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The Daily News Thinks Simone Biles is Gabby Douglas
By Jim Adair
Published:
In today’s Daily News, columnist Ronnie Polaneczky wrote a column about the onslaught of internet hate gymnast Gabby Douglas got for not putting her hand over her heart during the National Anthem – a non-story if there every was one. It’s all about how Douglas is a strong person, and all that hate she’s getting shows that she’s successful. It’s a nice little read. There’s just one problem. The picture that accompanied the piece in print is Simone Biles, not Gabby Douglas.
Biles is in some ways – if you have to super-simplify things – the new Douglas. She’s won a bunch of gold medals, she’s the young spark of the team, and she’s incredibly likeable. But she’s not Gabby Douglas. This is Gabby Douglas:
Polaneczky (who does not pick the pictures or caption them) said “it makes you want to bash your head against the wall” and that she’s “mortified.” Another DN staffer apologized:
We ran a photo of @Simone_Biles with an uplifting column today about Gabby Douglas. We screwed up. We are embarrassed, and we apologize.
— Michael Days (@mikedays) August 17, 2016
In an industry full of layoffs and buyouts, it’s a mistake that happens. It’s an incredibly bad look and one of the more blatantly dumb mistakes you can make, but it happens. I just can’t wait for their image to go with their Ryan Lochte coverage tomorrow:
When he's not writing about sports here or ranting about them on Twitter, Jim is probably watching X-Files on Netflix or drinking a beer somewhere. Jim has nothing against hockey, it's just not his style. He once met Duce Staley at a Sixers game.