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THIS WEEK’S INTERVIEW
Jennifer Sey became the US national champion in 1986, just seven months after breaking her femur at the 1985 world championships, an injury that led to a change in rules about bars spotting. In 2008, she published her groundbreaking memoir Chalked Up and has since been an advocate for survivors and those fighting against abuse in gymnastics. She produced the documentary Athlete A about the failures of USA Gymnastics to deal with the criminal ex-doctor, which premieres on Netflix this week.
We talked with her about what she hopes the general public learns about gymnastics culture from the film, whether the Maggie Haney suspension represents progress or not, why watching Kerri Strug vault in 1996 didn’t feel like a glorious moment to her, and balancing the horror of Athlete A with hope by focusing on the triumphs of Maggie Nichols, Rachael Denhollander, Jamie Dantzscher, and the Indy Star journalists.
Related Reading:
- Jen Sey’s Op-Ed in the New York Times: How Gymnastics Culture Breeds Sexual Abuse
- Why Not Being Racist is Not Enough
- Chalked Up by Jennifer Sey
GYMTERNET NEWS
- A vital episode dedication to Natalia Frolova
- URGENT: An email from someone who coached at the Karolyi summer camps
- Feedback on the John Orozco interview and Kensley’s response
- Seattle Pacific eliminates its gymnastics program
- Major dumpster fire developments in bankruptcy court
- Germany (kind of?) did a gymnastics over the weekend
- Simone did a triple double off beam and we need to talk about it
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RELATED EPISODES
- Behind The Scenes: Laurie Hernandez Interview
- 187: McKayla Maroney
- Episode 28: Kristen Maloney
- 420: Jamie Dantzscher
- Aimee Boorman and Maggie Haney: The Olympic Experience
- Aimee & Maggie Extended Interview
- Episode 41: Laurie Hernandez & Coach Maggie Haney
- 423: Little Dumpster Fires Everywhere
- 422: Stick It (Commissioned)
- 420: Jamie Dantzscher
- 277.5: McKayla Maroney Alleges Abuse from Nassar
- 429: John Orozco Does Not Hold Back
- 428: Black Lives Matter This Week Too
- 427: The Gymnast Who Kneeled During The National Anthem
- 426: Body Roll Abomination
- 425: GymCastic Fixes Judging (Commission)
- 424 Emotional Abuse: The Maggie Haney Eight Year Ban