US women's gymnastics...

[Anonymous]

Little Girls in Pretty Boxes was a book on elite gymnastics culture that came out in the late 90s...I remember reading it. In some ways it was a warning about what could happen. Gymnastics culture, particularly after the Karolyis became so powerful, we always messed up, even compared to other youth sports at the elite level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My sister trained with Dominique Dawes and was actually better than she was, but my parents pulled her out of gymnastics once they realized the craziness of the system. They pushed the kids too hard and had no concern for their wellbeing. They forced them to push through pain and injuries. Any normal parent who loved their child wouldn't let them pursue it at that level.

The fact that these girls suffered injuries and were forced to push through is a red flag. What's the point? Olympics? Who cares. Where are any of those gymnasts now? There's no real fortune that comes with it, and the fame is fleeting. But the lifelong chronic pain stays with you. And now there's the PTSD from sexual assault.

As someone who trained with Dawes (when she first started), there was no one better. Maybe there were other gymnasts who beat her in some competitions, but it was obvious pretty quickly that her potential was far above anyone else's on that team.

As to pushing through pain and injuries, Hill's was actually pretty good about recognizing injuries, far better than other local gyms at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My sister trained with Dominique Dawes and was actually better than she was, but my parents pulled her out of gymnastics once they realized the craziness of the system. They pushed the kids too hard and had no concern for their wellbeing. They forced them to push through pain and injuries. Any normal parent who loved their child wouldn't let them pursue it at that level.

The fact that these girls suffered injuries and were forced to push through is a red flag. What's the point? Olympics? Who cares. Where are any of those gymnasts now? There's no real fortune that comes with it, and the fame is fleeting. But the lifelong chronic pain stays with you. And now there's the PTSD from sexual assault.

As someone who trained with Dawes (when she first started), there was no one better. Maybe there were other gymnasts who beat her in some competitions, but it was obvious pretty quickly that her potential was far above anyone else's on that team.

As to pushing through pain and injuries, Hill's was actually pretty good about recognizing injuries, far better than other local gyms at the time.

Slam!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, pp.

But if a man stuck his fingers inside me, I would have told my parents as soon as I had a chance. Even if they couldn't make calls from camp (which should have been a red flag to parents---and certainly would have precluded me from sending my child there), they could have (and should have) told their parents at some point. If they did tell their parents and they ignored them, then their parents were complicit on some level.

I don't recall which girl it was (I think she was blonde), but she said she didn't realize she was victimized until she heard one of the others come forward. What does that mean? She didn't realize being fingered by a doctor was assault until
someone else came forward as an adult? That's odd.

You have no idea what you would have done as a child. You're looking at the situation through an adult lens. I watched 20/20 last night and one of the women said that pain and discomfort was part of gymnastics. There were a lot of things about it she didn't enjoy and she trusted her doctor and coaches. These girls were taught to suck it up, work through it and don't complain or there would be another girl happy to take your place.

My sister trained with Dominique Dawes and was actually better than she was, but my parents pulled her out of gymnastics once they realized the craziness of the system. They pushed the kids too hard and had no concern for their wellbeing. They forced them to push through pain and injuries. Any normal parent who loved their child wouldn't let them pursue it at that level.

The fact that these girls suffered injuries and were forced to push through is a red flag. What's the point? Olympics? Who cares. Where are any of those gymnasts now? There's no real fortune that comes with it, and the fame is fleeting. But the lifelong chronic pain stays with you. And now there's the PTSD from sexual assault.

You're exactly right about the chronic pain.
I saw some news reports about Olympic athletes from different countries who were prematurely forced back into competing before their injuries healed. And then died. There's lots of corruption and abuse of different kinds. PP is right that there's zero regard for the athletes' safety or wellbeing.

Too bad all of this systematic abuse and corruption is blowing up right before the start of the Olympics. This will hurt. And it should. This needs to come to a swift halt.

When it come to the safety and protection of children, coaches and administrators at every level must be held accountable. No more forcing athletes and parents to sign wavers.

Where are the mandatory child protection advocates?

[Anonymous]

Mandatory by whom?

[Anonymous]

They need to support more athletes to ensure that they have enough talent going into the games. They have this strange way of supporting a few favorites and they depend on them so much that injuries are overlooked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They need to support more athletes to ensure that they have enough talent going into the games. They have this strange way of supporting a few favorites and they depend on them so much that injuries are overlooked.

That's a good point.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone else watch make it or break it? It's fiction, obviously, but helped me understand the mindset of some parents.

[Anonymous]

The US Olympic Committee, MSU and USA Gymnastics were all complicit in the horrific assault of so many children. Thank goodness the entire USA board has resigned. Next step is completion of the criminal investigation. That may take some time. More people will get charged for their crimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The US Olympic Committee, MSU and USA Gymnastics were all complicit in the horrific assault of so many children. Thank goodness the entire USA board has resigned. Next step is completion of the criminal investigation. That may take some time. More people will get charged for their crimes.

I sure hope so. As a Michigan native, the role MSU played in this really angers me. So many chances to stop him- it’s not surprising to me that college-aged women were more likely to recognize his actions as abuse (vs. the younger girls) but their complaints were repeatedly ignored. A sham investigation in 2014 cleared him of wrongdoing. WTF!

I watched a few of the statements, but this one in particular brought me to tears- I really hope meaningful change happens. No one should have to go through this.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kMibEuDSIbo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The US Olympic Committee, MSU and USA Gymnastics were all complicit in the horrific assault of so many children. Thank goodness the entire USA board has resigned. Next step is completion of the criminal investigation. That may take some time. More people will get charged for their crimes.

I sure hope so. As a Michigan native, the role MSU played in this really angers me. So many chances to stop him- it’s not surprising to me that college-aged women were more likely to recognize his actions as abuse (vs. the younger girls) but their complaints were repeatedly ignored. A sham investigation in 2014 cleared him of wrongdoing. WTF!

I watched a few of the statements, but this one in particular brought me to tears- I really hope meaningful change happens. No one should have to go through this.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kMibEuDSIbo

Wow. She describes in detail how so many individuals are responsible for enabling Nassar to continue the sex abuse. Tons of corruption in elite sports. Tons. Use this to educate your kids who want to compete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They need to support more athletes to ensure that they have enough talent going into the games. They have this strange way of supporting a few favorites and they depend on them so much that injuries are overlooked.

That's a good point.

The old Russian system used to do this. They were stacked with talent going into the games so they didn't suffer much when one athlete was unavailable. They found it easy to grab the team medal for years. They also had their share of abuse, but when Mukhina broke her neck, it was not because of pressure from the top. It was a misunderstanding of her coaches. They high ups were confident that they could win without her, but her substitute coach was clueless and pressed her to train on a fractured leg.

[Anonymous]

Olympic administrators and coaches are often guilty of pushing the kids to perform like circus animals. Parents need to understand this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Little Girls in Pretty Boxes was a book on elite gymnastics culture that came out in the late 90s...I remember reading it. In some ways it was a warning about what could happen. Gymnastics culture, particularly after the Karolyis became so powerful, we always messed up, even compared to other youth sports at the elite level.

Joan Ryan wrote that book. Here’s her take from last week on the Larry Nassar developments:

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/larry-nassar-just-beginning-gymnastics-culture-has-been-abusive-decades-ncna840001

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The US Olympic Committee, MSU and USA Gymnastics were all complicit in the horrific assault of so many children. Thank goodness the entire USA board has resigned. Next step is completion of the criminal investigation. That may take some time. More people will get charged for their crimes.

I sure hope so. As a Michigan native, the role MSU played in this really angers me. So many chances to stop him- it’s not surprising to me that college-aged women were more likely to recognize his actions as abuse (vs. the younger girls) but their complaints were repeatedly ignored. A sham investigation in 2014 cleared him of wrongdoing. WTF!

I watched a few of the statements, but this one in particular brought me to tears- I really hope meaningful change happens. No one should have to go through this.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kMibEuDSIbo

Holy $hit. I had not seen her testimony.