Gymnastics News #23: Defying Gravity

[Jayar]

Since this news broke, I have been trying to rectify how they were able to compete at such a high level when their lives were in such turmoil. There is no explanation other than the fact that they are next level strong women. I am so happy that they are being heard, but I am most happy with the fact that they are speaking out. This chorus of voices is going to change the world. They already have.

 

[AxelAnnie]

@AxelAnnie so what are you saying here ... because of what some guy did to them when they were teens they can't ever dress up and play with fashion? They can't be credible and fashionable at the same time?

No, that is not what I was saying. My comment had nothing to do with Larry Nassar or any guy. I hold Simone in high regard. I do not see your connection between credible and fashionable.
IMO her outfit was not fashionable, and not in keeping with this year's theme: "This year's gala theme is “American Independence” which gave attendees a wide berth of ideas to play with from founding fathers in powdered wigs and star-spangled gowns, to Lady Liberty cosplay and, of course, all things red, white, and blue"

I do not understand why anyone, particularly accomplished, powerful women would don an outfit totally incongruous with who they are in the world. We can call it "fun" but I would never call it fashion: "Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion industry as that which is trending."

So many of the costumes at the gala are designed for shock value (who showed up in a meat dress? Gaga I believe"

Surprisingly (to me anyway) is I loved AOC's dress and demeanor.

Now, let's have a look at priorities. Tickets to the gala are $30,000 a pop. No clue as to the price of Simone's dress. Let's day $6,000.00. And yes, I realize that Simone may or may not have paid for either of these things. They could very well have been gifted. However, someone DID pay for them.

Put together the pandemic, the floods, fires, so many people living below the poverty line.....how do we as a society react to an event like this? Everyone should be able to spend their money as they wish, obviously. Seems to me, though, the money spent on that one night could probably save a lot of children's lives.

 

[Rob]

N
IMO her outfit was not fashionable, and not in keeping with this year's theme: "This year's gala theme is “American Independence” which gave attendees a wide berth of ideas to play with from founding fathers in powdered wigs and star-spangled gowns, to Lady Liberty cosplay and, of course, all things red, white, and blue"

I thought it was "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion."

 

[MsZem]

IMO her outfit was not fashionable, and not in keeping with this year's theme: "This year's gala theme is “American Independence” which gave attendees a wide berth of ideas to play with from founding fathers in powdered wigs and star-spangled gowns, to Lady Liberty cosplay and, of course, all things red, white, and blue"

...

So many of the costumes at the gala are designed for shock value (who showed up in a meat dress? Gaga I believe"

Lady Gaga wore the meat dress to the VMAs.

As for the theme, it's a fashion gala, not a costume party. You're not supposed to come in looking like you raided the Hamilton costume department, or draped in a flag outfit. This year's Met Gala is linked to this exhibition; another example of an outfit from it is the dress that Natalia Bryant wore to the Gala.

And having clarified all that, I will reiterate that bitching about a dress, rather than focusing on Simone Biles's achievements and her testimony yesterday, is... a choice.

 

[rhapsody]

Wow! Way to respect the opinions of others.and you just might consider expanding your vocabulary.

That's quite an assumption you've made that I respect you or your dumb ass opinions.

No need to look for a different word when it so perfectly encapsulates who you are.

 

[VGThuy]

I think it's fine to comment on her dress one way or the other since the Met Gala just happened. However, to make that the main focus and explicitly state that you lost "any respect ([you] about had)" for her for this dress seems while conveniently ignoring the FBI testimony she gave with other survivors during the FBI investigation hearing over their fumbling investigation into sexual assault in gymnastics is VERY petty and makes me think it's not the real reason. We all know Simone's been a target for people from a particular political party identity and this just seems a continuation of it and using any petty excuse to continue to express negativity towards her.

I won't even touch upon the idea that you had little respect for her to begin with based on this past Olympics considering she won 4 Olympic gold medals, has been the World AA champion every time since 2013 except for 2017 where she took a year off, and won a slew of other titles and medals and been the rock for the U.S. womens gymnastics team when what she suffered from was very real, supported by her teammates and many current/former gymnasts from around the world (including the mentally tough Soviet gymnasts) have rallied support for Simone and shared stories of when they had to deal with the exact same thing...like talk about entitled, ungrateful, and ignorant. What more do you think America should demand from her?

 

[MsZem]

I think it's fine to comment on her dress one way or the other since the Met Gala just happened. However, to make that the main focus and explicitly state that you lost "any respect ([you] about had)" for her for this dress seems while conveniently ignoring the FBI testimony she gave with other survivors during the FBI investigation hearing over their fumbling investigation into sexual assault in gymnastics is VERY petty and makes me think it's not the real reason. We all know Simone's been a target for people from a particular political party identity and this just seems a continuation of it and using any petty excuse to continue to express negativity towards her.

Yes, thank you - that's pretty much what I meant

Suni Lee also attended the gala:

How Suni Lee Brought Gold-Medal Beauty to the Met Gala Red Carpet

The Olympian shares how she got ready for her very first Met Gala.

www.vogue.com

 

[Rob]

Nia Dennis too https://www.vogue.com/article/met-gala-2021-nia-dennis

 

[canbelto]

Among the tough, old-school, hardass gymnasts who supported Simone:
Svetlana Boguinskaya, Svetlana Khorkina, Tatiana Gutsu.

 

[AxelAnnie]

Lady Gaga wore the meat dress to the VMAs.

As for the theme, it's a fashion gala, not a costume party. You're not supposed to come in looking like you raided the Hamilton costume department, or draped in a flag outfit. This year's Met Gala is linked to this exhibition; another example of an outfit from it is the dress that Natalia Bryant wore to the Gala.

And having clarified all that, I will reiterate that bitching about a dress, rather than focusing on Simone Biles's achievements and her testimony yesterday, is... a choice.

This was about the Met gala....not anyone's achievements, medals or whatever. And each year the Gala has a theme as a guidline for what people wear.
For heaven sake....ease up!

I think Simone would be the first to tell you that her abuse does not define her.

 

[AxelAnnie]

I thought it was "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion."

Nope. I took that information right from the Met site.

"This year's gala theme is “American Independence” which gave attendees a wide berth of ideas to play with from founding fathers in powdered wigs and star-spangled gowns, to Lady Liberty cosplay and, of course, all things red, white, and blue"

 

[MacMadame]

It's a fundraiser. Most of the ticket price goes to charity. And her dress covers her from head to toe. I'm surprised you'd object to this.

 

[Aceon6]

I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around why anyone would jump into the gym thread as we were discussing the testimony, only to freak over a dress.

 

[haribobo]

2021 Men Worlds Team Selection Camp- Day 1 scores
What I saw is that 6 men can go, but only 3 per event

ONE EVENT ONLY
Yoder- 15.2 Pommel
Nedoroscik- 14.8 Pommel
Diab - 14.4 Rings
Malone 14.1 High Bar
Modi- 12.3 Pommel

2 EVENTS ONLY
Whittenburg 12.0 Floor, 13.625 vault (avg of 14.0 and 13.25)

Moldauer and Bock did all 6 events.
Scores for FX, PH, SR, VT, PB, HB, in order.
Bock 12.4, 12.55, 13.2, 13.85, 12.0, 12.15 = 76.15
Yul 14.2, 11.25, 13.55, 14.4, 10.4, 11.55 = 75.35

Sam Mikulak has retired, people are saying.

 

[jenny12]

Put together the *********, the floods, fires, so many people living below the poverty line.....how do we as a society react to an event like this? Everyone should be able to spend their money as they wish, obviously. Seems to me, though, the money spent on that one night could probably save a lot of children's lives.

It’s a bit rich to be so concerned about the excess of wealth shown at the Met Gala when you support a political party that throws trillions of dollars at the MIC and cutting taxes.

And even worse to make a big deal about this when Simone Biles bravely put her trauma out there for everyone to hear is odd to be kind.

In addition, what point are you trying to make by saying Simone’s abuse doesn’t define her? The point of Simone and the rest of the athletes talking about this is to bring attention to the institutional failures that lead so many young women and girls to be abused. Bringing up whether or not someone abuse defines them seems really strange at this point.

 

[overedge]

Apologies if this has already been mentioned, but I read some Tweets pointing out that US Gymnastics possibly looked the other way when they were told about Nassar, because their elite gymnasts at the time were winning. So US Gymnastics didn't want to mess with success, even when abusing gymnasts was part of that "success". But their hands-off strategy came back to bite them in the *ss, when their big Tokyo Olympics medal hope (Biles) stepped back because of the PTSD she was still suffering from being abused,

 

[MsZem]

Nope. I took that information right from the Met site.

"This year's gala theme is “American Independence” which gave attendees a wide berth of ideas to play with from founding fathers in powdered wigs and star-spangled gowns, to Lady Liberty cosplay and, of course, all things red, white, and blue"

You seem to have taken it from this Vanity Fair article. The theme was indeed "American Independence", but that does not necessarily call for a literal, costumey interpretation (as you appear to believe). This is what the co-hosts wore; more on Naomi Osaka's look in this article, and Billie Eilish truly made the most out of her appearance.

I think Simone would be the first to tell you that her abuse does not define her.

Let's see what Simone Biles had to say about it:

Simone Biles returning to Olympics to be a voice for abuse survivors

The most decorated gymnast of all time has a powerful reason for returning to Olympic competition in Tokyo this summer.

www.today.com

Simone Biles is an incredible person and an incredible role model. Now let's have officials act on the brave testimony she and her fellow survivors gave.

 

[Coco]

Simone's issues in Tokyo ended up helping USA Gymnastics, imo.

They may have very well lost to Russia with her on 4 events, as they did in prelims.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Perhaps, if we all stopped letting one troll be the center of the thread, we could actually discuss the young women who once again put their abuse into the brightest spotlight to fight for change.

It is shameful that they continue to have to fight this hard. It really highlights how broken this world is and how little justice sexual assault survivors get that these women (all of them, not just these 4), continue to have to be poised and articulate and strong in the face of powerful people in an attempt to try to fight for some measure of justice.

This is so much more than should ever be asked of anyone. They shouldn’t have to fight this hard.

 

[MsZem]

It is shameful that they continue to have to fight this hard. It really highlights how broken this world is and how little justice sexual assault survivors get that these women (all of them, not just these 4), continue to have to be poised and articulate and strong in the face of powerful people in an attempt to try to fight for some measure of justice.

This is so much more than should ever be asked of anyone. They shouldn’t have to fight this hard.

That Simone Biles decided to continue competing so that the sexual abuse wouldn't be brushed aside is so sad. It is a testament to her strength and character, but she and the other survivors should never have had to be put in such a position.

 

[becca]

Redirect Notice

The metgala goes to find the arts. I see nothing wrong with that.

I thought Simone’s dress was gorgeous and also completely clean.

 

[Aceon6]

I choose to believe that the weight of Simone’s dress was intentional, as was the visual of 6 guys carrying it when 2 would have been enough.

 

[clairecloutier]

An article about Simone’s bravery and politico/cultural significance:

Our endless demands on Simone Biles

The young woman has already achieved so much. How many more barriers will we ask her to break?

www.salon.com

I’ve said it before, but I think Simone is one of the most exceptional sports figures, or public figures generally, to come along in a very long time. ETA: The author is right that our culture shouldn’t make so many demands on Biles. Her grace in dealing with all of it is incredible.

https://twitter.com/flipflytumble/status/1439832999801995266

 

[AxelAnnie]

I’m just having a hard time wrapping my head around why anyone would jump into the gym thread as we were discussing the testimony, only to freak over a dress.

Well let me enlighten you. I did not know anything about the testimony that was going on....no it is true. I just saw the dress on my my Google feed and thought it was rediculous....still do...and a silly thing for such a powerful woman to be wearing.....as can be said of most of what is worn at the gala.

 

[Jayar]

I see Team USA named their men's WC team here: https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=26594

Any word on the women?

 

[rhapsody]

I see Team USA named their men's WC team here: https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=26594

Any word on the women?

The women have an internal trial for Worlds on October 8th. The team will be named shortly afterward.

 

[Coco]

More and more athletes are being open about mental health:

Habs' Drouin says absence was due to anxiety

Canadiens center Jonathan Drouin says his absence from the team last April was due to insomnia caused by anxiety, an issue he says he's dealt with for many years.

www.espn.com

And Met Gala related...very moving outfit worn by Jeremy Pope

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www.facebook.com

 

[skatingguy]

Aly Raisman coming up on Morning Joe this morning.

 

[millyskate]

for some reason caps aren't working - my apologies for the messy post.

gb are sending their b team to the world championships. on the women's side, becky downie and georgia-mae fenton are going with frags which is cool, and a surprising ruby stacey. she's a newcomer and if her instagram is anything to go by, doesn't seem to be performing skills on the level of other gb seniors so i'm really surprised.

on the men's side, brinn bevan, dominic cunningham, courtney tulloch all make a return and joshua nathan, hayden skinner and joe cemlyn-jones make up the team.

there are some really good gymnasts in that lineup but also some who are not performing at the standard we expect from gb so it's an interesting decision.

 

[skatfan]

for some reason caps aren't working - my apologies for the messy post.

gb are sending their b team to the world championships. on the women's side, becky downie and georgia-mae fenton are going with frags which is cool, and a surprising ruby stacey. she's a newcomer and if her instagram is anything to go by, doesn't seem to be performing skills on the level of other gb seniors so i'm really surprised.

on the men's side, brinn bevan, dominic cunningham, courtney tulloch all make a return and joshua nathan, hayden skinner and joe cemlyn-jones make up the team.

there are some really good gymnasts in that lineup but also some who are not performing at the standard we expect from gb so it's an interesting decision.

This year there is no team competition, only all-round and apparatus events, so maybe these are mostly specialists.