Salon.com > Jennifer Sey

Why my coach got away with sexual abuse

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Disgust flows freely after reading each new story about Penn State. Why, we wonder, would someone willingly ignore reports of heinous sexual abuse of a child? Why would someone as “good” as Joe Paterno brush aside the alleged despicable and predatory actions of a coach on his staff, a coach representing his Nittany Lions? By all accounts, Paterno was the hero coach, a model of highly invested and supportive team building, a molder of men, a teacher and a mentor. As a thinking, feeling adult, it seems so obvious what the right choice would be. Report Jerry Sandusky to the police. No matter what.

So why are good people likely to do not so good things? Well, in the microcosmic world of hyper-competitive athletics, a high-performance culture where winning trumps all, obvious moral choices become blurred. The sport, the team, a berth on the squad, a medal on the stand – that becomes the priority. The parents, coaches and teams put everything else aside in honor of the win. I know this firsthand.

Athletes are just people

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

I've been pondering the dust-up over Usain Bolt's record-breaking, chest-pounding, no-effort waltz across the 100-meter finish line since he did it a little over a week ago. As I watched the event, I screamed out loud, swept up in his joy and the sheer superiority of his athleticism. I love that he had one shoe untied as he slapped his chest before he even crossed the finish line. I love that he had a belly full of Nuggets at race time. And I love that he enjoyed himself before, during and after the race. The audacity!

I do not share Bob Costas' view that Bolt's gesture was disrespectful to the other athletes as well as to the fans who came to see the best possible performance. If that wasn't the best possible performance a sprinter could put on, I'm not sure what would be.

Was he gloating? Perhaps a bit. Should he have? Why the hell not! He's the fastest man alive and he was barely trying.

I think the reason that Bolt's exuberant behavior has produced such exaggerated outrage is that we expect our athletes to be superheroes. We engage in idol worship, demanding that these mere earthlings fulfill our communal hunger for picture-perfect symbols of humanity. We require our athletic champions to do no wrong -- on the field and off. If they fail to live up to our grandiose expectations, we turn on them.

Chasing the dragon

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0000

After Shawn Johnson won the gold medal on balance beam, Bob Costas asked her if she planned to continue until 2012 for the London Olympics. She responded by saying, in effect, that she'd had such a wonderful time, the experience had been so emotionally extraordinary, that she'd do anything to get that feeling back. Yes, she'd like to continue until 2012. She'd be willing to endure pain, injury and punishing hard work to get there, to relive the brilliance of Olympic gold.

That winning performance now defines her. She will forever be introduced as "Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson." By her own admission, she will "chase that dragon" for the feeling of splendor. The chasing may last longer than she can fathom at the tender age of 16.

When Lolo Jones fell on the track, tangled up on the second to last hurdle in the women's 100M final, she crashed face down and screamed in anguish upon dragging herself across the finish line. She, too, is forever defined by a moment. While we may have gasped in disappointed momentary horror -- her 7th place finish standing for everything we may have failed to deliver in our own lives or simply in empathy of defeat -- she will inevitably be haunted by it for some amount of time that is considerably longer than a moment. Perhaps, in some way, forever.

Fool’s gold

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:00:00 +0000

By now, we all know that China's He Kexin narrowly won the gold medal on uneven bars, with Nastia Liukin securing the silver, after a double tiebreaker involving a highly complex set of rules put in place by the International Gymnastics Federation at the request of the IOC, clearly laid out by King Kaufman in perfect detail.

The debate about which gymnast had the better routine is moot. Those claiming that Liukin's was clearly better because she stuck the dismount shows little understanding of where other, less conspicuous deductions can come from. It isn't always the obvious step or the fall that begets a few tenths off. A few degrees shy of a handstand, a barely visible leg split or "cowboy tuck" on the dismount (knees separated to build acceleration) can also warrant points off. In fact, it could be argued that Shawn Johnson benefited from judges' overlooking executional deductions each time her split leaps were short of 180 degrees, thus facilitating her silver in the all around. I don't agree. But I'm confident that there are many proponents of grace and artistry in gymnastics that put forth this point.

33 and fabulous

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 16:00:00 +0000

The most shocking moment of the women's gymnastics individual event finals was not when Romanian Sandra Izbasa beat favorite and reigning world champion Shawn Johnson out of a gold medal on floor exercise. Though Johnson's routine had a higher start value, Izbasa's was executed more flawlessly, gleaning her the top spot.

The most shocking moment was not when Johnson, who seems impossibly good natured and robustly charming, was once again grateful for silver.

"The scores, the placements, they don't matter to me anymore. I'm having the greatest time of my life. I just want to go out there and have fun and just show the world I can be the best I can, no matter what," she said.

Ara Abrahamian, the Swedish wrestler stripped of his bronze medal for throwing it down in anger over a disputed penalty call in his semifinal match, could learn a thing or two about sportsmanship from this 16-year-old Iowan.

And, though surprising, Anna Pavlova's receiving a zero on her second vault because she failed to wait for the green light was not the most dumbfounding moment of the women's event finals.

Watching Nastia’s gold and Shawn’s silver

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 16:15:00 +0000

My post from the other day, "The Beast," was my teeny-tiny effort to reveal something honest yet a little bit ugly in my not altogether black soul, not, as widely perceived, an aggressive attempt to insult every amateur athlete who reads Salon. Nonetheless, I took the feedback seriously and decided to watch the women's gymnastics final with actual people, in an effort to take the kindly offered advice of the commenters and get over it. I settled in with a close friend and my oldest son, age 8, by my side, as I made an attempt to exorcise the foul stench of self-righteousness and put all that therapy to work, once and for all.

We settled in. My son to my left, close friend to my right. The marquis event was preceded by an inordinate amount of women's beach volleyball, endless swimming and occasional dozing by the three of us. But coffee and pistachios kept us going in the marathon wait for Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson. There was plenty of time for chatter while awaiting the main event.

How did Team USA gymnastics get so good?

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 19:00:00 +0000

Reuters/Dylan Martinez

Shawn Johnson of the U.S. (right) is congratulated by Martha Karolyi, coordinator of the U.S. women's gymnastics team, after Johnson's routine on the vault on Aug. 13.

After the U.S. and China split the last two World Championship team titles, the Chinese female gymnasts proved their mettle by taking the team gold in Beijing. USA Team captain Alicia Sacramone suffered two disappointing falls in the team finals, but Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson came through with stellar performances and secured the silver medal.

Two decades ago, this was an unimaginable feat for Team USA. Now it's considered a relative disappointment. How did USA gymnastics get so good?

Cathy Rigby, a member of the 1972 Olympic Team, is one of the best and most widely known American gymnasts in history. She was the darling of American audiences between 1968 and 1972, so much so that she was able to parlay her fame into a Broadway career and promoter of Stayfree Feminine Napkins. Despite Rigby's favored status, the 1972 team failed to place in the games and no individual medals were won.

The beast

Wed, 13 Aug 2008 11:00:00 +0000

AP Photo/Rob Carr

U.S. gymnast Chellsie Memmel loses her grip on the uneven bars during the women's qualification rounds at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2008.

I am the most annoying person to watch the Olympics with. I'm a condescending former elite athlete who loathes the armchair fan. I love sports. I love athletes. I hate fans.

I'm especially annoyed by those who believe their dalliances in amateur childhood athletics give them insight into the travails and accomplishments of Olympic athletes. Watching the women's 400-meter individual medley with some friends, one lesser-known acquaintance gently whispered to her daughter, "Mommy swam the 400-meter freestyle in high school."

No, you didn't.

See? I'm horrible. But she didn't. Technically, she stayed afloat. She swam back and forth in the pool. But her interpretation of this flywheel-type movement surely had nothing to do with what Britain's Rebecca Adlington brought to bear on that pool in Beijing.

Precision vs. power

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:00:00 +0000

Reuters/Dylan Martinez

Deng Linlin of China competes on the balance beam Sunday.

Despite having revealed a bit of the darker side of gymnastics in my book, "Chalked Up," I love the sport. While I had some tough times with injuries and emotionally abusive coaches, 22 years later I still long for the moments of transcendence. I'm filled with ambivalence about gymnastics and I really wanted inside that stadium Sunday to watch the ladies of the U.S. blow my mind so that I could live their glory vicariously.

I wanted to see Shawn Johnson do her two-and-a-half twisting Yurchenko on vault. I wanted to hear Liang Chow, her supportive Chinese coach, whisper in her ear, "Perform like a champion. It's OK if you make a mistake," as NBC reports he does. I wanted to believe in the fairy tale of gymnastics again.

Let ‘em eat steroids

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 18:00:00 +0000

Reuters/Mike Blake

American gymnast Shawn Johnson isn't suspected of drug use, but her super-springy floor mat artificially enhances performance.

If someone had offered me performance-enhancing drugs when I was competing as a gymnast in the 1980s, I would have taken them. If we're going to be quite literal about the phrase "performance-enhancing drugs," I did take them.

I gobbled Advil like M&Ms. True, these over-the-counter painkillers aren't on the banned-substance list. But considering that I could barely walk when entering the gym each day and I was transformed upon swallowing my first six pills, it could be argued that my performance was indeed enhanced by these capsules.

Between my left ankle, which was swollen beyond recognition and traumatized with floating bone chips, and my right leg, barely healed from a cracked femur, I had no good leg to rely on. Add to that the shin splints that attacked both legs below the knees, and I was walking wounded.

Breakfast of also-rans

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 10:00:00 +0000

Commerce and sport are inextricably linked. Kobe and Tiger sell Nikes, Beckham hawks Adidas soccer gear, and O.J., in happier days, urged us all to rent cars from Hertz. Full disclosure: I work in marketing at Levi's, so I get it. It's called "borrowing equity." A brand's meaning is enhanced by the inherent qualities of the endorser.

Nike strives to stand for performance in consumers' minds, so getting the best basketball player to endorse its shoes reinforces its unique selling proposition. The idea is to induce the gullible consumer to part with his hard-earned cash in the hallucinatory hope that he might achieve Kobe-like greatness, or at the very least coolness, when he dons his Hyperdunks. Implicit in this reasoning is the assumption that Kobe actually wears Nikes and that these shoes are a key part of his accomplishment.

But what on earth does McDonald's have to do with Olympic achievement? Has Mickey D's ever led a great athlete to his proudest moment atop the podium? The fast-food retailer, a leading sponsor of these games, might strive to stand for the halcyon ideal of bringing American families together for a meal, but we all know what they're really about: making people fat. They started with Americans, but they've managed to export this unique skill set to 118 other countries across the globe.

Why watching the Olympics is torture for me

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:00:00 +0000

Reuters / Dylan Martinez

Shawn Johnson of the U.S. practises on the floor during an artistic gymnastics training session at the National Indoor Stadium ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games August 7, 2008.

Everyone's excited about the Olympics. Marketing and endless hype have all good Americans whipped up into a frenzy of competition gluttony and "Go USA" zeal. And of course it isn't all hype: There's a lot to get excited about. Will 41-year-old Dara Torres strike gold in her record-breaking fifth Olympics, making 40 the new 20 once and for all? Will Michael Phelps become the winningest swimmer in history? Will the U.S. women's gymnastics team beat the Chinese, a repeat of the last World Championships? Or will the Chinese topple America's darlings, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, proving their country's mettle and worthiness? How will the U.S. men's gymnastics team perform without their leader, Paul Hamm, the 2004 Olympic champion? Who will be crowned the World's Fastest Human after the most anticipated 100-meter race in years? And lest we forget, who will test positive for steroids?

Why are gymnasts so young?

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:00:00 +0000

Reuters/Fadi Al-Assaad

Jiang Yuyuan of China performs on the floor during the women's individual final at the Doha Gymnastics World Cup in March. She won the gold medal.

The early controversies at the Beijing Olympics have been about China's human rights record, but with the games about to begin, it goes without saying that there have been some dust-ups in gymnastics. The biggest hoo-ha so far is around three female Chinese gymnasts -- half the team -- who are suspected of being under the minimum age of 16.

China and the United States are expected to battle it out in the deceptively titled Women's Gymnastics event, as they did at the 2007 World Championships, where the U.S. prevailed by less than a point.

The New York Times reported last month that records suggest He Kexin and Jiang Yuyuan, both listed as 16, might be as young as 14. The Associated Press reported this week that online documents show that Yang Yilin will turn 15 later this month.