Punishing Athletes: Is USAG using Psychological Ploys?
If you haven’t read the Ziert Alert from April’s International Gymnast, you should. Paul Ziert, publisher of International Gymnast magazine, as per usual, does not hesitate to call it like he sees it. While I don’t always agree with Ziert, I really like his style. Despite the fact that they might not be popular, he isn’t afraid to make his opinions known. April’s edition of International Gymnast is no exception.
For those of you who do not get the magazine, I will attempt to summarize the basics of April’s Alert as well as share some of my own thoughts. . .
Ziert researched the United States’ Women’s lineup from the 2006 World Championships Team Finals, which, to use his word, was a fiasco. It was a line up that left most gymnastics fans confused and frustrated. In a move that arguably cost the United States the gold medal, Ashley Priess and Natasha Kelley were completely left out of the finals line up. Now I know that I have been accused on this blog as being a sore loser, but the U.S. dominated the prelims by a whopping 3.80! They were virtually unbeatable. So it was a shock to see them slip to second behind China in the finals. It was especially curious to see Priess and Kelley not listed in the line up when you consider the fact that Nastia Liukin (one of the four U.S. athletes that was listed) was injured and only able to compete on Bars. If one of the remaining 3 athletes listed had had to scratch from an event, as Chellsie Memmel almost did and probably should have, the U.S. Team would have would up in 8th place.
So, we were left to wonder why Priess and Kelley, who were both healthy and apt, were not listed in the final line up. Priess and Kelley made the only errors of the U.S. Team in prelims, with a fall each from the Beam, and I completely agree with Paul Ziert when he says that their omission from the finals line up was likely a “nasty psychological ploy to punish them for their mistakes on Beam.”
When Ziert asked Kathy Kelly, U.S. Women’s Program Director, to explain the line up, he reports that she made light of this serious error by saying, “I must have been completely brain dead or I’m really stupid.”
I’ll say. As Ziert points out, how is it possible that Kathy Kelly, her assistant Gary Warren, and National Team Coordinator Martha Karolyi ALL failed to notice that they completely forgot two of their athletes?
And yet it seems to me that we have seen this behavior before. Think Courtney McCool at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. McCool did not have her best meet in the prelims and then was gone completely from the line up in the finals. McCool was one of the United States’ top gymnasts coming into Athens. She was one of two athletes to earn an automatic berth to the team during the Olympic Trials. But yet in the team finals in Athens, McCool was nowhere to be seen. Why?
When Courtney Kupets found herself unable to compete on Beam in the finals, shouldn’t the U.S. have put in McCool who was known for her stellar and consistent Beam work? You would think so, but instead, Mohini Bhardwaj lead off Team USA on Beam. Bhardwaj, who admittedly knocked one out of the ball park during Finals , would probably be the first to admit that her weakest event was Beam. And on Floor, where Kupets struggled, wouldn’t it have been wise to bring in McCool? But again, McCool found herself on the sidelines. So while the Romanians were spectacular in the Athens Finals, the U.S., who was again supposed to be a shoo-in for the gold, wound up with silver.
So what should we make of all this? I must admit that I’m not sure. Being someone who sees these things from the outside looking in I don’t profess to have many answers. And I certainly don’t have all the facts. I do know that something seems amiss in USA Women’s Gymnastics. Are the powers that be using psychological ploys and punishments? It sure seems like it. So I’ll leave you with my final two thoughts on the subject…
- I agree with Paul Ziert that perhaps it’s time for USAG to “find someone who will have the courage to supervise the [women's] program properly.”
- If the USAG Women’s Program believes that punishing athlete’s like McCool, Priess & Kelley is a wise move, then perhaps they need to brush up on their history. The nineties alone was full of competitions where athletes who botched their performances in prelims came back to rock their sets in finals.
Athletes like Kim Zmeskal & Tatiana Gutsu at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and countless others.
What are your thoughts?
June 16th, 2007 at 8:28 pm
Ziert reporting nothing groundbreaking here. USAG have been playing mind games since Marta and Bela arrived and will continue to do so forever because it is so a part of the system now.
It doesn’t just happen to fringe athletes either. Just look what happens at Nationals this year. Shawn Johnson has already been decided as the winner. Nothing any other athlete does at Nationals will change that unless she falls more than once in one or both rounds. Even then she is going to receive ridiculous overscores like she has been all season so far.
They did the same thing to Zmeskal leading into 1992. It broke her.
I just hope it doesn’t break the other athletes on the US squad who I think actually are the type of athletes who could win the Olympic title, Liukin or Memmel.
June 19th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Haha, I am not Shawn Johnson, don’t mistake my name. I’m a guy fan living in Singapore.
I would say that, even if the psychological punishments are really, admittedly true, so what? I guess that’s the way it works in many areas around the world right? Business, Politics… and even in school. Much as we would not want to admit it, rarely do people get second chances. Most of the time, second chances are fought for with blood and tears, and yes, soul as well.
My point is, perhaps, just perhaps, this kind of punishment would actually drill the atheletes to stay ON the beam when required.
This situation hardly hardly, peculiar to USAG. Romania in Athens - left out one member in team finals. Russia - left out one member there too.
And in Worlds 2006, didn’t China leave out their most powerful bar worker Li Ya because of her lacklusture Preliminaries performance?
I’m saying. As far as 3 up 3 count is concerned… this is reality. If you want the medals, then Martha is going to get it for you, regardless of the consequences if might have, psychologically on the atheletes.
To quote an “addage” from Project Runway - You’re either in, or you’re out.
October 8th, 2007 at 6:00 am
I don’t think Courtney McCool was punished. People seem to have a real problem understanding how an athlete can be left off in team finals. The US has a lot of AA talent but they don’t have a lot of specialist talent. The athletes that get the best scores per event are the ones that are going to be in the team finals. As far as Priess and Kelley, it wouldn’t be the first time the entire national staff made a mistake. That was the same year that Alicia Sacramone was missing a requirement on floor. Somebody should’ve caught that but nobody did.
March 29th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
i am completly upset and nearly outraged by the fact that in TF in athens marta or whoever decides the line up. put carly on bars!!!!!! it was abviously her weakest event even though her execution was good it was abvious to see courtney MCool was a much better choice….. i can clearly understand why they put carly on bars in prelims, they wanted her 2 qualify for the AA but in TF!?!?!? COME ON!
June 21st, 2008 at 10:04 pm
The problem is some gymnast (McCool included) cannot handle the stress that an Olympic Arena puts on you. The atheletes have to learn how to be mentally tough, but when all is said and done, it is NOT about hurting ppls feelings or psychologically “punishing” them..it is about what is best for the team, get over it.