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288: Ding Dong The Ranch Is Dead

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IN THE NEWS

Victim impact statements in the sentencing for Larry Nassar began last week and continue this week. You can continue to watch it live here.

  • Update: Upon order of USOC, Paul Parilla resigns. John Geddert suspended !
  • Kyle Stephens“Little girls don’t stay little forever. They grow into strong women that return to destroy your world.”
  • Lindsey Lemke“Larry, I hope you, Lou Anna Simon, Kathie Klages, John Geddert, and all of USAG are scared, because you have pissed off the wrong army of women.”
  • The awfulness of Geddert, quote by quote, story by story
  • 14 were warned of Nassar abuse at MSU, at least one of whom is still working with the gymnastics team! WHAT?!
  • Jordyn Wieber“Larry Nassar is accountable. USA Gymnastics is accountable. The U.S. Olympic Committee is accountable. My teammates and friends have been through enough and now it’s time for change.”
  • Aly Raisman“Imagine feeling like you have no power and no voice. Well, you know what, Larry? I have both power and voice, and I am only beginning to just use them.”
  • That insane letter Nassar wrote to the judge
  • Miss Val opens can of Whoop Ass on USAG
  • What you can do:
    • S 534 Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 — Make sure it passes.

USAG announces that it will no longer be using the ranch.

  • What do we make of this?
  • Is it progress or just cynicism?
  • A listener asks: Why can’t the women just use the Olympic Training Center?

Plus, is decertification an option? What does that actually mean? And what was the deal with Nastia’s apology?

MEET NEWS

  • A rundown of the current leaders in NCAA gymnastics
  • All of Elizabeth Price’s accomplishments over the last three weeks (there have been a lot)
  • insane floor save from MyKayla Skinner
  • Sabrina Vega scores 9.950 on floor
  • Our obsession with the Toni-Ann Williams slip-and-slide vault warmup
  • Stella Savvidou’s one-arm floor routine: amazing, dangerous, or both?

FEEDBACK

We respond to your questions and comments all about

  • Piked Arabians on beam?
  • The difference between moral duty and legal duty
  • Clarification on what “the Liukin” actually is
  • Does the US train too hard leading up to competition? (Hint: YES)
  • Why can’t we just get rid of camps entirely?
  • Bad coaching vs. good coaching
  • Little Girls In Pretty Boxes
  • NCAA gymnasts as possible individual competitors in 2020

SUPPORT THE SHOW

  • Join Club Gym Nerd here.
  • Buy one of our awesome shirts here.

In episode 281.5 Jessica presented the  O’BEIRNE MANIFESTO FOR CHANGE. Six areas in which USA Gymnastics must improve immediately, otherwise nothing will ever get better and they will never gain back the trust of the members. We’ll cross off things that have been accomplished.

  1. Transparency: Daniels Report compliance list link on the USAG homepage.
  2. Gymnast Union: Athletes and parents need to start a union to eliminate the conflicts of interest inherently built into any National Governing Body system and to end the fear of retaliation.
  3. Consequences: Debbie Van Horn, Paul Parilla and the rest of the board need to go, immediately.
  4. Comprehensive Training: Every employee from president, Kerry Perry to the receptionist and all board members of USAG need in-person, day-long abuse prevention training on an annual basis. 
  5. Limit Alcohol: One drink when coaching duties are over with a meal, per day. Period.
  6. No Gray Areas: All national team staff, parents, athletes and coaches need to be educated and empowered to enforce SafeSport rules. And to call eachother out for violations.

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12 COMMENTS

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Courtney
Courtney
6 years ago

Live/train high, compete low! That’s where the altitude makes the difference, for the record. I live in Denver. I’m not a gymnast, but I don’t think it would make a big difference to train at altitude. It’s more for aerobic, endurance based sports

MB
MB
6 years ago
Reply to  Courtney

They wouldn\’t have time to adjust. They train one week every month and are expected to start the minute they get there. Most sports teams arrive early to allow their bodies to adjust with low intensity training. Going straight into high intensity training would make it even harder and make them sick.

bekki
bekki
6 years ago

That slip and slide vault freaks me out because the bad step was on that heavily bandaged leg. I just hope it wasn\’t a moment of pain that caused her to mess up her run like that.

TJ
TJ
6 years ago

Hi, this is really minor but I\’d like to say conditions in Ukraine\’s gyms are improving significantly. Areas such as Lugansk and Donetsk where gym conditions were extremely poor have now gotten equipment given to them from Russia. The team training center, Koncha Zaspa, has also now gotten brand new equipment including a new floor and foam pit. I\’m not trying to correct you or anything, just giving an update and letting everyone know things are improving! 😀

Willow Grace
Willow Grace
6 years ago

One thing to look at is the money USAG pays to the athletes and coaches that are on the National team. How do we know that the athletes are getting their money and that the coaches are not stealing from them?

anon
anon
6 years ago

Is there a time stamp for when the NCAA discussion starts? For my own mental health, I need to avoid the details of the ongoing USAG abuse.

Mike
Mike
6 years ago

Does anyone know if Chobani is still sponsoring USAG?

Other than NBC, are there any current USAG sponsors??

Sylvie
Sylvie
6 years ago

I have a question about the Nassar scandal – do we think that he had skills as a sports medicine doctor – as in, in the moments that he was not abusing his patients, did he actually heal injuries, diagnose, etc? when he wasn\’t abusing the members of the Olympic team, did he actually help them with their injuries? Or was he just a quack, primarily abusing and in fact doing little else? Clearly he is a horrible and deranged person – but if he was on staff at USAG for the Olympic team, it makes me think that he knew what he was doing in terms of his profession and performed some correct treatments, but then added onto that horrible and abusing actions. I guess it doesn\’t matter since he is so despicable, but I\’m so curious about how he established such a reputation when in fact he was abusing his patients (and so many and so often!) – someone must have been helped by him, right? Or else, how could he have kept his job at USAG and continued to get referrals?

An
An
6 years ago

Has anyone noticed that the IOC remained completely silent?
Who will hold the USOC accountable if the IOC doesn\’t care?

Anonymous
Anonymous
6 years ago

Jordyn Wieber is pretty much the biggest star Twistars has ever produced, and prodigy that she was, she may not have had to bear the brunt of Geddert\’s wrath quite like some of her fellow gymnasts, particularly if Geddert is the type to shamelessly play favorites (which many abusive coaches do). Jordyn probably had about as good of a relationship with him as any gymnast ever has.

Jordyn took a long time to come forward with her own story of sexual abuse (basically not until the victim impact statements were beginning). Previously, I seem to remember her stating point-blank that she had never been sexually abused during her time as a gymnast (I think it was around the time McKayla Maroney came forward), and as recently as December anything she said about the Nassar case implied that she had not personally been abused and that sexual abuse was something that only happened to other people. If Jordyn never figured out on her own that Nassar\’s \”treatments\” were sexual abuse, it may have been very disturbing and disorienting when all these stories and accusations started coming out. Given her later statement that processing what had happened was harder than training for the Olympics, I think it\’s possible she spent time in an advanced state of denial as a coping mechanism.

Jordyn probably trusted Geddert even more than she trusted Nassar, so she may still not be ready to acknowledge that Geddert isn\’t who she thought he was, either. If she ever does, it probably won\’t be any time really soon, because just trying to come to terms with what Nassar did is enough all at one time.

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