WAG Gabby Douglas leaves Chow's Gym, moves to L.A.

[caligymmom]

It is truly unbelievable how hateful people can be. There are no reports anywhere saying that Gabby or her family owe Chow's gym money. His wife has commented on the situation and has NEVER said they were owed any money.

It's pathetic to read adults tear down a child and a family they don't even know. Jordyn Weiber left her gym and is moving to LA too... Where are all of the hateful comments about how she's ruined her life and career? Maybe if Gabby's skin was the same color as Jordyn's you all wouldn't be so hateful and mean.

It's 2013 but some things never change... Sad.

 

[bogwoppit]

Turning this into a race issue is quite odd. Nobody ever mentioned race here and accusing people of racism is pretty ugly too.


Moreover you do not even know the race of people who have responded to this thread. You assume a lot, including that some of the coaches have no connection to Chows and that coaches at that level do not talk to one another.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

that's right, Bog. racism never entered my mind by anything that i've read.

 

[happychaos]

It is truly unbelievable how hateful people can be. There are no reports anywhere saying that Gabby or her family owe Chow's gym money. His wife has commented on the situation and has NEVER said they were owed any money.

It's pathetic to read adults tear down a child and a family they don't even know. Jordyn Weiber left her gym and is moving to LA too... Where are all of the hateful comments about how she's ruined her life and career? Maybe if Gabby's skin was the same color as Jordyn's you all wouldn't be so hateful and mean.

It's 2013 but some things never change... Sad.

LOL!!! Rumors, gossip, criticism...... all part of being a celebrity sports star. Look at the things that have been said about Nastia. And commenting on a gymnasts unpaid bill hardly qualifies as "hateful" IMO.

 

[GymBeeMom]

Oh goodness. I question her integrity and decision making. Since when is that a racial question? I question the integrity and decision making of the producers of Honey Boo Boo and I have no clue what race they are

 

[MaryA]

I question the integrity and decision making of the producers of Honey Boo Boo and I have no clue what race they are

Ha ha ha ha ha!

 

[Muddlethru]

The word racism is like ketchup. It can be put on practically anything.

 

[motigymnasticsmom]

I read Gabbys book. The whole book, from cover to cover. She and her mother seem to be good christian people. What does this have to do with raCe?

 

[aerialriver]

This thread is so stupid. Honestly why is it YOUR business? And who cares, really? Obviously Chow's got something out of it or they would have kicked her out if she owed. Sometimes the risk is worth the reward black or white

 

[billise]

I haven't seen any racist undertones in this thread but I do agree with 4theloveofsport. The word racism can be spread on anything and it is a very ugly accusation! And, as a black mother of a black gymnast who thinks very highly of Gabby Douglas as an athlete, I was disappointed when her mother allowed her to publicly accused Excalibur's gymnasts and staff of racism despite the fact that they admittedly had never brought any of these alleged incidents to the attention of the owners. Accusations of racism can destroy a business and for the life of me, I don't know why anyone would want to do that to a gym that trained them for nearly a decade and by all accounts was quite generous with them in regard to tuition. I could understand going public with these types of accusations much better if the Douglas family had addressed it with the owners and the owners had ignored it, but to say you never brought it to the owners, never gave them an opportunity to investigate/address it and then publicly level these accusations really bothers me. The accusations made by the Douglas family may or may not be true but either way, the handling of the whole thing seems to indicate some poor judgement on the part of the person/people who are advising her. That being said, I sure hope to see her going for the gold in Rio!

 

[caligymmom]

First of all, I posed a question as to the motivations behind what appeared to be highly critical viewpoints about Gabby Douglas' decision to leave her gym and pursue other opportunities, while trying to maintain her career in elite gymnastics. I did not call anyone a racist or accuse anyone of racism.

Let me educate you on modern racism... It's not always calling someone a name. We are too PC to say those words in most civilized communities. It is now doing things like minimizing accomplishments, focusing on faults or mistakes, being highly critical without merit.

The question I posed was why so many people wanted to focus on this wonderful girl's career being over, and villainizing a family they don't really know. No one on here had a negative word to say about Jordyn, who is making the same move to a new city and a new gym.

Like the saying goes... If there was no truth to the statement, you wouldn't be mad.

Hope things change one day...

 

[Fliptwisttumble]

The question I posed was why so many people wanted to focus on this wonderful girl's career being over, and villainizing a family they don't really know. No one on here had a negative word to say about Jordyn, who is making the same move to a new city and a new gym.

Like the saying goes... If there was no truth to the statement, you wouldn't be mad.

Hope things change one day...

You don't need to educate me on modern racism. Thank you.

One key difference between Gabby and Jordyn - Jordyn went to be a full time student at UCLA and also managing their women's gym team. Completely different reasons.

 

[bogwoppit]

I am not mad, but I am an immigrant in a foreign country that speaks a language other than my own. Accusations of racism are not something people take lightly. As I said, you have no idea who you are talking to when you make those accusations.

You might not like the topic of discussion, but this is the Internet and gym fans all over discuss gymnasts and their lives. Just like Justin Beiber and Selena Gomez these young people become public domaine and are discussed. Every gym forum has discussed this issue, not just the CB. Check out IG, WWGYM heck GGMB's thread got so crazy they tossed in in their dead zone.

The reason this discussion has not turned to Jordyn is that the discussion is about Gabi. We all knew for months the Jordy was going to LA, to UCLA as an assistant coach and to train with Chris Waller. There was no surprise gym hop etc etc. No history of gym hopping or non payment of bills. This discussion was based on one gymnast, and her family's, history.

For sure Chow benefitted from having Gabi through his doors, he and his wife are awesome coach and they seem to be people of integrity. I hope they both do well from this.

People discuss, share etc. you might not like it but you are free to skip the thread if you do not like it. The thread was basically gone and forgotten until it was dragged back up with a whole new slant.

I know someone at Excalibur and let me tell you the accusations of racism there hit very hard. Being upset when accused of racism is a normal human reaction nothing more. But if you see racism here that is your problem, clearly nobody else sees it.

 

[NotAMom]

It's all about preconception in this world. Outside of malice, people will accuse of an offense and stick to it if that is what's perceived. Same is true with defense. People will defend anything by using any means and even ignoring any facts that says otherwise if innocence is preconceived. This is true whether it's in a control legal system or out open in public on the Internet. We are only humans.

Back on topic, nothing tied to Gabi's race (or religion for that matter) has anything to do with this discussion and what her family supposedly did that caused the parting with Chow (on the above token, Chow can be easily be accused if one chooses to go down that route). But, these things are clear... Gabi spoken ill of Excalibur after she left, her family gave no notice to Chow before she left, and her current focus is on commercial stardom and isn't on the sport (nevermind the next Olympics despite what she tells the tabloids). That to us alone should be enough to disappoint.

One last thing, please don't always assume everyone has an agenda for tangible return for what they do. If Gabi wasn't the star that she was and if Chow was stiffed of tuition (and assuming Chow is the good guy that everyone thinks he is), I still don't see him exposing that gymnast's wrong doing in public and there is a need for him to admit his own kindness.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

^^^^^^ You forgot to mention how her own father was thrown under the bus too.

 

[Midwestmommy]

What doesn't sit with me very well about this is that some of it is based on gossip. I had a professer years ago who was one of the smartest guys I ever met. He gave us a "formula" for rumor and hearsay. He was talking about it in the context of communication during international crisis, but I find it a good formula on a personal level too.

Assuming the originator of the gossip is knowledgeable about the topic and actually attempting to be honest (that's the first big "if"), you lose 20% accuracy with each handoff. So A tells B, B gets it about 80% right if asked to repeat it. B tells C, who gets that 80% right (so potentially .8 * .8 = 64%). C tells D, who gets 80% of it right (.64*.80 = .51 or 51%). So by the time you get to the fourth person, assuming everyone was TRYING to be honest and accurate, it's about half truth and half a bunch of nonsense. So this whole thing about owing money, I take with a grain of salt since I must be about the 15th person in the chain....

The concept is illustrated in a fun way in Fidder in the Roof in the scene where they are gossiping about the man and woman dancing together at the wedding. I love that scene.

People who didn't like what she said on a talk show, well that's a first hand reaction so those posts are more interesting to me.

Gabby is a fabulous athlete and a great story. So what if she is making money on her celebrity. Unlike male athletes that is the ONLY way for female athletes to prosper financially. And actually male athletes make a lot of their money on celebrity and endorsements.

It just kind of makes me sad to hear her bashed, I don't think she deserves it.

 

[Midwestmommy]

And hey, no offense intended at all, but the coaches who post on here about being a tight community. Well, they are no more accurate gossipers than anyone else, and I hope they all keep that in mind when "sharing" information about kids, money etc.. There is a reason hearsay is not admissable in court.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

this thread is killing me. email the folks at....never mind. rumors, racism, gossip, hearsay...all too much for me.

 

[Terry]

First of all, I posed a question as to the motivations behind what appeared to be highly critical viewpoints about Gabby Douglas' decision to leave her gym and pursue other opportunities, while trying to maintain her career in elite gymnastics. I did not call anyone a racist or accuse anyone of racism.

Let me educate you on modern racism... It's not always calling someone a name. We are too PC to say those words in most civilized communities. It is now doing things like minimizing accomplishments, focusing on faults or mistakes, being highly critical without merit.

The question I posed was why so many people wanted to focus on this wonderful girl's career being over, and villainizing a family they don't really know. No one on here had a negative word to say about Jordyn, who is making the same move to a new city and a new gym.

Like the saying goes... If there was no truth to the statement, you wouldn't be mad.

Hope things change one day...

There is no comparing what Jordyn did to what Gabby did. There is nothing wrong with changinh gyms for any reason actually. Obviously many girls move on at some point and it is almost always true after an Olympic year. But Jordyn did it the right way. She was transparent about it with John Geddert, he knew what she was planning to do, they remained close. She left on excellent terms, like a professional should.

Gabby did it the wrong way in every way. Chow heard about her move through rumors for weeks apparently. Then one day she just showed up at the gym and basically said that she was leaving the next day with no real explanation as I understand it. This is an incredibly shabby way to treat the coach who brought you to the Olympics. And if she left owing money that makes it even worse.

Sorry, but Gabby and her mother have behaved badly in many ways. And there is nothing racist about saying so.

 

[gym law mom]

To be clear I was amazed at Gabby's quick rise to stardom and very very impressed with her gymnastics. I think she has a lot more to give to the sport if she decides to. Her behavior behind the scenes and that of her family is less than stellar. The mess left behind at Excaliber and now leaving Chow's certainly signals some immaturity and misguided adults.
I certainly don't begrudge her making money based on the Olympics/medals---all the girls did. I think what her advisors are forgetting is the "life span" of an athlete as a celeb cashing in is very limited. You're only as good as the last meet. Gabby's fan base is really the little girls in gyms across the country who want to be just like her. When more time goes by and there is no Gabby winning medals or even in competition, those girls will find a new "hero" to cheer for.
Fame is fleeting.