WAG Steve Penny arrested

[gymnastmom05]

Wow, I had wondered where he disappeared to and found his timing suspicious. Now that I know who, I see my favorite (sarcasm) emotionally abusive former coach (well, my dd's) is friends with him on Facebook, patting him on the back all the while they're both claiming they want to protect and help athletes. Mind totally blown. I guess others that knew who he was were probably reading his posts and rolling eyes just like I do when former coach goes on a long tirade about being an advocate all the while those that had children train under her, know her actions don't align with her words.

 

[suds]

It is really awful, he was trusted here and clearly continues to victim blame.

What an emotionally exhausting journey it has been over these last several years.

Each time yet another nefarious person is revealed, once the initial shock wears off, it is so important to do honest soul-searching for what the red flags were that were missed / ignored.

What I’ve learned myself, with 20/20 hindsight, is the more that I had flinched in the past (in response to someone’s comments that I believed to be disrespectful or dismissive to athletes and children) the more urgently I needed to recognize it as the red flag that it was.

Some days, this is how I feel:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWbbjvYmN8A

 

[amiandjim]

Wow, I had wondered where he disappeared to and found his timing suspicious. Now that I know who, I see my favorite (sarcasm) emotionally abusive former coach (well, my dd's) is friends with him on Facebook, patting him on the back all the while they're both claiming they want to protect and help athletes. Mind totally blown. I guess others that knew who he was were probably reading his posts and rolling eyes just like I do when former coach goes on a long tirade about being an advocate all the while those that had children train under her, know her actions don't align with her words.

This former coach is the one I was speaking of a couple pages up in this thread who is very prominent on the FB Page of the “new organization” that wants to take over for USAG.

 

[LJL07]

This former coach is the one I was speaking of a couple pages up in this thread who is very prominent on the FB Page of the “new organization” that wants to take over for USAG.

Well, no thanks then.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

This former coach is the one I was speaking of a couple pages up in this thread who is very prominent on the FB Page of the “new organization” that wants to take over for USAG.

The. Re new USAG FB (if that is the one you are talking about) is not a group trying form a new body. The originator is a supporter of USAG. I just unjoined a week ago along with others.

 

[amiandjim]

The. Re new USAG FB (if that is the one you are talking about) is not a group trying form a new body. The originator is a supporter of USAG. I just unjoined a week ago along with others.

The FB group linked on page 3 is the one I was referencing...that’s as the first time I had seen that page but people seemed to think they were hoping to take over. When I clicked it, one of the first names on saw was the coach referenced in the post above.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

That’s bad

That I’m speechless or the article?! Lol

 

[skschlag]

This former coach is the one I was speaking of a couple pages up in this thread who is very prominent on the FB Page of the “new organization” that wants to take over for USAG.

He is not a part of the one that I have seen....or at least he has not been vocal.

 

[amiandjim]

He is not a part of the one that I have seen....or at least he has not been vocal.

I didn’t mean Dunno. I meant the coach mentioned by gymmom05 that was abusive but has been posting all over about fixing gymnastics, and that coach is apparently friends with or associated Dunno AND is a name on that FB Page linked on page 3. Ok that sounds super confusing!

 

[Flippin'A]

I took this screenshot back when Naddour was first accused because his comments made me so angry and I wanted to show it to another parent at my daughter's gym as an example of the victim blaming that's still embedded in the minds of high ups at USAG. I had no idea of Dunno's identity at the time. Whether USAG is allowed to remain in charge or not, this kind of thinking has to go. Every accusation needs to be treated seriously and we need a system in place that can be trusted to quickly and accurately investigate. It's really discouraging to hear that abusive coaches might already be involved with USAG alternatives.

(I hope this doesn't seem like I'm drudging up old tweets to cause drama, this is just the kind of thing that really makes my blood boil.)

 

[bogwoppit]

I took this screenshot back when Naddour was first accused because his comments made me so angry and I wanted to show it to another parent at my daughter's gym as an example of the victim blaming that's still embedded in the minds of high ups at USAG. I had no idea of Dunno's identity at the time. Whether USAG is allowed to remain in charge or not, this kind of thinking has to go. Every accusation needs to be treated seriously and we need a system in place that can be trusted to quickly and accurately investigate. It's really discouraging to hear that abusive coaches might already be involved with USAG alternatives.
View attachment 7405
(I hope this doesn't seem like I'm drudging up old tweets to cause drama, this is just the kind of thing that really makes my blood boil.)

Ugh, absolutely gross.

 

[Natasha]

**speechless**

I trusted that anonymous former member to assist with finding a gym for my daughter when we moved to his region. He was an "expert" after all who had a wealth of knowledge and we were all lucky he graced us with his presence.

He chose a gym with owners who were great friends with Nassar and sent all injured athletes to him. They broke my kid, physically, mentally, emotionally. I am glad others are finally seeing his true character and this board is better off without him and his vile opinions. That he's still affiliated with USA Gym and allowed to own a gym is beyond shocking... But hey, birds of a feather right?

First, I am so sorry your daughter was hurt by all this.
Second, the rampant level of Narcissism among the 'leaders' in this sport is sickening.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

What I have found from reading all of these posts is that there are a lot of toxic or abusive coaches still out there coaching but yet no one wants to name them. Wouldn't it be helpful to make these coaches names public so that others can be warned??? Just curious.

 

[Aero]

What I've learned from all of this terrible, unfortunate news over the last two years is what not to do as I make my journey to the elite world. I've certainly discovered a lot about my own values as a coach, and I'm much better for it. That's one positive that's come out of all of this for me, at least. I'm going to do whatever I can to be one of the "new guard" and help change the culture. I love gymnastics too much not to do my part.

 

[josie55]

Just read/skimmed this thread and feel ill. I remember reading a lot of what @dunno/Don wrote and while even at the time I found some of it offensive, as a new gym parent I also took some of it to heart.

I read the tweets and candidly, don't even understand some of what the heck is going on and was said. So much reference to what "everyone knew" and I can't even tell what is being referred to. Please tell me that the thing about condoms and consensual sex at the Olympics was not related to young girl gymnasts? Sorry for being dense, but can someone enlighten me?

And then I found a public facebook post where he apologized, and Lynn Raisman challenges him, and then another mom challenges Lynn for not speaking up sooner b/c *her* (the other mom's) child was at the camp between the time that Lynn knew and it became public. I guess it's just another layer in the onion, but it's all so heart wrenching. So much complexity, so much damage, and so much pain all around.

We are all (well the vast majority of us) trying to do our best for our kids but there are so many opportunities, especially in this sport, to make mistakes.

 

[Empowered]

What I have found from reading all of these posts is that there are a lot of toxic or abusive coaches still out there coaching but yet no one wants to name them. Wouldn't it be helpful to make these coaches names public so that others can be warned??? Just curious.

My daughter’s old coaches attempted to ruin us financially with invented fines and told every gym within 100 miles that we didn’t pay our bills (false) solely because my daughter wanted to change gyms. We fulfilled every financial obligation in the contract and it still wasn’t good enough.

I can only imagine what they’d do if I put them on blast by name publicly.

And again, if you’re new here, this was reported to USAG legal and I was told “if I had a dollar for every story I hear like this BUT we can’t control what gyms do.”

That statement alone makes them a worthless sanctioning body and that’s before you factor in everything else.

 

[mommyof1]

For those of us who are not on social media/in the know, could someone please summarize the current public proposals to replace USAG and describe the groups propounding them?

 

[Aussie_coach]

My daughter’s old coaches attempted to ruin us financially with invented fines and told every gym within 100 miles that we didn’t pay our bills (false) solely because my daughter wanted to change gyms. We fulfilled every financial obligation in the contract and it still wasn’t good enough.

I can only imagine what they’d do if I put them on blast by name publicly.

And again, if you’re new here, this was reported to USAG legal and I was told “if I had a dollar for every story I hear like this BUT we can’t control what gyms do.”

That statement alone makes them a worthless sanctioning body and that’s before you factor in everything else.

Gymnastics clubs, particularly in the US are private businesses. The financial work of the gym should be outside of USAG’s jurisdiction.

USAG should provide for national teams, competitions, judge and coach training etc but they should not be able to control what individual gyms do.

If if it’s a legal matter it should then go to the police/courts.

 

[TumbleTimes4]

What I have found from reading all of these posts is that there are a lot of toxic or abusive coaches still out there coaching but yet no one wants to name them. Wouldn't it be helpful to make these coaches names public so that others can be warned??? Just curious.

I’ve had the same thought. How are those that are new to the sport supposed to know which gyms are abusive and which coaches to avoid if they aren’t warned? But I do understand that sometimes good coaches can receive unfair accusations leveled at them from toxic families that leave their gyms. So I don’t know what the solution is.

 

[Empowered]

Gymnastics clubs, particularly in the US are private businesses. The financial work of the gym should be outside of USAG’s jurisdiction.

USAG should provide for national teams, competitions, judge and coach training etc but they should not be able to control what individual gyms do.

If if it’s a legal matter it should then go to the police/courts.

I'm sorry but this is a cop out. These gyms know most parents in these situations don't have time or means to take situations like this through the courts. Not to mention the courts can't do anything about it. They cannot force another gym to take an athlete. The blackballing of athletes is bull and for USAG to acknowledge that it happens and they can't do anything about it is ridiculous. If you cannot sanction a club what is your purpose?

There is no reason USAG can't have a quick acting mediation team to handle situations like this. To leave a parent with the options to either spend years suing while you're kid can't train or quit is unacceptable, especially when they've given up a damn decade for the sport.