WAG No sponsorship, thanks to Nassar....

[notthatmom]

So I was talking to our gym owner yesterday about the US Classic since we were there, and he worked the event. I told him I noticed that Secret didn't sponsor the meet this year, and it was weird to see an event that wasn't named/sponsored by anyone. He told me people are pulling their sponsorships because they don't want to be affiliated with USAG and the recent events that are in the news. In fact, the classic was supposed to be in Texas at the AT&T arena (stadium?) but they pulled out of it for that very reason.
That makes me so sad. You would think companies would want to stand by USAG and show that they are advocates for these girls in spite of what's happened.


Anyway, that's all...just thought I'd share some gossip I heard.


Thoughts?

 

[Jard.the.gymnast]

OK I missed something. What happened?

 

[Seeker]

OK I missed something. What happened?

Just Google Larry Nassar.

 

[ayyyrial]

I didn't think of sponsors pulling out but I'm not surprised. The companies that sponsor big USAG events aren't advocates for gymnasts, or gymnastics, or safety, or anything else - they're just there to benefit from the popularity of the sport.

In fact, I think it's a good thing to have some kind of pressure on USAG to improve their policies, procedures, and responses to this kind of thing.

 

[vbdb]

I don't think USAG's response to all of this has been adequate and I'm quite happy to see corporations putting their money where their ethics are. What happened shouldn't be brushed under the rug and forgotten about so a little pain felt by USAG won't go amiss. They need to know that everyone stands behind the vulnerable women and girls in this sport and we won't forget the role USAG had in allowing this abuse to happen.
This isn't to be laid only at the feet of one pervert but to all those in positions of power who looked the other way in their pursuit to win.

 

[mariposa]

USAG is just as guilty, perhaps more guilty, than Nassar. They covered up abuse for years. Sure Nassar adds to the issue, but USAG made their own mess by not protecting children.

 

[BachFlyer]

I agree with ayyyrial and vbdb. USAG is, in my opinion, not only partially to blame for the extent and longevity of Nassar's abuses, but also for their perfunctory response. I personally feel like USAG has placated us to this point, and don't feel that all of the systemic factors that helped to create and perpetuate this mess have been sufficiently and competently addressed. It remains to be seen whether their investigation and new Safe Sport policies will be meaningful. Sponsors are in-effect supporting our athletes by pulling out, because they are refusing to be complicit in the pretense that all is well just because Nassar was arrested.

 

[fuzi]

Hilton isn't sponsoring anymore either.
Not sure if it's as a result of all the allegations or not, but you'll see that none of the men's national team are repping Hilton Honors anymore.

 

[notthatmom]

All of you make very very good points! I definitely understand that USAG has a lot of messes to clean up, and I didn't really think of it that way

 

[skschlag]

Hilton isn't sponsoring anymore either.
Not sure if it's as a result of all the allegations or not, but you'll see that none of the men's national team are repping Hilton Honors anymore.

The Hilton deal was only thru 2016 anyway. I thought Mate Bros just became the sponsor after that. Not 100% sure, but I guess it could have had a little to do with all of this.

 

[Gymmommy71]

Interesting and I don't blame the companies for not wanting to be associated. They still do those camps in the middle of nowhere and prohibit parent attendance, right? They still determine the better assignments based on subjective decisions of a select group of powerful people who have no term limit, right? If so, it doesn't seem like much has changed.

 

[fuzi]

The Hilton deal was only thru 2016 anyway. I thought Mate Bros just became the sponsor after that. Not 100% sure, but I guess it could have had a little to do with all of this.

Thanks. I wasn't sure if the deal was up anyways or if it was related.

 

[notthatmom]

Interesting and I don't blame the companies for not wanting to be associated. They still do those camps in the middle of nowhere and prohibit parent attendance, right? They still determine the better assignments based on subjective decisions of a select group of powerful people who have no term limit, right? If so, it doesn't seem like much has changed.

Oh they have changed lots of things. No more traveling or staying at a hotel without a parent...gymnasts cannot be alone with coaches...there is a huge report (or maybe it's just a proposal at this point?) that was sent out that outlines all of this.
So I don't think the issue is that they're not doing anything, but that it took something of this magnitude for USAG to finally do it.

 

[notthatmom]

I overheard a parent at US Classic talking on the phone about how she got an email saying since her gymnast qualified for P&G, they would be reserving hotel rooms for the gymnasts and the parent(s) and that the parent was required to accompany them for travel/lodging. So it does look like they are making changes....slowly but surely.

 

[bogwoppit]

Oh they have changed lots of things. No more traveling or staying at a hotel without a parent...gymnasts cannot be alone with coaches...there is a huge report (or maybe it's just a proposal at this point?) that was sent out that outlines all of this.
So I don't think the issue is that they're not doing anything, but that it took something of this magnitude for USAG to finally do it.

Those are what the report suggested they put in place. Coaches are still travelling alone with gymnasts to the ranch.

 

[sce]

Oh they have changed lots of things. No more traveling or staying at a hotel without a parent...gymnasts cannot be alone with coaches...there is a huge report (or maybe it's just a proposal at this point?) that was sent out that outlines all of this.
So I don't think the issue is that they're not doing anything, but that it took something of this magnitude for USAG to finally do it.

Have they changed these things. Do parents have to travel to camp with their girls now? Dues a parent go with each girl on international
Assignments?

 

[sce]

I did not on the US Classic broadcast, the announcers said, "Sponsored by USA gymnastics."

 

[l.c.o]

Well, to be fair... I agree that I don't think it's actually Nassar's fault. Yes, should the allegations be true (sounds like they are), then at this point I think that it's at least equally the fault of the entire elite gymnastics culture. USAG, coaches and parents (if they suspected or ignored suspicions/reports), etc.

Had there been safety controls in place and some sort of publicized no tolerance policy, then one could reason that this Nassar situation would have never reached this level. To that end, there also would very likely be no current sponsorship issues, if indeed the allegations are the root cause of that.

Like others, I also don't think that USAG's seemingly mild response to this has helped matters here. If I were a corporation looking to spend sponsorship dollars, I'd probably be worried about why there hasn't been a more aggressive stance from USAG.

 

[DefiniteMaybe]

Ok. So I'm finally going to throw in my 2 cents about all of the disgust toward USAG.

Warning: I have SO many thoughts on this subject. It would take me hours and pages to express them all, so this abbreviated version of my thoughts and opinions may be long and choppy at best.

Let me start by saying that I believe child sexual abuse to be the most evil, unforgivable, most disgusting act imaginable. I can't even fathom what these girls or their parents have been through. I do feel, however, that Nassar and the other perpetrators are solely responsible for those horrific acts of abuse. I feel that blaming USAG is akin to blaming the family of a victim who was abused by a trusted family member or friend. Nassar wormed his way into so many hearts under the guise of being a good and caring medical professional and friend. Literally hundreds of people (or more) jumped to his defense when his victims started coming forward. He had been able to earn such deep trust from numerous people in the midst of committing horrible crimes against little girls. It's still all so unbelievable.

But I digress...

Because there are countless evil, deceptive people who have the ability to pass themselves off as trustworthy, abuse has happened and always will happen in every organization and in every walk of life, regardless of safeguards. Certainly, there is always room for improvement. And in a perfect world, the improvements and added safeguards would be enough to protect every child from any future abuse. But the reality is: snakes will be snakes and they will find a way to get to their prey.

And what complicates the matter tremendously is that a few of those snakes might actually be angry, vindictive, false accusers. Think Tonya Harding or Wanda Holloway for a minute. In the highest levels of an extremely competitive sport, there will be crazies who are vindictive enough to literally murder or severely injure another human being. I've seen some crazy, furious, vindictive gymnastics parents in my day. Sometimes that fury is directed at a coach who didn't achieve enough with their daughter. I don't think the idea of a false accusation with the intention of ruining a coach's career would be out of the question in the world of high level gymnastics.

So there sits USAG achieving the highest levels of the sport they represent while navigating through the mess of rumors and snakes. Maybe they could've handled things better. There are victims whose lives are forever altered. Maybe they should've been quicker to act. But then again what if many of the accusations were false? It wouldn't matter. Once word got out--even if it turned out to be false--the accused coach's career would be over. His life forever altered.

Maybe parents shouldn't allow their child to travel with their coach. Perhaps parents shouldn't allow their children to go to sleepovers or church camp or spend summers with their aunts and uncles. Predators are very often trusted family members or friends. They're generally sneaky and hard to recognize, and they can be literally anywhere. From public restrooms to school classrooms to a best friend's house. Predators have preyed on victims in churches, homes, schools, malls, restaurants, gyms, sporting good stores, doctor's offices, camps, etc.

I just kind of wanted to throw out another perspective. I have so much more say, but I'll close for now.

 

[Seeker]

Agree that Nassar and all abusers are responsible for their actions. I don't know anyone that would argue against that. However, USAG also has a responsibility to uphold as they are the governing body of the sport. They put their logo on gyms and gymnasts and meets, so there is some expectation of even a very basic level of professional oversight. This is particularly true when it comes to safeguarding and protecting their National Team members, the bulk of whom are minors. They did not uphold that duty even when presented with information that made it quite clear those children were very likely in clear and present danger. With that knowledge, they had a responsibility to do SOMETHING and all evidence points to the fact that they did very nearly absolutely nothing in all cases until it was forced by law.

This is not okay with me.