Is it fair to blame Alicia Sacramone for U.S. Women's Gymnastics for taking silver?

Question

After US women's gymnastics took silver, a lot of my friends began blaming Alicia Sacramone for losing the gold to China and making jokes such as kicking her off the U.S. team. I really think it is unfair to blame Sacramone for the loss especially if you don't do Gymastics, so they have no right to criticize something they can't even do themselves. I believe the only people who can blame Sacramone are herself and anyone who can do her stuff better than her. Besides, she has an impressive track record in gymnastics so if anyone can do better, then go ahead and criticize her. So what is your opinon on blaming Sacramone for U.S. losing the gold medal?

Answer 1

I just hope everyone stop all the blaming and be an adult.  It is so low to accuse other countries cheating when the US team made so many mistakes.

Stop whining please.. I am sure all the athletes tried with their best efforts.

Answer 2

She DID fall like that!!! But she was not the only one making mistakes. WTF was up with all  that stepping outside the line?!!?!?!? Aren't they trained not to do that as one of the first things.

I don't think that we can place all the blame on her, but we can place most of it. I was hoping so bad for a gold . . .  

Answer 3

She blames herself, and she takes the loss hard on herself.

She doesn't need any ignorant jerks adding to her depression.

You could see it in her face that she felt like c**p after messing up.

She's still a good gymnast, and people should have sympathy because performing like that is not easy.

Answer 4

I don't believe anyone should blame Alicia for the silver.  The long wait she had to endure before her beam routine allowed her to psych herself out, and she was under a lot of pressure.  It was just the way things worked out. Being on the world stage like that and trying to live up to all of the media hype is a lot of pressure and what would anyone do in the same situation?  Alicia is going to have to live with that for the rest of her life and I am sure she is putting enough blame on herself all by herself.  Let it go and be proud of their efforts.

Answer 5

It is not her fault the whole team made mistakes, and the Chinese outperformed them.

Answer 6

Just because I physically can't jump around in a leotard doesn't mean i'm not capable of seeing what happened on tv last night!  If Sacramone isn't to blame then who is?  Certainly not the girls who got good marks on their perfomance.  You don't blame girls who DON'T fall in their performance for losing.  Alicia fell...they lost ground on the Chinese as a result..game over.

Answer 7

No. Gymnastics is part skills and part luck. There will be days when you are landing on your feet, there will be days when you will be landing on your butt.

Even though I know that the Chinese are underage, I am not blaming the Chinese either. The Chinese are good and yes, their perfomance deserve gold but that doesn't mean they can or should be allowed to cheat on the age rules.

Answer 8

no its not. her minor mistakes cost the team 1.7pts and the team lost by over 2pts. even if she didnt fall the team still wouldve lost according to the stats.  

Answer 9

She was a victim of the officials' trick of making her wait

Answer 10

She should not be blamed for anything!  Each of the girls made mistakes.  All three stepped out of bounds on the floor.  There was balancing issues on the beam, not all from Alicia.  I think it is awful how the media has exploded this subject and has made it seem to be Alicia's fault.  It's a team competition!  Each of those girls did a fantastic job.  I can't wait too see how they do in their individual competitions!

Answer 11

You can even hear the commentators talking about the lady coach and her body gestures to tell you that she was disappointed after the second fall.  

Answer 12

no, she shouldn't be blamed. she tried her best. i think she was just nervous

Answer 13

Yeah, I saw that last night where she messed up. I mess up all the time in sports, and people are just so competitive that they get mad at you for making even the smallest mistake.

That poor girl. In one part of the contest you see her crying. I made me upset because it wasn't her fault she messed up.

Although, the Chinese girls are known as the best gymnastics in the world. So it was going to be a tough competition. But no, your friends should not have blamed everthing on her. She did nothing wrong.

  

Answer 14

Yes and no.

First off, I agree that no one who can't do what she does should blame her for her falls, because we have no idea how hard it must be, especially at a very important competition like the Olympics. That said, you are asking for opinions, so that is what I'm going to give.

I don't think it's Alicia's fault that the U.S. didn't win the gold medal, but she certainly didn't help. A girl falling affects the others girls' concentration too, and it's hard for the team to compete after that. However, it's completely unfair to blame her for all of it, since the final score difference with China was bigger than the deductions for her falls. Even if it hadn't been, it could have been any of the girls falling, not just her. She had a bad day and it's unfortunate that it was at an Olympics team final, but she can't help it, and she already feels guilty enough for it. I think it's fair to say she hurt her team, but I don't think she should be blamed for it, because it's not liek she did on purpose, and it's not like it was entirely her fault.

Besides, they still got silver, and in my opinion they would have gotten it anyway because of China's A scores that are unbelievably high. Let's not forget silver's not bad at all!

Answer 15

no - granted the U.S. team seamed to have lost after Alicia fell, but in Alicia's defense, the stupid judges made her wait for so long! Shawn and Nastia made mistakes too, ok that said - would they have made the same mistakes if Alicia had nailed the beam, who knows - we will never know. I still believe that putting all the blame on Alicia is wrong - she did the best she could do and that's all we can ask of anyone! The Magnificent Seven in Atlanta were underdogs - not expected to win, so they didn't have the pressure that this year's team and the teams of 1992 and 2004 - who were expected to win. I wish Alicia all the luck in the future, and I hope the she can move on from this and became a better person because of it. Things happen for a reason and for Alicia and the U.S. women's team - it just wasn't meant to be.  

Answer 16

Of course it's fair. You have to blame someone. Plus, she looks kinda hott all pouty and sad with those big eyes and great butt.

She will be in Playboy soon. Mark my words.

Answer 17

I've watched both the Men and Women's Olympic competitions and I think the slow scoring is to blame.  Sure, Alicia messed up, but if she was focused that wouldn't have happened.  Her focus was broken while waiting so long for the person before her to get scored.  I think the olympics need to realize that they should shorten the time between scoring b/c it throws the competitors out of whack.