Olympian Gabby Douglas: Teammates Called Me a Slave

By Jenée Desmond-Harris for theRoot.com

As if the rigors of intense gymnastics training weren’t stressful enough, Olympic gold medalist Gabby Douglas says she also dealt with bullying by her teammates so troubling that it almost drove her to quit the sport.

In an interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Sunday on Oprah’s Next Chapter, Gabby told the host that, before she moved to Iowa to work with coach Liang Chow, she felt isolated at her Virginia Beach gym and was even called a “slave” by fellow gymnasts.

Read more here.

Douglas later became the first Black gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal.

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