WAG Discussion of abuse in USAG - Nassar

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Except the Ranch is still open.
She terminated the contract and cancelled the next national team camp. There is a process in place at this point to move on from The Ranch. I think we need to give Kerry Perry some time. She started December 1 and has a lot to figure out about how to change he organization. I think too, we need to trust that she is listening, as she said that she would be.
 
I think the problem in my mind is that the line between a tough coach and an abusive coach just isn't that cut and dry and may not be obvious until the damage is done. This is something I've been contemplating a lot: in the gymnastics world, at what point does it become abuse? I grew up in a gym where conditioning was used as punishment for all manner of things and I know that this practice is still common today. Of course it isn't abusive to make teenagers do a few push ups if they're overly chatty in practice and they know better, but is it abusive to assign five rope climbs every time a girl balks on her beam series when she's clearly dealing with fear issues as I saw a coach do? Maybe it's not abusive the first time it happens, but what if she ends up climbing the rope for essentially the entire practice multiple days in a row with tears streaming down her face as a result? These things aren't obvious, and certainly not to a parent who watches practice on and off.

I don't believe Geddert walked into a gym the first day and threw a girl onto the low bar. His abuse would have progressed over time and may at first have seemed like tough coaching. And as kids progress in the sport both the parents and the gymnasts may have slowly gotten used to his tactics so they eventually seemed normal. I watched this happen under a different coach with similar tactics. Verbal and emotional abuse is even harder to define. How sharp do the words have to be before they become abusive? I don't know and I don't think anyone does because comments that one child can take in their stride might wedge themselves into another's mind forever. One gymnast being asked to weigh herself at every practice might be an annoyance, but for another it might spark a lifetime of struggling with eating disorders.

How can we as parents draw these lines so that we, our gymnasts, and our coaches know with absolute certainty what is and isn't acceptable? I don't blame any of the parents whose children were abused by Nassar, but I still think the parents need to play a real, active role going forward. We all need to do some soul searching to try and answers these questions for ourselves. Because without our tuition and our dues and our meet fees, and our cars driving our kids back and forth to practice, the gymnastics world grinds to a halt. The gymnasts are beginning to realize their power and it's time that we do too.
I think the problem in my mind is that the line between a tough coach and an abusive coach just isn't that cut and dry and may not be obvious until the damage is done. This is something I've been contemplating a lot: in the gymnastics world, at what point does it become abuse? I grew up in a gym where conditioning was used as punishment for all manner of things and I know that this practice is still common today. Of course it isn't abusive to make teenagers do a few push ups if they're overly chatty in practice and they know better, but is it abusive to assign five rope climbs every time a girl balks on her beam series when she's clearly dealing with fear issues as I saw a coach do? Maybe it's not abusive the first time it happens, but what if she ends up climbing the rope for essentially the entire practice multiple days in a row with tears streaming down her face as a result? These things aren't obvious, and certainly not to a parent who watches practice on and off.

Well said. Soul searching indeed....
 
She terminated the contract and cancelled the next national team camp. There is a process in place at this point to move on from The Ranch. I think we need to give Kerry Perry some time. She started December 1 and has a lot to figure out about how to change he organization. I think too, we need to trust that she is listening, as she said that she would be.

Yes. I understand the cynicism and distrust, but there is absolutely no way that an organization the size of USAG is going to be changed overnight. Culture shift, among other things, takes time. It feels like it's taking too long because it should have started years and years ago. But that's not Perry's fault.
 
She terminated the contract and cancelled the next national team camp. There is a process in place at this point to move on from The Ranch. I think we need to give Kerry Perry some time. She started December 1 and has a lot to figure out about how to change he organization. I think too, we need to trust that she is listening, as she said that she would be.
Yes you just don't shut the place down and tell the kids to leave the building now.....................
 
and are they including the new men's program director?
I hope not, as Brett is awesome and can do some good for USAG. The USOC statement said from the past, Brett was hired this summer, as there was already some house cleaning in the men's program. "This includes a full turnover of leadership from the past, which means that all current USAG directors must resign." I wonder f by director they mean the board of directors, not the staff at all. I see a big difference between Valeri who was already on the national staff for many years, just not the coordinator and Brett who was not on the national staff until this past summer.
 
Yes. I understand the cynicism and distrust, but there is absolutely no way that an organization the size of USAG is going to be changed overnight. Culture shift, among other things, takes time. It feels like it's taking too long because it should have started years and years ago. But that's not Perry's fault.
I totally agree with you.
 
Does anyone know how he was busted for the porn? How did they know to get a warrant for his computers and trash can.

I believe that law enforcement obtained a search warrant in relation to the sexual abuse investigation and found the computer equipment in the trash on garbage collection day - so if they had executed the warrant later in the day the child porn images and videos might never have been discovered.
 
We've been lumping "directors" into one group. I do not understand the inner workings enough to know if all these people are on the same level and work extensively with one another, or if they are simply people who manage their piece and skype into a meeting once in awhile. My question being, do all these people deserve to go? Are they all culpable simply because they serve USAG?
How long have some of them been in place? I believe some good people will be cut in the process of weeding out the bad. for example, USAG needs people like Kelli Hill, who has always been athlete first.
 
So who was the Doctor of the 2008 Beijing team.....this has been bothering me and I cant find the info.....anyone?
 
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So who was the Doctor of the 2008 Beijing team.....this has been bothering me and I cant find the info.....anyone?

It was Nassar. @amiandjim He skipped the 04 games because one of his children was being born.
 

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Exactly. I am all for investigation as the USOC has called for, knowing who knew what and when. I would hope that an investigation of that sort would clear some of these individuals and allow them to continue their jobs. And of course, clear out the bad seeds.
Wouldn't the NDA agreement with Maroney have required board approval? If the board approved it, I think whoever was on the board at the time need to go.
 
Wouldn't the NDA agreement with Maroney have required board approval? If the board approved it, I think whoever was on the board at the time need to go.

Good question but I don't know the answer to that. We don't know if that was cooked up with Steve and attorney's or if it was put to a board vote or what. Does anyone know?
 
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