In what might be an uncommon association, somewhat than being led by a single coach, USA Gymnastics has as a substitute determined to divide the highest teaching function for its ladies’s gymnastics workforce into three separate roles. A kind of roles might be stuffed by Chellsie Memmel.
For many gymnastics followers, they’re beneath the assumption that Chellsie Memmel is the right alternative for such a job. She is broadly seen as a gymnastics determine with no previous problematic conduct. The perceived lack of a difficult previous is what made her a great candidate.
This text is to remind gymnastics followers that this narrative is solely not true.
Again in 2021 Chellsie Memmel was caught up in an issue the place her title and likeness was used to advertise a gymnastics membership with main abuse allegations. The membership in query was Legacy Elite Gymnastics which followers know because the health club coached by Wu Jiani and her daughter Anna Li. Each are former gymnasts who had extremely profitable careers and are veterans of main worldwide competitors.
Legacy Elite Gymnastics at the moment has greater than 30 complaints which have been filed with SafeSport and these allegations have been identified to most of the people by way of media reviews because the Summer season of 2019. The allegations pressured the resignation of Anna Li in early August of 2019 from her publish on USA Gymnastics’ athlete council.
This chain of occasions was a serious incident on the time and nearly all gymnastics followers are accustomed to this specific story. The scandal continues to be ongoing with SafeSport reportedly conducting investigations as just lately as Fall 2021 and it stays to be seen exactly how these occasions will finish.
The connection to Chellsie Memmel pertains to an episode from April 8, 2021 when Scott M. Reid reported a narrative on Legacy Elite Gymnastics internet hosting a camp that price $600 per every gymnast attending. As a way to encourage dad and mom to enroll (and pay) for this camp, the central attraction was the participation of quite a few coaches representing numerous NCAA packages.
The outcry that NCAA packages had been empowering and selling one of the vital infamous golf equipment within the nation triggered sufficient controversy for many faculty groups to tug their help. However in the identical article that highlighted the difficulty of NCAA packages aligning with a gymnastics membership embroiled in SafeSport allegations, it was additionally famous that Legacy Elite Gymnastics had one other camp within the works.
Quite than being aligned with NCAA coaches, it might be headlined by Chellsie Memmel.
In April of 2021 Chellsie Memmel was on the peak of her recognition as she was partaking in a legendary Tokyo Olympics comeback try. Memmel had achieved important media consideration for herself, was one of the vital talked about athletes within the sport, and one of the vital worthwhile figures any membership may hope to align with as a approach to attract better attendance figures for his or her camp.
Chellsie Memmel having one of many largest and most influential manufacturers of any athlete is what made it so egregious that she put her help behind a gymnastics membership with SafeSport allegations. Paradoxically, Chellsie Memmel having a big model and being such a revered determine is what spared her criticism over her affiliation with Legacy Elite Gymnastics.
Memmel not solely was on the flier as a part of the 2021 version of this camp, however she additionally participated within the 2020 version of this camp. Legacy Elite Gymnastics posted a photograph of her in attendance and thanked her for approaching their Fb web page. The Safesport allegations had been public information in 2019.
Again in 2021 Scott M. Reid wrote about this, I shared the story to my social media account noting the point out of Memmel’s involvement. However few needed to love, share, or retweet a scandal that killed what was a fantastic really feel good story. Chellsie Memmel was a mom in her early 30s making a profitable comeback in a sport dominated by youngsters and younger 20 12 months olds. The optimistic attributes of her story made few followers wish to damper it with tales of ugly conduct.
However now Chellsie Memmel is formally affiliated with USA Gymnastics and is ready of energy over youngster athletes. It’s incomprehensible that an incoming program lead for the ladies’s program was aligned with one of the vital notorious gymnastics golf equipment with 30 SafeSport complaints to its title. And this connection got here as just lately as final 12 months when mentioned allegations had been ongoing and public information.
If it was anybody else, the gymnastics group would instantly be in uproar over this. Which is why I implore the gymnastics fanbase to not let historical past repeat itself by ignoring the story in 2022 because it did in 2021.
You can’t have a program lead who treats 30 complaints of SafeSport allegations as inconsequential. In an period the place a brand new tradition is being constructed and we try to arrange an surroundings the place gymnasts really feel they’ll belief the USAG figureheads and safely method them with allegations of misconduct, having a program lead like Chellsie Memmel with a latest previous historical past of expressing disregard for the severity of SafeSport allegations on her report straight contradicts that.
Beneath are the final 4 paragraphs from Scott M. Reid’s article from from April 8, 2021:
However the scandal lastly appeared to catch as much as the health club this week. Legacy had been actively selling “beLIeve Faculty Camp,” which the health club mentioned would characteristic among the nation’s prime faculty coaches in early July. A flier for the occasion beneath Legacy’s emblem, the Olympic rings, a number of college logos and mascots, and the slogan “The place Success & Enjoyable Is One!” mentioned the camp is “That includes Faculty Clinicians from” UCLA, Cal, Florida, Washington, Michigan State, Utah State, Towson and Northern Illinois.
For a $600 payment, gymnasts will prepare for 2 days with the coaches and take part in a question-and-answer session with the school coaches, in accordance with the flier.
However on Friday Legacy eliminated all references to the universities after not less than 5 faculties together with UCLA, Li’s alma mater, informed SCNG their coaches or representatives wouldn’t be attending the camp.
Legacy can be selling an elite efficiency camp on the health club in July that includes Chellsie Memmel, the 2005 World particular person all-around champion. Memmel can be a choose licensed by the FIG, the game’s worldwide governing physique.
Memmel didn’t reply to a request for remark.
