WAG Liukin just resigned

[bogwoppit]

I guess....what do they hope to accomplish? He resigned, are they just ‘showing aupport’ or are they expecting USAG to beg him to come back? He did leave of his own volition.

Agreed, he quit, now time to move on and help rebuild not divide.

 

[2gymmies]

Agreed, he quit, now time to move on and help rebuild not divide.

Maybe he didn’t “quit” on his own... we don’t know how it all went down.

 

[bogwoppit]

Maybe he didn’t “quit” on his own... we don’t know how it all went down.

We don't. But it is time to move on. They need to regroup and get their act together.

 

[Flippin'A]

I agree that it's time to move forward and unite under new leadership as it is figured out. I don't have an issue with Nastia supporting Valeri (he's her father, it's only natural) but bringing a whole group of young gymnasts into the middle of things isn't necessary and just makes her look a little petty.

And I know this is way beside the point, but using anchors to signify not sinking is just silly. Anchors are designed to sink. That's literally the point of them.

 

[Hollowarchkick]

The shirts were made by coaches. The kids could choose to buy one. She simply took a picture with them. There were a lot more than just those kids.

 

[Hollowarchkick]

As a side note, the anchor gives a ship stability and strength in storms. It can symbolize many things.

 

[wandrewsjr]

As a side note, the anchor gives a ship stability and strength in storms. It can symbolize many things.

Yes, a ship can be lost(and sink) without an anchor to prevent it from drifting in current or wind. That is the point of them.

 

[Flippin'A]

I'm not a sailor. You caught me.

And look, I'm not saying that it's wrong for these girls or the other coaches or parents or whoever to show support for Liukin. I guess I'm just having a hard time seeing how he is a victim in all of this. No one is suggesting he lose his gyms or be put on the ineligible list or be sent to jail. I haven't even seen him named in any of the lawsuits. He chose (based on his own statement) to step down from a job. Sometimes when you are a highly visible figure inside of an organization that screws up so royally that's going to happen. I, like 99% of the gymnastics community, have never met Valeri Liukin. Therefore, I have to go off of the comments made by his former gymnasts. Some have had nothing but praise, some have been very critical. Taking this as a whole I feel that him stepping down was the right choice to help USAG move on with a fresh start. I don't wish any ill will on the guy and I'm sure he will continue with a perfectly successful career as a gymnastics coach. If he was wronged in some way then he should probably start speaking up for himself because he has been essentially silent throughout this entire process.

 

[wandrewsjr]

I'm not a sailor. You caught me.

And look, I'm not saying that it's wrong for these girls or the other coaches or parents or whoever to show support for Liukin. I guess I'm just having a hard time seeing how he is a victim in all of this. No one is suggesting he lose his gyms or be put on the ineligible list or be sent to jail. I haven't even seen him named in any of the lawsuits. He chose (based on his own statement) to step down from a job. Sometimes when you are a highly visible figure inside of an organization that screws up so royally that's going to happen. I, like 99% of the gymnastics community, have never met Valeri Liukin. Therefore, I have to go off of the comments made by his former gymnasts. Some have had nothing but praise, some have been very critical. Taking this as a whole I feel that him stepping down was the right choice to help USAG move on with a fresh start. I don't wish any ill will on the guy and I'm sure he will continue with a perfectly successful career as a gymnastics coach. If he was wronged in some way then he should probably start speaking up for himself because he has been essentially silent throughout this entire process.

Agree, I don’t think you would find an argument, from even his biggest supporters, that speaking up is one of his strengths. I think those in the currently training elite community, who have mostly positive experiences with Liukin, are mostly feeling adrift, with no one else stepping up to assume the mantel.

 

[Hollowarchkick]

I can appreciate where you’re coming from. I’m just coming from a different perspective from you. I have kids in the program. I’ve worked with him for a few years now. The athletes and coaches that want him back have had excellent experiences in the camp systems under his leadership. I’ve never coached at his gym nor observed him coaching in his gym. I can only attest to what I personally observed. The camps were very positive. There was never a voice raised. They were educational, respectful, and professional. He didn’t care what gym you were from or what kids you coached. It was a fresh start and we all appreciated that. My program improved because of what I learned. I did clinics where I was able to help more coaches. It was a program that was spreading and producing. My hope is that someone will be able to keep it going in that direction. But for those of us that were in it, it’s tough because we know what we had and we loved it.
I’d also like to say that the athletes representing Woga ere surprisingly low. It was tough on those coaches because they wanted to be more involved and he took extra care to not let there be any question of favoritism. Woga is set. They’ve been busting at the seams for years. He doesn’t need to do anything to improve his business. This was a passion he clearly had and took it seriously.

 

[HappyGymmie]

I might be naive here, but when I looked at the picture of the girls and Valeri, I thought it was about how the USAG as an organization was sinking down, but the gymnasts refused to sink with it. It had nothing to do with Luikin's resignation.

 

[Hollowarchkick]

As far as the public statements, any attorney will tell you that if there are lawsuits anywhere around, including your employer or someone that may need testimony, that you should refrain from making comments.

 

[Flippin'A]

I can definitely see it from your perspective and I know this must be incredibly hard for the athletes and coaches who were thriving within the old system and now don't know what the future holds. And I know that he likely had his hands tied on the legal end of things. Unfortunately, the things you have to do to avoid lawsuits and the things you have to do to rebuild trust with the public are conflicting. I hope someone's able to step into the position who is able to benefit your gymnasts just as much.

 

[GymFan96]

I can appreciate where you’re coming from. I’m just coming from a different perspective from you. I have kids in the program. I’ve worked with him for a few years now.

Hollow arch kick, since you’re an insider how did people feel about Ashton being named to the World team with no inbars? I won’t even mention her beam. There’s no way Márta would have sent her in that condition.

I might be naive here, but when I looked at the picture of the girls and Valeri, I thought it was about how the USAG as an organization was sinking down, but the gymnasts refused to sink with it. It had nothing to do with Luikin's resignation.

Nastia “liked” a tweet posted by Lauren Hopkins, replying to a comment about the shirts: “It’s the girls on the national and developmental team who came up under Valeri and are in this way protesting him no longer being part of the national program.”

So whether that’s true idk, but Nastia seems to believe it is and I feel like she would know what the shirts are truly about. I would embed the tweets but idk how. You can look at Nastia’s twitter “Likes” section.

 

[GymFan96]

I am so sick of the Liukins playing the victims. And his resignation statement was all about himself, and the “stress and uncertainty” to HIS family. That’s fine. Be gone!

 

[bogwoppit]

I am so sick of the Liukins playing the victims. And his resignation statement was all about himself, and the “stress and uncertainty” to HIS family. That’s fine. Be gone!

I honestly doubt he was allowed to say any more than he did. I am pretty much certain he wrote it, it was vetted by the lawyers, and released. I am equally as certain that he is not allowed to speak up. Nastia is being defensive of her daddy, that is all. She has the social media's ear, and is using it.

I am sure he was a perfectly great dev, nat team, coach. But it is done, it is over. They have to rebuild quickly. I see they are trying. But I also hear rumours and rumblings that some of the old guard do not like the new guard. That needs to stop and they need to work together to fix the system before they lose the talent they have.

I fear the dev system will take the hardest hit.

 

[Seeker]

I am so sick of the Liukins playing the victims. And his resignation statement was all about himself, and the “stress and uncertainty” to HIS family. That’s fine. Be gone!

You seem to have a real hatred for both Valeri and Nastia — you’ve made that clear and that’s totally fine. Do you have any constructive ideas? Any positivity to help the community move forward? The constant barrage of hate isn’t helping anyone.

 

[vagymmomma]

I am so sick of the Liukins playing the victims. And his resignation statement was all about himself, and the “stress and uncertainty” to HIS family. That’s fine. Be gone!

You are acting no better than the "old guard". Move on ... we don't need any more negativity here.

 

[Pineapple_Lump]

I am so sick of the Liukins playing the victims. And his resignation statement was all about himself, and the “stress and uncertainty” to HIS family. That’s fine. Be gone!

I'm sick of hearing you whinge about the Liukin's...seriously move on if you can't provide anything new or constructive.

My personal feeling towards Valeri and the arguments for and against... I see both sides. I can see as the personal coach how he treated at least some of the athletes poorly - especially those who came looking for greener pastures. While at the same time he is is also an amazing technical coach who was great at coaching the coaches and not personally invested in each gymnast. There was no real pressure or feeling the need to resort to negativity like he may have done with his own gymnasts. It would be nice if the reason Valeri has so many fans is because Valeri had made positive changes to his coaching as he assumed the role he was in - unfortunately that does not change the experience some of his personal athletes went through. I know everyone was lumping Atler in with the unhappy gymnasts but she was actually pretty fair on the situation and felt that he was a young coach who was lumped with a mess of a gymnast and probably didn't handle it in the best way but he was trying his best for the athlete.

 

[suds]

For contemplation (myself included):

“The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” - Henry David Thoreau