NCAA Current UCLA Situation (Alexis Jeffery Transfer)

[hi_hi]

As far as Alexis, I am not ready to cancel her as a raging racist Klan member. Rude, insensitive, juvenile, entitled, reflective of our current society, probably is a good start for me. I do think she would be a distraction on any team but it does not surprise me that she ends up at LSU. That athletic program has a history and culture of "win at all costs including cheating". Just look up all the recent scandals coming from there and the school's response. I only hope someday she will see the error of her position.

No one is canceling her. I hate when people use that word… It turns AJ into the victim, which she is not.

What people want is for AJ to be held ACCOUNTABLE for her racist behavior.

 

[gym_dad32608]

No one is canceling her. I hate when people use that word… It turns AJ into the victim, which she is not.

What people want is for AJ to be held ACCOUNTABLE for her racist behavior.

Perhaps, but what does "accountable" look like for a 18/19 yo who makes a stupid mistake and acts even worse, but is in an environment, at UCLA, where there is a clear lack of leadership from coaches and admin? There have been plenty of posts here and other outlets that have called for her never to compete again, I think that falls firmly under the cancel column. I am not saying that she should not be reprimanded, but the people in charge failed to do that.

 

[hi_hi]

We are all racist to some degree, so ya, if you want to label her a racist then sure, but make sure you call yourself one too. I don't think just because someone sings lyrics that include these offensive terms is then an unreformable individual. I see her point (even if I dont agree with it), in the way that how can it be ok if a singer is singing it and I cant? Her stubbornness of not willing to apologize or recognize the issue shows how juvenile, rude and entitled she is, much like many culture war discussions we are having today. At LSU they would probably ridiculously call her a patriot in some corners. If we keep trying to cast aside these people and not engage them we will never have progress and learning. Again, based upon what we know, Waller should have stepped up and been the adult/leader/coach in the room and had a firm discussion with her and her teammates about this. Instead, he went the cya, institutional route with "let's just have some sensitivity training and forget it happened" route.

You keep siding with the racist and feeling sorry for her. Why?

Why do you not feel bad for the Black and Asian athletes who had to put up with her? It wasn’t just her singing to a song. Her racism was also directed at the Asian athletes. They didn’t cast her aside until AFTER they tried to talk to her, reason with her, try to help her understand/learn/grow and she CHOSE to double down on her beliefs and then play the victim.

But honestly, I’m intrigued by you feeling more empathy towards AJ and what is happening to her even though she put herself there all by herself. She’s only 19! She’s immature! She’s rude! Entitled! But you’re not willing to label her as racist and you think she shouldn’t be held accountable and that we shouldn’t cast people like her aside. You sound exactly like the UCLA coaches who told the POC athletes to be nicer to AJ & give her more grace… This is exactly how racists continue being racist - bc the victims are told to forgive/educate/let it slide… and the racist gets away with it.

 

[hi_hi]

Part of the reason for allowing the transfers is to get student-athletes out of a bad situation. This was certainly a bad situation for all involved. If she was forced to stay at UCLA, it would have been made worse. One would hope that LSU set the ground rules and this will be the end of the behavior (not holding my breath). This does not excuse the UCLA staff from dealing with this situation more appropriately but it should allow the team to move on more easily from it than if she had stayed

I did not know about the other transgressions like body shaming etc until I just read them here. This is clearly a young person who shows little regard for her fellow teammates (and others in general) and feels she is above them all regardless of race. She has a lot of growing up to do

UCLA should have held her accountable first. If she chose to transfer after that, it would have been fine. The Black/Asian athletes would have felt protected by their coaches/school. But by allowing AJ to walk off scott free it sets the tone for the POC UCLA gymnasts who remain - you don’t matter unless the school/team is riding the equality coat tails of their POC gymnasts for branding purposes. Their actions should have shown they truly do care for their Black athletes. Cool BLM leos though, I guess.

 

[gym_dad32608]

You keep siding with the racist and feeling sorry for her. Why?

Why do you not feel bad for the Black and Asian athletes who had to put up with her? It wasn’t just her singing to a song. Her racism was also directed at the Asian athletes. They didn’t cast her aside until AFTER they tried to talk to her, reason with her, try to help her understand/learn/grow and she CHOSE to double down on her beliefs and then play the victim.

But honestly, I’m intrigued by you feeling more empathy towards AJ and what is happening to her even though she put herself there all by herself. She’s only 19! She’s immature! She’s rude! Entitled! But you’re not willing to label her as racist and you think she shouldn’t be held accountable and that we shouldn’t cast people like her aside. You sound exactly like the UCLA coaches who told the POC athletes to be nicer to AJ & give her more grace… This is exactly how racists continue being racist - bc the victims are told to forgive/educate/let it slide… and the racist gets away with it.

Wow, hate and anger in your heart will eat you up. You obviously need to let that go. I respect your personal experiences and feelings, but I have lived long enough and come from an immigrant family to understand the challenges and struggles. I have lived all over and visited many places and cultures to understand that there are fundamental differences in how people grow up and learn. Finally, I have learned to be patient and understanding with people. Anger leads to hate and well you know where hate leads to. Where in any of my posts have I said I feel sorry for her? I am only pointing out an alternative viewpoint. Have you listen to the Marz podcast? She has forgiven AJ, doesn't have a problem with her, is she sympathetic to racists? As I have said several times, this is a situation that falls at the feet of the administration and coaching staff. They should have acted quickly, should have reprimanded her and got everyone in line.

The world we live in is not black and white, and if we treat everything as absolutes we will never have tangible progress.

 

[gymgal]

UCLA should have held her accountable first. If she chose to transfer after that, it would have been fine. The Black/Asian athletes would have felt protected by their coaches/school. But by allowing AJ to walk off scott free it sets the tone for the POC UCLA gymnasts who remain - you don’t matter unless the school/team is riding the equality coat tails of their POC gymnasts for branding purposes. Their actions should have shown they truly do care for their Black athletes. Cool BLM leos though, I guess.

You clearly did not read (or otherwise understand) my entire comment since I clearly stated that UCLA should have handled the situation more appropriately. However, my comment still stands that the transfer will help UCLA in the long run. AJ staying was not an option if UCLA wanted to move past this. Apology or not...

 

[doublestrike]

I think AJ's transfer was helpful for the UCLA team to heal and focus on gymnastics, which it appears they are doing now. Once the racist allegations came to light, the team tried to handle it on their own, it was only after no apology was made that the coaches were informed what happened. At that point, the issue was brought to the Asst. AD. When the gymnasts continued to ask for an apology, AJ left practice and then texted some teammates she threatened self-harm. This issue was likely sent to yet another admin arm at UCLA. At this point, what the coaches said and did were dictated higher up the chain. There's a lot of blame thrown around but also a lot that can't be said due the the privacy issues. The admin knows what was done and they dictated what happened next, calling for the coaches to be fired on this issue would not help the team itself, and it's been reported that a lot of the team support the staff. The frosh and sophomores were recruited by the current staff and likely support them. Marz is injured and Sekai is having some fun on the floor. I'm hopeful they can move on because they are certainly fun to watch.