I saw her race and interview live and, even though she did not have a good race, I first thought her interview was fine in that she wasn’t too hard on herself and knows she can get back to racing well. It wasn’t until I went online and started seeing everyone’s reactions to her interview where I started to think she went a little overboard. But rewatching the interview again and discussing it with my friends over a non-social media platform, I realized she really didn’t say anything that overboard beyond saying she believes in herself and warning the world not to count her out.

Honestly, I really don’t think her attitude was a big deal. I think the real disappointment should be in on the way the media covered her. It seems like they really hyped her up because of her flashiness, self-confidence, and her recent personal tragedies and professional ban. Then, when she has a terrible first race back, they immediately interview her 10 seconds after she ends her race, where she may have been amped up on adrenaline from racing and emotions from maybe not performing as highly as she hoped. Of course she is not going to give a calm and measured interview! Hell, I’m sure if you ask a sizable portion of professional athletes 10 seconds after they finish dead last in a race they didn’t expect to, they are not going to be all that calm and measured. Many need that chip-on-their-shoulder attitude to perform at the level they do.