Gabby Douglas ' racism claims against her former training gym have been met with anger by the gym owners. The two-time Olympic gold medallist conducted an interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which she spoke openly about the racism that she claims she suffered whilst she trained at the gym in Virginia Beach. But representatives from the Excalibur gym have vehemently denied her claims that she suffered any racism whilst she trained there. Instead, they have suggested that Gabby may even be making up the allegations.
During the interview, 16 year-old Douglas gave examples of the abuse that she suffered at the gym, explaining "One of my teammates was like, 'Can you scrape the bar?' And they were like, 'Why doesn't Gabby do it, she's our slave?'" She told Winfrey "I definitely felt isolated, I felt 'why am I deserving this? Is it because I'm black?'" Douglas - who became the first African American to win the All-round gold medal at the Olympics - threatened to give up gymnastics altogether if she could not move to another training facility.
However, her claims have been met with anger. The Ceo of Excalibur Gymnastics, Gustavo Maure made a statement to E! News and said that her allegations were "hurtful without merit" and added "Is Gabrielle a credible person just because she is an Olympic Champion? She is not giving any names or dates, leading us to believe that the accusation is fake."