An Olympic gymnast herself, Laurie Hernandez is no stranger to the scrutiny that comes with being an athlete on the global stage, but when it came to announcing her sport, and in some cases her peers, on a global stage -- that was something new.
Hernandez commentated on the women's gymnastics events at the 2024 Olympics and after a shocking beam final on the last day of women's gymnastics competition, she shared a message about her role.
Writing on social media in response to a fan's praise of her work, the two-time Olympic medalist said "pointing out deductions is not criticism of the athletes."
"Should be a given that we think they're brilliant for even being out there!" she said. "It's explaining why Andrade might've gotten 4th with a hit routine vs. Yaqin winning silver even with a .5 deduction for almost falling."
The gymnast-turned-TV analyst become an unexpected star of the Games during the gymnastics portion of the competition.
Eight years ago in Rio de Janeiro, Hernandez was the youngest member of the Simone Biles-led “Final Five” team that stormed to the gold medal. She added a silver on beam later in those Games, where her boundless energy helped make her a breakout star.
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Not much has changed in Paris other than Hernandez's point of view.
There are nerves to be sure when she slips her headset on alongside broadcast partner Rich Lerner, just very different ones than the kind she experienced as an athlete.
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Yet when she starts to talk, the affection she still feels for her sport well into her retirement is obvious.
She mixes empathy, education and laughter with equal measure. She spent a decade inside a sport that at times can take far more than it gives. Those memories are never too far away, and they have help inform her approach.
“I don’t know many sports, you know, who are like, ‘Oh, I fear for my life every time I turn,’” Hernandez said.
And because of that, she's careful to note mistakes but not harp on them. It's gymnastics. Perfection is unattainable. So why place that level of expectation on athletes doing the hardest skills ever done?
Wobbles and falls are as much a part of the sport as leotards and chalk. They are inevitable. She prefers to explain how they happened so viewers who might only stumble across it once every four years understand.
The same goes for when routines are done exquisitely. Sometimes what the viewer sees and the judges see are different things and when the score flashes there's a “wait, what?” element involved.
Welcome to the world of what she's calling “ghost deductions.”
“To the naked eye, this looks like the most marvelous thing, and it is," she said. “But there are deductions that you cannot see at home that I can see or the judges can see, and it’s up to you to just listen to it or not.”
The gymnasts aren't the only ones being judged. Hernandez would love to tell you she buries her phone in her pocket and ignores whatever capital T “Thoughts” social media might have on her performance. She can't. She's Gen Z. At this point in her life, it's practically in her DNA. She's not afraid to clap back at critics if only to respectfully ask they simply not tag her in their posts so she can scroll in peace.
There will be times when something happens in front of her and some reference — be it from TikTok or elsewhere — will pop into her head and it transforms from thought to her microphone in a flash.
Is it “unprofessional” as she put it? Not really. It's her way of trying to stay as authentic as possible. When she gets nervous — and she does — she imagines she's sitting on a couch at a party.
“Everyone's got a glass of whatever you want and we all just happen to be like, besties hanging out,” Hernandez said. “And I just happen to know a lot about the thing that’s on TV.”
