-old athlete.

Rather than celebrate her achievement as the first African-American gymnast who won the Olympic all-around title during the 2012 London Olympics, Douglas was bullied and attacked on Twitter for her hair. 

In the Rio Olympics, her gold medal still was not enough to win over her critics. Through Douglas' help, Team USA won first place in the team all-around competition with a score of 185.238. However, Douglas' contribution to the "Final Five" was overshadowed by accusations of her being unpatriotic to her country.

Harsh criticism was targeted at Douglas after she was seen not putting her hand over her heart while the U.S. national anthem played in the gold medal award ceremony. Critics said she lacked patriotism by not doing so. While a standing ovation for teammates Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, was given by the other two members of the Final Five, Douglas was seen celebrating without standing up, and yet another wave of criticism hit Douglas on social media, with some claiming this showed she was jealous of Biles and Raisman.

Natalie Hawkins, Douglas' mother, told Reuters, "I don't think respecting your country or your flag boils down to whether you put your hand over your heart or not. It's in your actions towards your country, how well are you abiding by its laws, how well are you helping your fellow citizens."

Natalie relayed that she was with the military for 30 years and her husband was a veteran of the Vietnam War. This led them to raise their daughter Gabby in a military community.

Military members, Natalie said, either stand in attention or salute when the U.S. anthem is played. It was an insult to say that Gabby lacked patriotism because of the upbringing of her military family.

It was all unwanted attention, Natalie shared. "Gabrielle's had her heart broken, but she's determined she will go out [on Sunday] and she knows she still has a job to do for Team USA. It's a huge honor for me to be her mother as she's the bravest person I know," she added.