WAG More lost sponsors for USAG

[z2akids]

Doesn't fix everything, but is a step. Maybe coaches will learn WHY they should not drive kids to meets, or travel alone with kids. Maybe parents should have to take the parent course to get the USAG number. Education is a good first step, but then things have to keep moving along from there.

I have heard so many parents whose coaches have offered to take their kids to meets, and have indicated that it is THEIR child, THEIR choice. No understanding or awareness, or jsut ignoring, what is happening with all of this. It scares me at times.

I agree. I think that a part of the problem lies in the age of gymnasts. Our children start so young and gymnastics often is so all consuming that parents often haven't had much experience with children's activities that they don't realize how incredibly unusual it is for coaches and athletes to have so many opportunities for one-on-one time. Gyms often push to limit parent viewing, even in lower levels, so parents get accustomed to their children being out of their protection. Children and parents have to put so much trust in coaches for their child's physical safety. These things are unusual in other children's activities. The mindset needs to change. Children reach the highest levels in other sports without having coaches travel or train children alone. It can be done in gymnastics too.

I do like the idea of parents taking a safe sporting class. We have to for middle school sports, volunteering in my children's school, Scouts, volunteering at church and even for rec soccer. For a lot of gymnast families, this is likely their first experience with child safety in sports outside of TV cases like Penn State or Nassar.

 

[z2akids]

I’m sure it will be Under Armour out and Ozone in. It would make a bigger statement to me if some of these companies would do something about helping young girls have a voice and stick up for themselves. All they re doing is pulling a sponsorship where another company would gladly fill.

What do you think they should do? We often talk about voting with our pocketbooks - switching from an abusing gym, etc. These businesses spend lots of money on sponsorships because it brings money, prestige and an audience for their businesses, not out of charity. Pulling their money is a big statement. My hope is that USAG will be able to clean up its act quickly enough so that those same businesses are comfortable making the big statement of returning to sponsoring gymnastics in the US.

 

[3rd_time_around]

I don't know that sponsors are going to rush and fill those spots. I hope the loss of Under Armor several years early sends a message that more change needs to happen at the highest level. We'll see if anyone sponsors nationals and classics next year. They still have relationships with GK and AT&T.

They were too expensive anyway. I prefer Ozone.

 

[z2akids]

They make you take a safe sport course, which manically cures everything, didn't you hear?!?

It doesn't cure anything, but the hope is that it makes you more aware and proactive with protecting kids.

When my oldest was 3, I had to take a 4 hour class and have a background check, just to be allowed to come into his preschool classroom and read to the kids. 13 years later, I still remember the video we watched with actual pedophiles speaking from prison about how they groomed families. Disgusting and eye opening. After that class, I barely wanted to leave my own mother alone to babysit my kids.

To the best of my knowledge, none of my children has endured abuse. I think my awareness was increased through that class and may have helped prevent me from allowing my kids in situations that were more risky. Our gymnasts need that skepticism and awareness from their parents.

 

[profmom]

You know what? I do not think it's the job of corporations to protect the welfare of children. Nor is it their job to support veterans, fund breast cancer research, or make nice to public elementary schools. It's great when they choose to do these things, but some things are the inherent responsibility of the state, and we play a fool's game when we try to substitute market forces for the responsible exercise of state power.

What we have learned from the entire series of revelations about the culture of abuse in gymnastics is that relying on a system of child protection based almost entirely (with the exception of child pornography) in state law without any kind of comprehensive national recordkeeping, secondary availability of criminal charges, and strong oversight cannot prevent serial child abusers from picking up and starting over elsewhere after getting caught once. Nor is every state's system sufficiently rigorous and well enough built to address the issue seriously. And while what's happened in gymnastics is terrible, remember that most parents with gymnasts who reach upper optionals are people with resources who are invested in their children's success. It's so much worse for so many other children who do not have this kind of background and support system, many of whom have no champions when they are victimized.

My pipe dream is that this moment becomes a catalyst for broader recognition of the need to address child abuse as a phenomenon, not just as something bad that a few bad apples did to children in gymnastics.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

Doesn't fix everything, but is a step. Maybe coaches will learn WHY they should not drive kids to meets, or travel alone with kids. Maybe parents should have to take the parent course to get the USAG number. Education is a good first step, but then things have to keep moving along from there.

I have heard so many parents whose coaches have offered to take their kids to meets, and have indicated that it is THEIR child, THEIR choice. No understanding or awareness, or jsut ignoring, what is happening with all of this. It scares me at times.

My point was that USAG needs to focus on themselves more. they have some image issues for sure

 

[suds]

Corporate sponsors have responsibilities to their share holders and their bottom line....

It would be nice if they got involved in the rehab of USAG, but again, if I'm a big corporate sponsor and USAG doesn't even really seem to commit to change in a big way, then neither am I....

Your point is well taken.

P & G, by their own admission, is considering re-engaging with USAG in the future:

“We will evaluate whether to renew our partnership next spring, in light of our longer term priorities and continued actions on their part,” a P&G representative told The Post of the gymnastics governing body.”…

“We support the actions USA Gymnastics has taken thus far, including accepting the recommendations by an independent expert and hiring a new Safe Sport Director,” P&G said in a statement to The Post. “In addition, we are supportive of the broader actions taking place via the USOC Safe Sport program as well as the Federal reform proposed by Senator Feinstein and others.”

“But we want to ensure all voices who have been affected by abuse have been heard and that USAG takes all measures necessary to address such vitally important issues.”​

Source: Link Removed​

The strategy decision of when to sponsor USAG again would most-likely come from an advisory board.

Since plenty of high-profile gymnasts are currently chastising USAG (appropriately), this begs the question:
When it is the right time to re-engage with USAG? and its corollary: How will our corporation know when we can sponsor USAG again and not be second-guessed / called-out by high-profile athletes?

Which circles back to sponsors involving abuse victims in dialogue – at a minimum to put a public stamp of approval on when USAG has “Shown enough progress” for corporate support to restart.

If I were P&G, I would tap Aly (and others) and ask them to be key players in the “What needs to be done first?” committee. When the high-profile athletes can publicly declare their support of our corporation re-sponsoring USAG, only then would I re-up the sponsorship. If USAG does not change sufficiently, then we would walk away - and USAG would know this up-front (if they don’t already).

In the meantime, the victims / athletes would have a much stronger voice as corporate sponsorship is leveraged to force USAG to listen – with increased urgency.

 

[bogwoppit]

They make you take a safe sport course, which manically cures everything, didn't you hear?!?

Hahahaha!

 

[Gymmommy71]

I think a good start would be to make it a rule that gyms can’t prevent parent viewing and those w/o windows from the lobby to the gym need to put them in and/or install viewing cameras. A few months ago DDs gym had some people in for a clinic and sent a thing out saying “no parents allowed onsite at the request of the instructors cause it interrupts w/ the training”... I was very annoyed by it and instantly thought of the abuse and how so many of those parents were forbidden from being around. Just made me think things will never change when I saw that - I think prohibiting parents from watching shouldn’t be allowed for at least a while after everything that has happened.

 

[3rd_time_around]

Doesn't fix everything, but is a step. Maybe coaches will learn WHY they should not drive kids to meets, or travel alone with kids. Maybe parents should have to take the parent course to get the USAG number. Education is a good first step, but then things have to keep moving along from there.

I have heard so many parents whose coaches have offered to take their kids to meets, and have indicated that it is THEIR child, THEIR choice. No understanding or awareness, or jsut ignoring, what is happening with all of this. It scares me at times.

I seriously do not see how they can enforce a lot of the Safe Sport directives. Some of them are not practical and some are very limiting for parents and gymnasts that aren't independently wealthy. I often sent my gymnast alone to a meet without me and just her coach. Her head coach and family is as close as my own family I did not and do not have the money or the means to go to those travel meets, so i sent her entrusted to her coach whom I trusted to keep her safe in the gym 20 hours a week as well. There are not a lot of parents who can take off a week of work to go sit at the Training Center or the Ranch or can take off 3 work days to get to Nationals on Wednesday to Sunday. Not to mention the added travel expense for the parent, etc. Or just a regular travel meet fort their club that requires a plane ride. Those work days are paying for those meets and the travel and coaches' fees. Plus, with the many meets in a season, not all jobs will allow parents to take off that much. Will they be setting up a fund to ensure that 1 parent is able to travel with each gymnast?

This is a real concern for people like me! If I could not have sent her with her coach, she could not have gone. With those kinds of restrictions, the sport will be inaccessible for many promising gymnasts, and will become a sport that only the wealthy can participate in past level 5.

And what about those gyms that don''t allow parents to watch practice? That is more concerning to me than my child traveling alone with her coach. Daily practice where familiarity is bred is a breeding ground for abuse. If parents are able to be present and watching, then the likelihood of emotional abuse will be reduced. Will they be requiring that all gyms have an open door policy to all practices? And I also don't understand the no coach babysitting the gymnasts. Why not? A lot of coaches are struggling college kids--in my experience. What if a coach is a friend of the family before you signed your child up for gym? Are you no longer allowed to have that relationship any more?

I'm not ignoring what has happened, I just have genuine questions as to what parents are supposed to do when their daughter or son is a great gymnast but the money isn't flowing freely for extra expenses. (we're talking upwards of $1000 extra for a single meet or camp, depending on what it is)

 

[skschlag]

I understand the money situation. I was docked many days last year for meets. It was not a good thing for us, but needed.

Some ideas coudl include:

Pooling teams...so if 3 teams in your state have kiddos going somewhere, then 3 coaches, 3 kids...no problem.

I think it will take creativity.

our gym has open practices...can see, hear everything. We don't have a choice but to go wtih our kiddos, or they do not go. Our gym has had this policy for years. It is a huge issue, but so far we have been able to figure things out. But it does take creativity on our part, and I think on the coaches' part as well.

Babysitting..sigh. That is what happened to a coach recently. Was watching 2 of his gymnasts during the mornings, getting them ready for school every day. HE is now banned and in jail for what occured during those times.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

I think a good start would be to make it a rule that gyms can’t prevent parent viewing and those w/o windows from the lobby to the gym need to put them in and/or install viewing cameras. A few months ago DDs gym had some people in for a clinic and sent a thing out saying “no parents allowed onsite at the request of the instructors cause it interrupts w/ the training”... I was very annoyed by it and instantly thought of the abuse and how so many of those parents were forbidden from being around. Just made me think things will never change when I saw that - I think prohibiting parents from watching shouldn’t be allowed for at least a while after everything that has happened.

On the flip side , a few weeks ago we had a creeper coming in and watching the kids. After a few days we called the ballet studio down the street and they also had the same man viewing ballet classes. It's only because of the time of night and us not letting team parents watch all the time, that we were able to notice him.... I and 2 other coaches followed him on foot for over a mile to see where he was going. He was clearly trying to evade us, we called the police and they stopped him. At that time we asked him to never enter our facility again , with the police present. We do get creepers in the gym from time to time (and we are located in a very very nice residential area). So there is a flip side to everything. But yes Rec parents should have viewing access for sure. We always have parents in the viewing area .

 

[z2akids]

It will take creativity and a change in belief.

For away meets, camps, etc. coaches, families and teams could coordinate with others. Coach from Gym A could meet at the airport with Coach from Gym B. Parents meet there with their gymnasts C, D and E. Now the 2 coaches and 3 gymnasts all travel as a group with the kids and coaches mindful that neither coach is ever alone with 1 child.

As for viewing, I think the #1 priority is no single child alone in the gym with one coach. Privates after hours should require the presence of another adult.

None of the rules forces the parent to be the 2nd adult.

Babysitting - again multiple kids, multiple adults. Gyms could even get involved and do parents nights out or just coordinate with your friends to pool babysitting.

All of these things can still happen. It just takes a different perspective and a little extra planning to increase safety for children, and protect our beloved coaches from false accusations.

 

[rjb123]

I am grateful that our gym allows viewing. I am sure the coaches don't always love it, but EVERYTHING is out in the open there- there are literally no hiding places from the viewing area. I don't watch, but will pop in to check on things from time to time. Watching gives me hives at this point! I don't even like watching at meets! HA! As for creepers, I do know that there was a suspicious individual that the frequent watching parents noticed. They notified the powers that be and it was taken care of it. The positive is that since the parents can watch- there is usually someone there who would notice an "out of place" adult in the building. Everyone pretty much knows (at least by sight) all of the other parents and rec parents are fairly easy to pick out too. A lot of safe sport is just good common sense. We have similar rules to volunteer in our church and in any school in the area. I would personally like if USAG sent out frequent "reminders" to the clubs/ parents about key points of safe sport. My non gymnast's sport does this and it is great. Usually we get a bullet point about it weekly in an update email. Something like "remember, with safe sport, an athlete should NEVER email a coach without copying the parent on the communication" - things like this. It gives us great talking points to discuss with our kids too! They are simple and always remind us to continually talk about and hold each other accountable for following safe sport procedures. I love that!

 

[strawberries]

I am a strong proponent of limiting TEAM parent viewing, NOT rec parent. I am in now way talking about a gym that is ever empty or unobserved. I have seen the opposite extreme too many times (parents camped out by the window for hours), and that creates another kind of unhealthy. I would argue that statistically, those over-watched kids have a harder time taking ownership of their gymnastics, their opinions, and their personal boundaries in the end.

 

[Gymmommy71]

I am a strong proponent of limiting TEAM parent viewing, NOT rec parent. I am in now way talking about a gym that is ever empty or unobserved. I have seen the opposite extreme too many times (parents camped out by the window for hours), and that creates another kind of unhealthy. I would argue that statistically, those over-watched kids have a harder time taking ownership of their gymnastics, their opinions, and their personal boundaries in the end.

This may be, but would you rather these gymnasts be molested by a predatory coach while alone in the gym for 4-6 hours straight when the predator knows parents are forbidden/unable to watch? To me it’s an easy decision...and I’m sure the rational that you gave is exactly what those who forbid parents at the ranch while kids were abused used as the justification for why they couldn’t be there. Meanwhile Nassar was alone w/ gymnasts in cabins.

And not every parent that watches their kid do gymnastics destroys their progress. I’d say a kid who made it to the ranch and/or high level optionals w/ their parent watching is doing just fine.

 

[Flippin'A]

I attended a gym that didn't have a specific policy about parents watching, but there was no seating and no area for them to hang out in. There were a few parents who got there early for pickup, but they had to stand awkwardly in the doorway trying not to be in anyone's way. And even from there, the floor was in an entirely separate room you had to walk through the whole gym to get to, and you couldn't see it from the entrance. So they didn't have to make a policy because the atmosphere was so uninviting that parents, even rec parents, understood they weren't welcome.

I can tell you first hand that this provided the perfect breeding ground for abuse. As far as I know there was no sexual abuse at my gym, but emotional abuse was rampant and nearly every coach used abusive tactics of one kind or another. It didn't require any kind of isolated one-on-one situation because it was so commonplace that the gymnasts just accepted it as a reality of the sport. I didn't even realize it was abusive until much later as an adult. While I definitely think prohibiting individual contact can significantly reduce the risk of sexual abuse, the greater cultural issues within competitive gymnastics don't happen behind closed doors. And removing those inherent issues and the cultural of silently putting up with abuse I believe could have a huge impact on gymnasts feeling empowered to report when the much more severe forms of abuse take place. It's about teaching the kids how to speak up and say when something makes them uncomfortable. There are always going to be bad people trying to get close to kids, and we, along with the good people we entrust our children to, need to make sure that we don't support an environment that values silent obedience.

So yes, absolutely pair up and travel in groups, have open viewing of practices, and for god's sake don't let children be alone in a hotel room/cabin with an adult who isn't their parent. But also start looking at how we can teach gymnasts as a group that not every adult in authority is someone they have to listen to.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

This may be, but would you rather these gymnasts be molested by a predatory coach while alone in the gym for 4-6 hours straight when the predator knows parents are forbidden/unable to watch? To me it’s an easy decision...and I’m sure the rational that you gave is exactly what those who forbid parents at the ranch while kids were abused used as the justification for why they couldn’t be there. Meanwhile Nassar was alone w/ gymnasts in cabins.

And not every parent that watches their kid do gymnastics destroys their progress. I’d say a kid who made it to the ranch and/or high level optionals w/ their parent watching is doing just fine.

Did you even read strawberry post?

 

[Aero]

I imagine this is why no elite nationals for 2018 has been announced yet (even though National Congress Location has been announced...).

Boston, Massachusetts is the location for the 2018 Artistic National Championships. It takes place one week after National Congress, which is in Providence, Rhode Island. National Congress and National Championships are not held in conjunction this year, which is very stupid in my opinion. This is the most recent, up to date information I have heard.

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

Stupid question, but what is national congress?