The Karolyis and USA Gymnastics: A Case Study in Abuse

[@coll4455]

It’s still makes me so emotional when Simone cry’s in that interview about how they didn’t protect them. This was the biggest stain on USA gymnastics and sports in general and I’m so fucking proud of her for helping clean up and remove that stain.

[@paulovsdasilva]

Dominique Moceanu spoke out against them yeeeeeears before and was blacklisted from gymnastics for a while.

[@latebloomerabroad]

Yes, Marta made sure Dominique couldn't make a comeback because USA Gymnastics gave Marta the power to decide who could even compete at Nationals. (Well, there were 3 people but 1 was Kim Zmeskal who had no mind of her own and always voted how Marta wanted her to, which means that Marta was the sole decision maker.) It really makes me mad! I wouldn't let my daughter continue in gymnastics because I'd already seen how a few people controlled everything.

[@carolynrabbani6469]

There were MANY coaches right here in the USA that sexually and mentally abused their athletes long before the Karoliys arrived. YES, the Karolis were horrid, but lets not pretend that there weren't already abuses going on right here in the US.

[@OceanbornAngel]

I love how Simone Biles had such a phenomenal comeback at the Paris Olympics on her own terms, proving that the Karolyi method isn't the method it was hyped up to be.

[@GOPMichael1]

STFU. The Karolyis literally put USA gymnastics on the map. They are saints.

[@teagenthetiefling5296]

When he pressured Kerri Strug to vault on her injured leg we should have known then and yet people still hold that moment up as though it was a major triumph and not an abused girl being flogged into messing up her body for life.

[@mrod87]

Omg i remember crying as a little girl when it happened. I knew she would never complete again and i loved her! She tried to do those gymnastics showcases kinda like Disney shows but her light was totally gone, she wasn’t a gymnast she was a theatre performer i remember being so sad.

[@MalenkyGoblin]

That culture of silence and win at all costs in that Soviet/Warsaw Pact countries was already there before Nadia Comaneci. Olga Korbut said her coach physically and sexually abused her for years, as well as her teammates. It only came to light in the early 80s when one of the gymnasts attempted suicide, mentioned the coach's abuse in her note, and her father filed a police report over it.

[@meeeka]

The most promising member of the 1980s Soviet team snapped her spine under a crazy coach like Bela and became an immediate quadriplegic. Since then, that team did nothing positive.

[@freyareikigoddess]

@@meeekathat quadriplegic was Elena Mukhina from Russia but back then USSR and her coach Klimienkov forced her to train on a broken leg leading up to the 1980 Olympics. She did the Thomas Salto a now banned move and broke her spine leaving her completely paralyzed. She survived but died in 2006 in Moscow.

[@amialal4510]

@@meeeka Your comment is pure rubbish. Do your research before spew hate out of pure ignorance. That Elena Mukhina, and she was Russian. Jeez.

[@junglesuperstar9270]

@@freyareikigoddesswhat about that American gymnast that died ?

[@freyareikigoddess]

@@junglesuperstar9270 yes the American gymnast who died because they forced her to lose too much weight. Horrible. I’m glad today we have different standards that are healthier than in the 70’s 80’s and early 90’s

[@TheyDontKnowImHere]

Can’t wait to see your channel grow! Excellent content. Thanks for creating this and shedding more light on USAG

[@jackieknits61]

Gymnastics is not the only sport with this problem. Figure skating is also suffering through this.

[@mkoury83]

Figure skating's largest problems is the chronic infection of corrupt judging. First it was manipulated the 6.0 and now the corrupt (mostly Russian) judges have figured out how to give low marks to legitimately talented skaters in their GOE score to then give inflated marks to dumpy Russians with horrendous technique inflated GOE's. Once that process goes through a short program judging panel, you've got yourself a competition where the real talent is in much lower place going into the free skate, and the dumpy Russians are miraculously competing to win, even sweep the podium. It all became painfully obvious in Sochi in 2014 when that shapeless inelegant girls stole the gold from Kim Yu Na's charachteristcally flawless graceful and elegant skating. The way you fix this is to not have the scores submitted be anonymous. We should know exactly what score which judge gave, this will either force honesty in judging, or allow us to ferret out the corrupt Easter Block weasels responsible for this cheating.

[@jackieknits61]

@mkoury83 Actually, the ban of Russian judges has been the best thing to happen to a number of sports. Rhythmic gymnastics and acrobatic gymnastics just got way more interesting. I'm not saying the judging corruption has disappeared, but rather that it has changed and is now shared out over more nations, so we are seeing a greater variety of athletes and styles of gymnastics. Suddenly a choke point has cleared. Is corruption still bad? Are we seeing the continuing influence of Soviet Era sports programs, both good and bad? Yes. And the US has a lot to answer for, too.

[@j.c.ca.o.l7035]

I find it very disturbing that the ranch was so far away from everything. It now becomes something similar to a cult. Another thing people should remember is that Kerri Strug probably did not need to do the second vault in order for the team to claim victory. One writer for the Baltimore Sun proposed that there should be a timeout in a situation like that to calculate the scores, especially if someone may be at risk. Kerri Strug showed grit, but it still should have been avoided. The more I hear about the Karolyis, I compare them to that football coach from Varsity Blues who put winning above the health of the athletes. I also think USA Gymnastics is a horrible organization, not only should it be dismantled, but members of the board need to be held accountable, and at the top of the list is Mary Lou Retton who went to Diane Feinstein and asked that the bill be dropped, which would have been a huge blow to the organization. For someone who at one time was America's Sweetheart there is no excuse for this, and I wonder how much did she know, and yet chose not to stand up for the athletes.

[@randomvintagefilm273]

The Karolys are child abusers

[@23gymbuff]

Kerri did not need to do the second vault - after her first vault she asked Bela if the second vault was needed and he told her yes. Bela stated in an article after the Olys that he miscalculated the team score thus he thought she needed to do the second vault. Although she tweaked her ankle/foot after the first vault, Bela's miscalculation caused Kerri's injury. Without Kerri doing the second taking vault, the US would still have won the competition by 0.309 points.

[@23gymbuff]

I agree about the Karolyi trainingcamp being secluded in a national forest. Perhaps to begin with a lot of land was necessary for the training facility, sleeping area, and exterior running grounds...but definitely a place where abused girls could not get away quickly should they feel they need to go to authoritiesi AND definitely a place where an abuser can thrive without others knowing. The girls' gym bags were checked for snacks they were not allowed to have and their sleeping area and shower areas were pathetically disgusting. I believe it was said the girls could speak with their families only on the weekend. Bela and Marta wanted the girls to focus on training thus silent surroundings. Sad overall.

[@fairygodbrotherr]

dude training camps are always away. it’s like a summer camp situation. it’s normal. like bandcamp, skating camp, or cheerleading camp.

[@j.c.ca.o.l7035]

@@fairygodbrotherr ok

[@mrod87]

To be clear, nassar was convincing victims and parents he was not having s3x with the athletes, he was using medical excuses to insert things (to include parts of his body, not genitalia as far as i know) into their female anatomy and touch them in ways that HE said were medical and recovery based and it was for his own perversion. Many athletes spoke to other coaches about if it was ok or not, as well as spoke to parent and everyone said “oh this is just to make u a better athlete” Even if the Karolis didn’t participate or know to the extent of the abuse (for arguments sake)….they heard rumors and did nothing. Michigan state was not even the best athletic training/athletic performance doctors, they could have sources someone else that did not have complaints, they also could have easily hired a female doctor to accompany and review what he was doing…they said they didn’t like him….knew about the rumors….yet still worked with him without question.

[@littleblackpistol]

The Nassar case illustrates how far men will go to satisfy a sexual paraphilia and how we need to be way more suspicious and organisations need to be way more accountable. This guy gets himself a job allowing access to teenaged girls, access that allows him to touch them and invented a whole 'medical treatment' that he couches in enough jargon to even get parents to sit and watch him stick his fingers in their daughters' vaginas for his own pleasure and believe it was OK. It's truly incredible how far men will go to assault women and children sexually and how much they can get away with it when it's within organisations that treat adult males as gods and teenaged girls as the problem. It's amazing how people won't question men in certain positions when they are flagrantly doing wrong.

[@junglesuperstar9270]

You literally need to get familiar about terms .

[@mrod87]

@@junglesuperstar9270 can u explain? If there’s a term i used incorrectly i can edit my post.

[@junglesuperstar9270]

@@mrod87 you need to check how rape and sex are defined by the criminal code

[@mrod87]

@@junglesuperstar9270 ah ok. I didn’t mention anyone had sex, or the rape in my original comments…but yes i will look into both, thank u!

[@carolynrabbani6469]

USA gymnastics of that time deserves the blame for hiring the Karolis , because all they wanted was to win. Let's don't pretend that this was all BAD communists, they were VERY bad, but Americans allowed it. They are just as much to blame.

[@littleblackpistol]

It's always greed. Greed for gold, greed for glory, greed for fame. They sold out their female athletes for gold, meaning heightened exposure, meaning money. Vile. So much evil in life comes down to valuing material gain over humanity.

[@pinkheartpenguin]

The Karolyi legacy is still active in the U.S. today, I've seen it and experienced it first hand. There are so many coaches that treat their athletes like the Karolyis did (verbally abusing them, promoting eds, etc) and even though there's safesport now...in all honesty is just a cover up to make it seem like they're actually progressing in the rates of abuse within the sport. There is so much potential with USA Gymnastics, especially now with the Paris olympics being so soon that I'd hate for anything like this to happen again. Gymnasts are human too, and there is a way to be an effective coach while not abusing your athletes.

[@meeeka]

Alt Raisman said at the senate that she doesn't trust SafeSport, so that's that.

[@sodapop83]

this method existed way before the károlyis.

[@ConcreteAngelx3]

Marta Karolyi scares the crap out of me

[@caioparaguassu438]

Actuallly there was not just rumors but police investigation back in Romania about Bela beating up their gymnasts.

[@Adriana-vp1rm]

Oh come on. That is normal. In Russia the ballet masters would smack their students with stick.

[@caioparaguassu438]

@@Adriana-vp1rm That's never been normal. Beat up children is a crime.

[@jennamarie2481]

@@Adriana-vp1rm There was literally a coach in Romania that went to prison for accidentally murdering a child during training. Banging her head against the beam. Florin Gheorghe.....not just a smack with a ruler or something, beating to death

[@littleblackpistol]

@@Adriana-vp1rm Normal in sick cultures that normalize abuse of all kinds, especially for producing athletes that bring glory to their sick regimes. Not normal in other places, sorry. I mean, enjoy the fruits of it, you get some medals, whee, but you also get to live under criminal gangsters like Putin for thirty years.

[@christina5kids16grands]

This was well done. A lot of missing pieces, but I understand this isn't a full blown comprehensive look at it all. Thanks for the work you put in.

[@studentofthegame]

for a more detailed look at it, I would recommend ESPN/30 for 30's podcast called "Heavy Medals". One of the best they've ever done imo

[@christina5kids16grands]

@@studentofthegame I love 30 for 30! I'll check it out - thank you!

[@chadchesney3858]

Ever since the Dr Nassar scandal broke. And millions of casual fans like me learned that for years this MAN had been the team doctor. I just thought WTF!? I say what in the world was a MAN, doctor or not, doing examining these often times young girls without another adult in the room. To me they should not even have a male team doctor. I’m sorry but let’s get real. These are young women with, I’ll just say it here, ya know amazing bodies being idk poked and prodded by a MAN. And unsupervised. To me that’s a “SA” situation waiting to happen.

[@Triple_Y_turn]

He even did that when parents were in the room... it's so crazy to me that he was able to hide it well enough for a parent not to notice

[@reneepeters3045]

US “didn’t medal at all for 50 years before 96 gold is really really incorrect. Just as far as team medals, silver in 84, bronze in 88 (ef b) and 92 and many individual medals.

[@junglesuperstar9270]

84 does not count

[@reneepeters3045]

Because no Russians. That’s a fair opinion but the 92 counts as well as the individual medals which I don’t know off the top of my head. So my comment was still correct. It hadn’t been 50 years. Phoebe Mills got bronze on beam in 1988 Shannon Miller got 5 medals in 92 one of which was silver for AA

[@junglesuperstar9270]

@@reneepeters3045 do u know why 1992 does not count as well ?

[@reneepeters3045]

@@junglesuperstar9270 I count it. I don’t care either way about 1984 cuz f*ck Mary Lou Retton.

[@reneepeters3045]

@@junglesuperstar9270 I mean, event finals were crazy and dramatic and the judges cheated a lot (in my opinion) like a lot of competitions in that era but it still counts.

[@oldwomanranting]

How was it allowed to happen so long? 1. They produced winners. 2. The climate was there was a need to treat those kids like well developed women. 3. The athletes did not have well developed sense of self so gymnastics was their life.

[@missmoxie9188]

Gabi Geiculescu had nightmares about Bela got forty years after training with him. It’s just a game

[@st7728]

All they cared about was their legacy, they deserve to have it destroyed. They never cared about those girls, just the money and fame. How could a parent not know about this horrible nightmare these girls went through, breaks ny heart.

[@argentinaoanta7578]

Indeed they groom a human robots At the end of the day they were the monsters And they knew they will be persecuted by treating all the gymnasts so badly And they run back to Romania They had the free hand in USA to build the same kind of bootcamp regim of communist regime I don’t care about the coach how good they were The girls were talented the best and determin to win 🏅 They don’t take responsibility for all the abuse But they take the glory and money when a gymnast wins And in all that investigation Martha and her husband Karolyi was guilty of all the abuse who failed of protecting their gymnasts Regardless that she says I don’t feel responsible And Larry should rotten in jail

[@xenotbbbeats7209]

Anyone who has been in any women's sports at a high level knows this has happened. It's nothing new and not only in gymnastics. Anorexia and bulimia are in countless sports and ballet as well, and have been for decades. The SAs that happened to some of these girls happened with their mothers in the examination room. If the mothers didn’t know it was happening, how in the world are Bela and Marta Karolyi going to know it's happening? The dangerous culture they created of not complaining, psychological abuse, and starvation likely caused the girls to not want to come forward. But as someone who came out of a Christian international missionary household that couldn’t handle it when I exposed an ex-brother-in-law whom I caught with his hands under my covers when he thought I was asleep, I can tell you that the culture of silence and denial is like a 10-foot-thick concrete wall. I was the teen who had to scream at my own family, pillars of the church, to get them to believe that it, indeed, happened. I was the lucky one in my group of friends, too. I only had to suffer a badly botched attempt at the hands of a coward. I had a friend who assaulted her uncle with a baseball bat after being r***ed by him. I had a friend who never said it out loud, but her sudden change from happy, #1 gifted student to angry drug-addicted s******* loose party girl happened virtually overnight. What clued me in was that her mother lovingly made her lunches every morning and kissed her on the cheek before we headed off to school. But, as soon as we got a few blocks away, she'd throw the sandwich in the bushes calling her mom a b****. It took me a few years of thinking my friend was an ungrateful brat to realize what was going on with her alcoholic father and how angry she was that her mother didn’t protect her. I scarecely knew a girl who didn’t experience this at one time or another. The only thing that saved me was being a fierce tomboy with the biggest mouth in town. If a potential abuser threatened to hurt anyone I knew if I told, they knew I would anyway. Knowing the unbelievable statistics with SA on girls and women in general, I get mad when I see people gawking and pointing fingers when they likely knew it was happening to friends of theirs, yet they never said anything. An old statistic I saw in the 9ps daid that 1 out of 3 girls before age 17 has been SAd and 85% by someone they knew or a family member.

[@sondragramse1770]

How could they not know? They wanted to win at all cost. They struck me as cold people. JMO

[@lg403]

They didn‘t care

[@MM-qy2ks]

Amazing video, I’m amazed by the growth from this channel

[@craisins95]

Really disgusted at all the Karolyi apologists in this comment section. They were abusers and enabled further abuse to happen on their watch by hiring Dr. Nasser. Pure and simple. They’ll rot in hell one day for all the harm they directly caused and indirectly facilitated.

[@junglesuperstar9270]

They never hired him

[@jimstevenson424]

1) Retton trained for one year prior to the Olympics with Bela. Not his gymnast. Probably why she is healthier. 2) WAG always had a little 'abuse'. For years, there was pressure to peak at age 15, probably because they are fighting against the puberty clock. 3) Stunting growth and delaying puberty by overworking is abuse. 4) Girls get committed to solely focus on the sport at a very young age. They can't compare it to the way other sports train. Nobody trains like them at age 12 in any sport (male or female). These girls become future coaches and many maintain the same standard. 5) Abuse wasn't isolated to Nassar or Karolyis. They got their due but got too much attention. USAG does deserve more blame. Male coaches got stereotyped and USAG focused on purging them (Luikin was a casualty), when most coaches were women. 6) Culture is different in MAG. Probably because puberty helps men and they can peak at age 24. Also, MAG has Japanese influence, not Soviet/E Bloc. The former is more focused on mind/body, while Soviet treats athletes like machines, to discard when they fail and move on to the next machine. Romania went though something similar with Belu. Abuse brought results, but they got rid of him for abuse. They started slipping, brought him back, restored success and abuse, finally had enough of him. 7) Ultimately, the parents failed more than any other group. Moms network and talk. How did they ignore so many signs? Their failure is never brought up, because they are also victims of the abuse. They are both enablers and victims. 8) Sadly, the harsh treatment and intolerance made the WAG program as successful as it was. It will start to slip, as it becomes less abusive, but it is worth it. 9) All respect to these athletes, but it is such a stovepiped sport, it seriously lacked perspective and still needs more work.

[@darlenezecca4129]

They did not make any girl go or stay at their gym. The Karolyis did so much for USA gymnastics. When he walked away, they lost. Even though they were tough coaches- the American girls started winning. People should be more grateful to them for what they did. And nobody can say for sure that they knew what Larry Naser did so they shouldn't accuse. Best coaches EVER!!!

[@Itsdesireegrace]

This was such an amazing video!

[@JenniferClark24]

Didn't medal at all for almost 50 years before that? They won the team silver in 1984 and team bronze in 1992.

[@junglesuperstar9270]

Seriously ? Like seriously ? Zero understanding from u

[@jennamarie2481]

Screw the Karolyi's. It angers me that I looked up to them. It angers me that them and FIG never took responsibility and honestly....FIG is still looking corrupt after these Paris games.

[@Marketoromagnolo]

my former coach worked with national women team of Italy in late 70's and several times made internagtional traning camp wioth romania and he worked with them very often, he told me they were strict, demanind but no abusive at all. probably not the sweetest coaches of all times but not the monsters someone wanted them to be pictured

[@ananeacsu1092]

There is a big difference from being very strict (which probably is needed to perform at high level) and severe abuse. Probably they didn't show their true face around other people at the competitions, but they were abusers. I am from Romania and saw the testimonies of the gymnasts that were trained during the golden age at Deva camp (colleagues of Nadia). We are talking about physical abuse (severe beatings that occurred in the toilets where nobody could see), Bela and Martha closing the training room for nobody to be able to witness what the girls were going through, girl being forced to a very strict eating regime and being forced to go on scale like 3 - 4 times a day and then being beaten if they gained like 50 grams. These girls were even afraid to drink water and then go on a scale. Not to mention they were children of 13, 14, 15 years away from home. Some of the gymnasts testified they still have nightmares and wanted to commit suicide. The sad thing is that these people probably think they did a good thing. I don't know what they did with the US team, but in Romania they were terrible. Of course nobody cares because of the performance and fame they brought.

[@littleblackpistol]

Strict in gym is fine, I can agree with no messing around, joking etc. But locking girls up with no food or water for three days and just an orange to gain a little moisture enough not to kill them, but leave them super dehydrated (risking death and kidney failure) is straight out a vile, sick physical and mental abuse. It's abuse if a parent does it to a child, your kids would be removed, you would be sent to prison. It's abuse if an adult imposes this on a domestic partner or stranger, it's a serious crime. It's a crime to do that to an actual prisoner in a jail ffs! It's also abuse when a sports coach thinks imprisonment and severe dehydration to lose weight (really just water, they would be dehydrated enough to weigh light, not burn much fat) is a way to treat children and teenagers under their care.

[@murasakino101]

​@@ananeacsu1092this is why it will always anger me when people complain about newer gymnasts not "looking thin and graceful" or "making more mistakes now". There's nothing wrong with wanting artistry back in the sport since it is needed a bit, but I will ALWAYS take the environment of today's gymnastics over the old way any day. It's a joy to see gymnasts happier and to be able to communicate with each other, something that wouldn't have happened back in the soviet/karoly era. The fact that people know how abused gymnasts were during those times but overlook it or act oblivious because they want "grace" back in the sport is why I choose to love the sport but mostly separate from the gymternet

[@unknown-lf6zx]

Two of my friends trained with Bela. They said he was tough but not abusive. I believe it happens in a lot of sports where coaches border on tough and what could be viewed as abusive. They were from a communist country so this was the norm. I don’t think or hope they didn’t know about Nassar but certainly had “questionable tactics” to get athletes to the top. USA gymnastics shoulders the blame big time!

[@carolynrabbani6469]

You can't have it both ways. Martha was NOT the coach of the strongest competitors on the 96 team. Their personal coaches were Kelli Hill (Dominique Dawes) Steve Nunu ( Shannon Miller, easily the most successful American gymnast till Simone Biles) . The Karolis were personal coaches to Kerri Strug and Dominique Muceanu, both great gymnasts, but not the best. on that team Either you credit the Olympic coach in 84 for their success or you have to give give credit to the personal coaches of the strongest athletes on the 96 team. My point is that the Karolis weren't even that good, as compared to the way the nedia portrayed them to be.

[@lynnlmr2032]

I dont believe the Karolyi's knew about the Dr. He was a groomer, those poor girls didn't know what he was doing, until it was too far gone or just too late. Plus they are kids not women. As far as the Karolyi's go, we heard the rumors in Australia, back when Nadia won, that the Karolyi's had boot camps and the girls were beaten, starved and given impossible strenuous exercises - Im not saying its true, but it was what was being said. I always felt sorry for Nadia and wondered how bad it got for Olga Korbut (not the same country, but similar techniques). If USA wanted them, why weren't they researched better. There is no excuse for this - NONE.

[@mrod87]

I want to know more about how and under what circumstances they defected. Gymnasiums are extremely expensive, corporate leases for non established non-Americans also difficult, gymnastic equipment also incredibly expensive to purchase and maintain. I wonder how two impoverished defectors got up and running wildly fast. We all know the answer to this… It’s the same reason why child abuse went on for DECADES. 👀

[@nowaylaowai204]

You should read Mary Lou Retton's biography. It tells her story as well as Bela's story. That will give you some idea of how the Karolyis got started here. Also, I think Bela wrote an autobiography, that might give you more detail as to the financing of the Houston gym. IIRC he was hired to come down and coach at that gym. When he got there, the gym had closed. They borrowed the money themselves and reopned the gym.. Don't forget, he wasn't just anyone, he was Bela Karolyi, coach of Nadia. I'm sure if you read those books, they will have more details, but that's what I remember from Mary Lou: Creating an Olympic Champion. Feel No Fear is the Karolyi autobiography.

[@mrod87]

@@nowaylaowai204 my point is….the man had no financial depth when he entered America and somehow just bc he had a history of being a good coach he got a property and financing fairly easy….usually when the powers that be want to ensure the success of a nation they overlook a lot of red flags just to ensure continue notoriety. There’s examples of this throughout world history, athletics and entertainment, so i understand how these predators (calling them that bc American gymnastics has had a lot of wins without the abusive training) are able to go unscathed for so long. Encouraging a child to end their career for fame and a medal should have put them in jail…just my opinion. Athletes bodies break down at an alarming rate once training is over, to be willing to take that risk says u care nothing about a persons wellbeing. I train athletes and advocate for their rest and rehab so i have a huge issue with this mindset. I train basketball players and it’s sad understanding so many of their life long injuries (let’s use Lebron James or Zion Williamson as an example) are self inflicted bc of bad coaching and training. I will def look into both those books!

[@sodapop83]

they were big names you dumbass looking down on romanians

[@Adriana-vp1rm]

What? U know communist system at all? Everything is free and on the state. Watch Gordeeva interviews.

[@junglesuperstar9270]

@@mrod87not a good coach . The best coach in the entire universe

[@carolynrabbani6469]

With respect, though I agree with most of your assessment, the Karolis were not the best coaches in the world, that would be the Soviets, who, because of politics, boycotted the 1984 Olympics. The Karolis obvously had success, but Mary Lou never even competed against the very best in the world. In 1983 or in 1985 World Championships, the Soviets beat the Romanians who were Mary Lou's closest competitors, they were the dominant force in gynmnastics at the time. Mary Lou Retton, though good, wouldn't have beaten the Soviet team had they been there. She might have medeled, but she would not have won, then she never competed against the Soviets in World competition.

[@ryohn5468]

I hope more people stop competing in gymnastics! It's not good on your body, especially when you become older.

[@JoseBarbosa-iu5jb]

That’s not true at all lol

[@janecoe9407]

TOO MANY INJURIES. TOO MUCH PRESSURE TO KEEP WEIGHT LOW. EATIGN DISORDERS.

[@micheleclark59]

@@janecoe9407That Doesn’t happen to all of them! There’s LOTS of retired gymnasts around Still involved with the sport be it as a trainer or announcer etc. There are injuries in gymnastics no doubt, I’d Still pick that over Football Rugby Boxing etc

[@janecoe9407]

@@micheleclark59 YES SOME ARE ROUND AS COACHES , THRY LIKELY HADS SURGERIERD TO REPAIR DAMAGED DONE TO BODY.

[@MrCmon113]

Per se it isn't bad, but the way countries are churning out super young athletes to beat other countries is.

[@Josh-y4r]

Aren't the corolis down with Zach and the gang from saved by the bell

[@Gymcoach1]

România was never part of Russia. Ever!

[@VinnyS9143101982]

Diane Feinstein is in no position to call ANYONE evil

[@jukodebu]

But they weren't responsible the doctor that abused them is. They didn't hire him USAG did.

[@ladyblakeney]

The point isn't that they were responsible, the point is that they created an environment where that abuse could happen without question

[@cathleensmallwood4120]

They relied on him to clear injured athletes to compete

[@joanhoffmann871]

They were physically and mentally abusive. Starving these kids and young women. Forcing them to work through serious injuries. Abuse isn’t just sexual.

[@Unicorn-x5t]

Monsters!!!!!!!!

[@athleteunleashed6642]

I’m sure the Karoly’s were no angels but there is nothing in this video to show they were monsters !! Overtraining is very common in youth sports today. It’s a epidemic that is ruining youth sports but there really is no evidence of mental or physical abuse on this video. The doctor yes , but nothing really has come out about the karolys

[@Emper0rH0rde]

The amount of power they had was extremely troublesome. Whether or not you competed for Team USA was basically entirely predicated on their exclusive say so. Having that kind of power, and hardly any accountability, and using it to overtrain children, is abuse in and of itself.

[@prinzeugen1220]

From this video, no, but there are enough videos with girls from Nadia's time, now in their 50s, that explain in detail how they were regularly beaten, kicked until they peed themselves, how Marta would smack their heads against the beam or slapped them with backhands and her rings would cut their faces, how they were starved to keep their weight down and delay puberty. I wish those videos had subtitles for the whole world to find out that yes, they were savage monsters and should be in prison next to Nassar.

[@janecoe9407]

SICK. THE KIDS NEED P[ROPER HEALTHY FOOD AND DIET. THRY ALSO NEED PROPER MEDICAL CARE FOR INJIURIES.@@prinzeugen1220

[@lynnlmr2032]

In this video Mattie Larson actually spoke about body the shaming and starving that went on at the Karoly ranch.

[@karyndewit193]

@@prinzeugen1220I’ve never heard any of that.

[@micheleclark59]

MULTIPLE PEOPLE WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ABUSE THAT WENT ON IN GYMNASTICS! I’m Shocked you’re trying to Blame 2 people when 1) ABUSE was definitely Present Prior to the Karoylis coming here…just look at All the old American coaches being accused now, it’s allover KZbin surprised you haven’t seen it! 2) The people responsible for Nassar were Michigan State as he prowled there before working his way onto the ranch. Higher ups KNEW about reports but did NOTHING. This just allowed Nassar reputation to STAY as the Guy who’s Nice to the poor gymnasts. There’s at LEAST 10 Adults who were Aware and did NOTHING, kept their mouths shut! So the Karoylis should SUSPECT this Dr with the GREAT REPUTATION? 3)Someone the girls Liked because he gave them Candy or let them compete when something was wrong, Some of them Did want to (McKayla Maloney had a broken foot in London). MANY OPPORTUNITIES were Missed to take him out LONG before he made it to the Karoylis ranch. We’re they mean coaches? Yeah they were tough. Nadia never has said Anything bad about them, nor Mary Lou or Kim Zemeskal… You Missed a few People that were Suppose to Protect these girls…

[@pureromanceable]

Mr Bela Karolyi and his wife Marta Karolyi had once created gymnastics when he and his wife moved from Romania to Texas to coach young girl into outstanding athletic. He worked effortlessly throughout the years.He would be missed but his legacy continues.

[@bethanycook8430]

This is so sick!

[@melvinkelly1604]

You mean 1984 in Los Angeles ♊️

[@marimiller9937]

You’ve got to remember that at this time, these gymnasts had their own coach, not Bela and Martha. The problems the girls had needed to be blamed on their home gym environment. You have to remember Bela and Martha were just as fooled by Nassar as the girls. Nassar was a desperate master at deception. You have to remember as well the girls would not talk about it to anyone forever. The first gymnast to speak out was married and a lawyer. Only then did the younger girls realize the severity of the crime of being abused sexually by Nassar. It was when she spoke out that those in the sport spoke out. This began a decade or more before it was finally discovered. Everyone has to say they are sorry. Gymnast for not speaking up but they were unsure of what was happening being so young, parents sorry for not looking or knowing the signs of abuse. Coaches being sorry for not looking or knowing to look for the signs and all the heads of USAG for not looking or knowing the signs. Nassar the master of deception took advantage of everyone’s belief that nothing like this would ever happen and even more so to athletes on TV. So I’m fine with this fellow blaming everything on Bela and Martha if he sees them as the only guilty ones but for me, I see many, many people guilty and many because they knew not what to look for. I do know there were some that knew his secret because they too were guilty of the same sort of abuse. This guy has said nothing about them and we all know they were GUILTY! It’s the Catholic Church stories all over again and those people too around the predator most had no clue. These abusers probably start very young in life and are masters at deception by the time they are teens until they finally get caught. We just all have to realize we need to know and look for signs.

[@Saleigh]

They had him their for years I can’t believe they didn’t know some shady crap was happening they were only about winning they could careless about the athletes they put fear and literally made these girls feel bad about themselves I’m glad that ranch of so many young woman’s lives was closed down

[@Sail392]

You have to remember that USA gymnastics…Marta and Bela…created the environment of isolation and abuse that allowed Nassar to exist and persist.

[@Cmc995]

Don’t defend the karolyis! They created the environment and the environment of neglect and abuse in the first place that 90% of the coaches developed! As Dominique Moceanu said ‘Marta loved Larry!’ He gave the ‘ok’ for injured gymnast to compete anyway, definitely recommend Moceanu’s book. What they did to her is disgusting. Forcing her to train with an injured leg then Bela acting in NBC pieces like ‘wow she hurt herself’ Totally at fault for the culture of abuse.

[@jennamarie2481]

I'm sorry, did you just say the gymnasts need to apologize? I think I heard you wrong bc that sounded ridiculous.

[@jillr.austin1103]

Pure Evil

[@Adriana-vp1rm]

Their method worked. That is all that mattered.

[@jennamarie2481]

No

[@jamespader]

clearly it didn’t when they still won the gold this olympics and several other individual medals yet in 2004 and 2008 they got the silver in the team finals

[@dnice1996]

Say what you want but they created champions! I was a gymnast (not this level) but we were taught the same way! Screamed at, hit our toes with a yardstick! It was tough but it was how it was done! Never whine & complain!

[@MrCmon113]

Winning a dumbass piece of metal for your country isn't worth abusing thousands of children. Nor is there any evidence that being an abusive POS makes your athletes any better. You're everything that's wrong with youth athletics, you're actively supporting sadistic psychopaths and pedos.

[@littleblackpistol]

Aww, look at you having normalized child abuse as okay. Pathetic.

[@jojox9791]

1. I feel so terrible for every single victim, now survivor 😢. 2. The Kaeolyis are NOT guilty. The reason they were found not guilty is because they despised Nassar for decades and 99% of the time these kids were abused right in front of parents and coaches and disguising it as treatment. The Karolyis took no part in the medical, that is a huge part of why gymnasts weren't allowed at the ranch without their coaches. Nassar got what he deserved. Geddert the coward took just that ~ the cowards way out. Were the Karolyis old school tough Romanians, absolutely. But sexual abuse? No. Again their personal coaches HAD to he there for EVERYTHING. PLACE BLAME AND JUST ONLY WHEN TRIED AND CONVICTED AND THEY WERE NOT. WANT SOMEONE ELDE TO BLAME? MICHIGAN STATE!!! THEY COULD AMD SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ACTION YEARS AGO WHEN COMPLAINTS WERE MADE, YET THEY COVERRD FOR HIM. A LITTLE RESEARCH AND RULE OF LAW WOULD ABSOLUTELY BENEFIT YOU. THIS CASE ATROCIOUS 😢 THANK YOU FOR NOT FORGETTING

[@darlenezecca4129]

They werent monsters. The way they trained the girls is what they thought was the way to get the best out of them.

[@sorinrusu1022]

Student of the game you're totally fool... ,and payd

[@xenotbbbeats7209]

Anyone who has been in any women's sports at a high level knows this has happened. It's nothing new and not only in gymnastics. Anorexia and bulimia are in countless sports and ballet as well, and have been for decades. The SAs that happened to some of these girls happened with their mothers in the examination room. If the mothers didn’t know it was happening, how in the world are Bela and Marta Karolyi going to know it's happening? The dangerous culture they created of not complaining, psychological abuse, and starvation likely caused the girls to not want to come forward. But as someone who came out of a Christian international missionary household that couldn’t handle it when I exposed an ex-brother-in-law whom I caught with his hands under my covers when he thought I was asleep, I can tell you that the culture of silence and denial is like a 10-foot-thick concrete wall. I was the teen who had to scream at my own family, pillars of the church, to get them to believe that it, indeed, happened. I was the lucky one in my group of friends, too. I only had to suffer a badly botched attempt at the hands of a coward. I had a friend who assaulted her uncle with a baseball bat after being r***ed by him. I had a friend who never said it out loud, but her sudden change from happy, #1 gifted student to angry drug-addicted s******* loose party girl happened virtually overnight. What clued me in was that her mother lovingly made her lunches every morning and kissed her on the cheek before we headed off to school. But, as soon as we got a few blocks away, she'd throw the sandwich in the bushes calling her mom a b****. It took me a few years of thinking my friend was an ungrateful brat to realize what was going on with her alcoholic father and how angry she was that her mother didn’t protect her. I scarecely knew a girl who didn’t experience this at one time or another. The only thing that saved me was being a fierce tomboy with the biggest mouth in town. If a potential abuser threatened to hurt anyone I knew if I told, they knew I would anyway. Knowing the unbelievable statistics with SA on girls and women in general, I get mad when I see people gawking and pointing fingers when they likely knew it was happening to friends of theirs, yet they never said anything. An old statistic I saw in the 90s said that 1 out of 3 girls before age 17 has been SAd and 85% by someone they knew or a family member.