The Final Five (aka, the U.S. women’s gymnastics team) just fought back hard against this crazy assumption
After the U.S. women’s gymnastics team — affectionately known as the “final five” — brought home a whopping number of medals for Team USA, we would hope that the girls would be able to enjoy their amazing victories in peace. Unfortunately, it seems that many onlookers have wondered if there might be a little drama brewing between team members, especially as only two out of the five of them, in this case, Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, were actually able to compete in the Olympic games. But in a recent interview with E!, the team members were quick to put this rumor to rest.
When E! news reporter Maria Menounos asked the girls how they felt about the media pitting them against one another, Raisman immediately told her, “We don’t like it.” Though we’re not Olympians ourselves, we have to say, this is a pretty mature and reasonable reaction.
Raisman went on to explain,
“We’re representing USA as best as we can. So if one of us gets a gold, we’re happy, because it’s one more for Team USA. We all support each other, we all have fun, I know that sounds cheesy. People don’t always believe it, but we know that we’re happy, we know that we love each other so that’s all that matters.”
Unsurprisingly, her teammates backed her up on this sentiment. As Biles said, “We’re a team so we didn’t pay attention to [the drama].” Douglas echoes her sentiments in a separate interview with USA Today, saying, “I always will support them and respect them and everything that they do. So I never want anyone to take it as I was jealous, or I wanted attention. Never.”
When looking at the incredible amount of dedication, hard work, and talent these young women have, it seems so frustrating for them to have deal with gossip and rumors about cattiness and drama in their team. As is clear in the way these Olympians interact with one another, both on and off the stage, they are a team of mature, respectful, and professional young people who represent Team USA with pride. What more can we ask for?
