UPDATED: Just a few ways NBC has undermined Gabby’s achievements.
“Ally Rainsman really reigned in Gabby in the time of need”— Gabby scored 1/3 of the team’s points. [n-i-h-i-l added]
“She trained with Shawn Johnson which REALLY must have had some effect on her”— many gymnasts have trained under professionals. [n-i-h-i-l added]
“Gabby has a lead…not by much but, we hope she takes advantage of it”—Gabby consistently scored better (on average) than her teammates.[n-i-h-i-l added]
Not to mention they contributed the all-around success to Alexandra saying that she was the clincher… [cum-fraiche added]
and “ooh, lets talk about Jordyn not making the all around ten times more than Gabby being the highest scorer in all four events” [withasideofswag added]
The first Women’s Gymnastics team win since ‘96, but it was deemed “not all that amazing” by NBC.
Airing a commercial featuring a monkey doing gymnastics right after Gabby’s win. During all the commercials for other athletes and their wins they showed appropriate commercials featuring them and their talents. For example: the swimmer Rebecca Soni was featured in her own commercial beating her world record score. Gabby got a monkey.
Also, when Gabby did her vault:
NBC on Gabby - “That wasn’t great…but she’ll take it” (she gets the highest score on the fucking thing, a 15.966)
NBC on Aly - “That was an AMAZING vault! She’s off to a great start!” (scores very well, but lower than Gabby)
Yeah. NBC hates that a black girl won the whole thing.
I thought I was the only one who heard this shit… Thank goodness others, too, are paying attention to the bullshit. FUCK YOU, NBC.
Did anyone notice that they did not talk about Dominique Dawes at all….not even when she attended the gymnastics for Gabby’s last go! They didn’t mention how great she was or what she accomplished when she was in the Olympics. Just nothing…No story.No commercial. Yet they have time to talk about and make a commercial about that white gymnast who got a perfect score back in the 70s or some shit and that other one who was on the same team as Dawes….and anybody else who’s white!….
Someone else has pointed out to me that Cullen Jones has been similarly shafted even though he won the gold in swimming. Apparently we can only lick and kiss white dick.
Like I said, there was NOTHING with/on Dominique Dawes all week until just now. Even though every 5 minutes they were throwing out “The Magnificent Seven.” Yes, let’s keep talking about the Fab Five and the Magnificent Seven but have Mary Lou Retton, Carly Patterson, and Nastia Liukin on for interviews -_-. Last I checked, they weren’t part of that team.
And when Cullen Jones won the silver, they DID NOT talk about him at all. They only showed the guy from france and the other guy.
(via karnythia)
Source: pityplease
Did NBC Air
a Monkey Gymnastics Ad
Right After Gabby’s Win?
by Dr Boyce Watkins, KultureKritic.com
We can’t imagine NBC deliberately undermining one of the greatest golden girls in the history of sport. After all, with the sagging ratings that the network has had to endure during these Olympic games, Gabby Douglas has been their hero.
But a recent ad that appeared right after Gabby’s win had some eyebrows crinkled and heads turning. The ad, which ran right after Bob Costas spoke fondly of Gabby’s accomplishment, consisted of a monkey with an Olympic dream, preparing to perform a gymnastics routine.
Some have called the ad racist, but others are stating that it’s probably just a coincidence. But then again, NBC was also the network that fueled charges of racism by serving fried chicken in honor of Black History Month.
Assuming that the YouTube video one of our readers sent me is not some kind of sick stunt (several of my Facebook friends recall seeing the ad live), we’re going to assume that if they had it all to do over again, NBC wouldn’t air an ad about a monkey doing gymnastics right after such an historic event. I even took the liberty this week of dumping Gabby’s nickname, “The Flying Squirrel,” because it reminded me too much of the Flying Monkeys in The Wizard of Oz.
Perhaps since NBC owns TheGrio.com, they can invite some of their staff members to a meeting to explain Offensive Racism 101. The first rule would be to never portray a monkey engaged in the same activity that a black person just performed right before. The joke isn’t funny and it’s flabbergasting that a network that controls a major black online news organization would make such a blatant and ridiculous error. Black people and monkeys just don’t mix….ever.
These kinds of major screw-ups on a global stage should be wake-up calls for companies like NBC to understand what true diversity really means. When you put out an ad about a monkey doing gymnastics right after presenting one of the greatest black female athletic performances in history, it’s clear that there could NOT have been an intelligent black person in the room.
Maybe NBC needs to go hire a few more black people. This should never have happened and they know it.
The video is below:
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email,please click here.
>via: http://www.kulturekritic.com/2012/08/news/did-nbc-air-a-monkey-gymnastics-ad-...
__________________________
NBC Explains The Monkey Ad
They Ran Right After
Gabby Douglas’ Win,
But Doesn’t Apologize
by Dr Boyce Watkins, KultureKritic.com
NBC has issued an excuse and explanation for their recent ad with a monkey doing gymnastics that was shown right after a Bob Costas tribute to gold medal winner Gabby Douglas. The ad set off a firestorm of controversy, as the timing of the ad was incredibly poor and highly offensive to millions of Americans. The ad featured a “monkey with an Olympic dream” lifting himself up on still rings, with flashing cameras in the background. I don’t need to tell you about the flaws of mixing the imagery of black people and monkeys.
NBC came forth with their explanation for what happened shortly afterward:
“Gabby Douglas’ gold medal performance last night was an historic and inspiring achievement,” NBC Universal spokeswoman Liz Fischer said. “The spot promoting `Animal Practice,’ which has run three times previously, is one in a series with an Olympic theme, which have been scheduled for maximum exposure. Certainly no offense was intended.”
I refer to the statement an “explanation” and an “excuse” because it clearly was not an apology. I find it interesting that NBC would go out of their way to tell us that they didn’t intend to offend us. Did anyone think that they offended us deliberately? What the network needs to understand is that most offensive organizations are not deliberately ignorant, and even in the case where you accidentally offend or insult another party, an apology is more meaningful than simply thinking that your lack of intent lets you off the hook.
The tone of the NBC excuse is consistent with the manner by which many organizations clean up after offending the black community (there isn’t much of a penalty for offending black folks). In situations where a sincere apology seeking humility and understanding is called for, we instead get the insinuation that we are simply being too sensitive and that the lack of intent should exonerate the offender from what they’ve done. That’s like my saying “I don’t have to apologize for running you over with my car because it’s clear that I didn’t see you in the street. Therefore, you have no reason to be angry with me. ”
Perhaps NBC should consider an alternative statement that goes something like this:
“Gabby Douglas’ gold medal performance last night was an historic and inspiring achievement. It has been brought to our attention that the spot promoting `Animal Practice’ was offensive to some, who see the ad as a reminder of America’s painful racial history. To those who were offended by the ad, we sincerely apologize. Certainly no offense was intended.”
Do you see how easy that was? You see, a person who refuses to apologize for a wrong they’ve committed against another person is actually committing a second offense by turning the blame for the turmoil onto the injured party. When I say, “Oh, I wasn’t trying to offend you with the monkey ad that came on right after your African American hero,” I am effectively saying that it is your perception of the situation that is flawed, not my actions.
Let’s be clear: What NBC did was horrible and humiliating for everyone. A simple apology was all that the situation called for, not a tongue-twisting explanation for all the reasons that it wasn’t your fault. All throughout our history in this country, African Americans are consistently told that slavery wasn’t a big deal, that we get offended too easily and that racial bias is the social boogeyman only seen by those who are determined to harbor delusional conspiracy theories. But the truth is that the rest of world can clearly see (as the United Nations has cited our country for blatant human rights violations in our education, economic and criminal justice systems) that the most delusional among us are those who somehow believe that American racism is a thing of the past.
The first step toward racial healing is accountability. We’re tired of being manipulated.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email,please click here.
>via: http://www.kulturekritic.com/2012/08/news/nbc-explains-the-monkey-ad-they-ran...