Right now, Gabby Douglas' hand is probably clutching her Olympic gold medal, but on Tuesday, so-called patriots across the good ole USA were clutching their pearls when they noticed that the gymnast didn't place her hand over her heart during the national anthem.
Many people tweeted that Douglas was being "unpatriotic" and should have "honored" the flag. People even commented about how she wasn't looking at the flag.
After feeling the backlash, Douglas issued her own statement and explained what happened:
"First I want to say thank you everyone for all your support! It’s a huge honor for me to be able to represent #TeamUSA,” Douglas tweeted. “In response to a few tweets I saw tonight, I always stand at attention out of respect for our country whenever the national anthem is played. I never meant any disrespect and apologize if I offended anyone. I’m so overwhelmed at what our team accomplished today and overjoyed that we were able to bring home another gold for our country."
It's always hilarious when people want to shout about being patriotic—in a country that is far from it. Hell, even as a kid, I refused to place my hand over my heart during the anthem. And let's not even talk about saluting the flag.
It's always interesting, the white people who want to shout about patriotism in this country, especially when they think a black person is being unpatriotic. Although we'll never know if Douglas was making a political statement, especially since it was the second anniversary of the death of Mike Brown and came during a time when Black Lives Matter is at the forefront of conversation, Douglas' apology wasn't even necessary.
If I were Douglas, I would have ended that tweet with, "Oh, say, can you see this gold medal, bitches" and dropped the mic.