NCAA Gymnastics

[Aceon6]

Yeah UCLA looks worse than it did even in the beginning of last year... Even with all the new talent coming in sadly.

I liken it to women’s skating when the jump content went up. It’s going to be much harder to score based solely on PCS. UCLA is still finding it’s post Ms. Val identity and the rest of the world has moved on to valuing E skills done reasonably well. UCLA has the fire power, just need to use it.

eta, with Felicia Hano joining the Razorbacks staff last year and Kyla Ross joining this year, I wonder if there’s something else going on at UCLA.

 

[HeatherC]

M. Frazier has posted pictures on at least Twitter. It is very swollen, but she says the x-rays are clean. Guessing she’ll be out a week or two for sure. Seems in good spirits.

Thanks for the update! Hopefully she heals up all right and is back in the lineup soon.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Nobody gets a short straw.

The Big 12 or Division I teams have so much money flooding into their men's football programs, they could spread it to "small" sports, mens and womens, and throw a few scholarships toward new gymnastics scholarships.

A sport that people will watch on network TV, if they give it a chance. Olympic and World Championships stars all over the place

The issue isn’t just funding. NCAA sports have a scholarship limit. You can only have so many scholarships in a specific sport regardless of how much money you have. I don’t believe the scholarship limit changed due to COVID. Each team can award 12 full scholarships.

 

[Aceon6]

The issue isn’t just funding. NCAA sports have a scholarship limit. You can only have so many scholarships in a specific sport regardless of how much money you have. I don’t believe the scholarship limit changed due to *********. Each team can award 12 full scholarships.

Scholarships for 5th and 6th years impacted by the crud do not count towards the limit, BUT, and this is a big but, schools cannot exceed their filed budgets.

 

[Aceon6]

Serious trouble brewing at UCLA. The Cliff Notes version is that Alexis Jeffrey may have been overtly racist in the presence of Black and Asian teammates. When asked to check it, she reportedly did not. Minority members of the team are said to have reported the incidents to the coaching staff who did not deal with it properly and allegedly instructed the impacted team members to stay silent. Jeffrey entered the transfer portal and is now listed as an LSU gymnast.

So I now know how to spell stupid… U C L A and L S U

 

[Aceon6]

Update. UCLA’s head coach, Chris Waller, will hold a press conference at noon Pacific, 3 minutes from now. https://twitter.com/samsettlemandb/status/1484251057978953729?s=21 I can’t find anything that indicates there is a stream or broadcast coverage. I’ll be watching gymtwitter and will be back with anything of significance.

Adding that it was a typical lawyered up presser. No comment on Jeffries as she’s no longer with UCLA. No comment on Frazier’s tweet asking reporters to talk to the coaches. Basically, no comment. Sorry, guys, but if someone comes in all “no comment”, the reports must be 90% true. The UCLA program is f’d.

 

[Coco]

Apparently a lot of gymnasts on the team are unfollowing him on social media.

 

[Lucy25]

I’m going to wait for more info on the AJ situation. It is very concerning. LSU has many gymnasts of color on the team. I cannot believe that LSU would accept her on the team if the info coming out of UCLA was true. LSU has long been my favorite; I can’t fathom it would in any way support/condone that type of behavior.

 

[love skating]

Well, maybe it's time we (UCLA) get a new head coach. Chris Waller just isn't working out. Is there anyone out there that would be a good new coach? An up and coming one or someone who might leave their current place for UCLA? Maybe this whole mess could be a blessing in disguise if we end up with better management at the top. The whole situation just makes me sad and mad.

 

[Aceon6]

@love skating If you hear anything, please post. Gymtwitter is pretty useless right now as most of the new tweets are about supporting the team.

 

[HeatherC]

Do we know what actually happened yet? I've read a couple things so far and they're all confusing me about the situation. Do you think we'll ever know the whole story?

 

[Aceon6]

Do we know what actually happened yet? I've read a couple things so far and they're all confusing me about the situation. Do you think we'll ever know the whole story?

The only things that are 100% are that Jeffries was allowed to enter the transfer portal and that UCLA’s AD hasn’t met with the team, despite multiple requests. Post #305 is a summary of the Amanda Seales IG story. Here’s a link https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...5825/video/1&usg=AOvVaw3eVgEznSaZLb8MDY5gu6Mu

 

[HeatherC]

Thanks for sharing that link. I'm so sad for the girls on the team that were disrespected by that girl and that nothing was done about it. I don't know what's worse....that this girl thought her comments were okay, the way the coaches have (allegedly) handled the situation, or the fact that LSU picked her up on the transfer portal for their own team after knowing that something bad went down at UCLA. Yikes to all of it!

 

[Karen-W]

So, basically, there is an accusation but zero proof and none of the gymnasts involved in these incidents are speaking out.

Whatever the reasons for those gymnasts remaining silent, I find it disgusting and abhorrent that any AMERICAN posting in this thread is forgetting the one, basic tenet of the AMERICAN justice system - innocent until proven guilty.

There is absolutely NOTHING in that video that proves anything. And, frankly, I have to wonder if there is a lot more to the story than is being presented in that video given what we do know, which is that 1) the athlete in question left the program, 2) was accepted by another MAJOR university's program, and 3) that other university also has a diverse membership in its own gymnastics program.

That video was full of innuendo and anyone with a bit of logical brainpower should dismiss it for the propagandist faux journalism that it is.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, I look forward to watching the Dam Worth It meet between Oregon State, UCLA and UC Davis on the Pac-12 network.

 

[MacMadame]

Whatever the reasons for those gymnasts remaining silent, I find it disgusting and abhorrent that any AMERICAN posting in this thread is forgetting the one, basic tenet of the AMERICAN justice system - innocent until proven guilty.

Is someone on trial here?

 

[Karen-W]

Is someone on trial here?

Really? You want to play dumb here and pretend that @Aceon6 didn't flat out relay unsubstantiated reports about UCLA and call both UCLA and LSU stupid? I appreciate others who have exercised more caution in drawing any conclusions about the situation, but I'm more than a little bothered by the sharing of that IG story video because it is nothing but a bunch of carefully couched allegations. Shoddy faux journalism like that should be shut down. Need an example of "misinformation"? That's a prime example.

 

[Coco]

@Karen-W only jurors have to presume someone innocent.

It should bother you that gymnasts have been forbidden from speaking about what they experienced. That is both alleged in the video and a logical conclusion given what they are tweeting about, liking, and not tweeting about.

And I believe despite this young lady touting herself as an LSU gymnast, I'm not sure she's on the roster.

 

[Karen-W]

@Karen-W only jurors have to presume someone innocent.

It should bother you that gymnasts have been forbidden from speaking about what they experienced. That is both alleged in the video and a logical conclusion given what they are tweeting about, liking, and not tweeting about.

And I believe despite this young lady touting herself as an LSU gymnast, I'm not sure she's on the roster.

@Coco - unless a UCLA gymnast comes out and says that they have been forbidden from speaking about the situation then that video is a bunch of allegations. I find it hard to believe that an athlete like, say, Jordan Chiles, would allow herself to be silenced by the coaches and administration of a major university. She has a big enough platform and following so as to not be intimated by the power dynamic.

 

[Coco]

Sure, Jan. Her platform comes from being on the team and competing. And those are privileges, not rights.

If they've been forbidden from talking about it, how can they say they've been forbidden from talking about it. What the leaders of the team have tweeted publicly request for the athletic director to meet with them and references to the situation being 3 months old.

You are really selectively choosing what to consider a fact here.

 

[Karen-W]

Sure, Jan. Her platform comes from being on the team and competing. And those are privileges, not rights.

If they've been forbidden from talking about it, how can they say they've been forbidden from talking about it. What the leaders of the team have tweeted publicly request for the athletic director to meet with them and references to the situation being 3 months old.

You are really selectively choosing what to consider a fact here.

Her platform is far larger than that and you know it. She's an Olympic medalist and has NIL income that most of the other UCLA gymnasts can only dream of.

If the incident happened 3 months ago then she might not have been witness to or directly experienced any of the alleged behavior since she would have been on the GOAT tour and not on campus, so she might not have any reason to speak up, but let's not pretend that, in our current political climate, she is powerless or voiceless to speak out on an issue as important as this if it went down as alleged.

My issue with that video is that is is NOTHING more than gossip and yet people are accepting it as truthful and accurate. Worse, it isn't even gossip from someone with ties to the UCLA program like a recent alum. It is, at best, secondhand information, and probably, in all reality, closer to four or five people removed from whatever actually transpired. The video provided nothing to substantiate the accusations - Heck, she couldn't even pull up some redacted DMs to support her "story." There wasn't any actual FACT in the video.

Mind, I'm not saying that the video is untrue or inaccurate. What I am saying is there is ZILCH out there to back it up as factually true and accurate - that the gymnast did make racist remarks to some of her black & Asian teammates at UCLA. If you want to believe it, that's your prerogative, but, at this point, all you're choosing to do is believe something that amounts to a blind item published in TMZ, Page Six, or, in our skating world, TSL.

 

[Coco]

It's not a blind item because they named her. That's very significant because with a blind item you can always pretend it's not you and then you don't have to contradict it or say it's not true. But she's been named and she hasn't responded. I don't think people in the public eye need to shoot down every rumor about them, but when you consider she left her University and the team is in shambles, those two things tend to indicate there is a lot of Truth here.

And I don't think Jordan Chiles' platform is so big that her NIL income would survive getting suspended or dismissed from UCLA if she violated this 'gag order.'

 

[MacMadame]

This is how abuse, racism and other bad things are allowed to continue. The victims don't get the benefit of the doubt, they are silenced and asked to provide evidence that would stand up in court -- even though they aren't in court and have been gagged -- while the perpetrator gets all the benefit of the doubt.

If absolutely nothing sketchy had happened, UCLA would say so and the gymnasts would say so. That TPTB are doing CYA and the gymnasts are keeping quiet tells you that something bad went down.

 

[Aceon6]

@Coco - unless a UCLA gymnast comes out and says that they have been forbidden from speaking about the situation then that video is a bunch of allegations. I find it hard to believe that an athlete like, say, Jordan Chiles, would allow herself to be silenced by the coaches and administration of a major university. She has a big enough platform and following so as to not be intimated by the power dynamic.

Both Marz and Norah, the senior leaders of the team, have said PUBLICLY that they were told not to talk about it. Norah has publicly reached out to the AD for help.

As for Jordan, she’s a freshman, a very sheltered freshman, who just joined the team after the GOAT tour. I doubt she’s even figured out her place on the team yet. If Marz and Norah felt her assistance would be useful, I’m sure they would ask, but Mama Jordan manages social, so it’s complicated. I’m guessing all the team members with big NIL deals are stuck between a rock and a hard place on this.

 

[Aceon6]

Really? You want to play dumb here and pretend that @Aceon6 didn't flat out relay unsubstantiated reports about UCLA and call both UCLA and LSU stupid? I appreciate others who have exercised more caution in drawing any conclusions about the situation, but I'm more than a little bothered by the sharing of that IG story video because it is nothing but a bunch of carefully couched allegations. Shoddy faux journalism like that should be shut down. Need an example of "misinformation"? That's a prime example.

And to address you specifically as you called me out. Reread my posts.

Serious trouble brewing at UCLA. The Cliff Notes version is that Alexis Jeffrey may have been overtly racist in the presence of Black and Asian teammates. When asked to check it, she reportedly did not. Minority members of the team are said to have reported the incidents to the coaching staff who did not deal with it properly and allegedly instructed the impacted team members to stay silent. Jeffrey entered the transfer portal and is now listed as an LSU gymnast.

So I now know how to spell stupid… U C L A and L S U

And

The only things that are 100% are that Jeffrey was allowed to enter the transfer portal and that UCLA’s AD hasn’t met with the team, despite multiple requests.

I brought it up in here because the gymternet is blowing up, Waller called a presser and said what people who are lawyered up say, we have video of Jeffrey at LSU, and we still don’t have anything from the AD. Worthy of discussion? I’d say so. As @MacMadame said, if there’s nothing to it, Waller would have brought Marz and Norah to the presser and put the fire out.

 

[skipaway]

This from the Daily Bruin

 

[Aceon6]

Today’s meet (Sunday, Jan 23) should be telling. It starts at 5 pm Eastern. Stream here https://pac-12.com/womens-gymnastics/event/2022/01/23/ucla-oregon-state Bring your popcorn.

 

[Aceon6]

I only caught bits and pieces of the tri meet. The few glimpses I got looked like UCLA’s assistant coach Dom P, was doing most of the active coaching with Waller pacing in the background.

Marz‘s Twitter is blowing up. Either she’s been hacked or she doesn’t gaf anymore.

Congrats to Jade Carey for winning EVERYTHING!

 

[Karen-W]

I only caught bits and pieces of the tri meet. The few glimpses I got looked like UCLA’s assistant coach Dom P, was doing most of the active coaching with Waller pacing in the background.

Marz‘s Twitter is blowing up. Either she’s been hacked or she doesn’t gaf anymore.

Congrats to Jade Carey for winning EVERYTHING!

Jade is pretty phenomenal. It was so nice to see a good-sized crowd at Gill and the band in the arena too. The Beavs are very lucky to have her on their squad.

 

[barbk]

LSU's coach today on bringing Alexis Jeffrey onto the LSU team: "And we think this is an opportunity, exactly what we're trying to affect change here for learning, for change, for educational opportunities for someone who may have made a mistake." barf

 

[Aceon6]

LSU's coach today on bringing Alexis Jeffrey onto the LSU team: "And we think this is an opportunity, exactly what we're trying to affect change here for learning, for change, for educational opportunities for someone who may have made a mistake." barf

Considering the detailed steps they went through to make sure she wouldn’t disrupt the team, I’m giving LSU a B+ on this one. I doubt she will become someone I cheer for, though.