OT Artistic Gymnastics

[CoachTamara]

What did mykayla do? I am just now getting back into gymnatsics

Sour grapes after Gabby made the team over her lead to her liking a series of racist tweets. There have been other things that add up to her being bratty and unsportsmanlike, but she was also young. I think with the youtube she has tried to turn it around, but it's hard to figure out if it's genuine or for show.

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

Sour grapes after Gabby made the team over her lead to her liking a series of racist tweets. There have been other things that add up to her being bratty and unsportsmanlike, but she was also young. I think with the youtube she has tried to turn it around, but it's hard to figure out if it's genuine or for show.

I had to look up her history and found this on Reddit (I shortened it slightly). Poor sportsmanship aside, do you agree with the comments on her technique? I don’t know gymnastics outside of cheer tumbling.

“As someone whose been passionately following the US women's gymnastics team for the past nine years, I am appalled by the idea of someone such as MyKayla Skinner representing the United States at the Olympics. Besides the fact that her execution will be HAMMERED by the international judges, the way she conducts herself online and outside of gymnastics is an embarrassment to our country.

….The comments MyKayla made after the 2016 Olympic trials was hurtful to the spirit of the Olympics. Retweeting images of her face photoshopped over Gabby Douglas (our very first African-American all-around champion) and racist emojis, MyKayla has proved time and time again that she is very much in no simpler words - a racist. She also retweeted a tweet that contained negativity towards Gabby and several monkey emojis - leaving no room for interpretation on what she thought of an incredibly talented African-American gymnast making the team over her. Besides this, MyKayla has also tweeted the n-word HERSELF. Never apologizing for her own words, she only took this tweet down when her university (Utah) forced her to. On a team that will very likely include Simone, Suni, and Jordan, having someone with a racist past not only diminishes the accomplishments of the incredible three women of color, but also sends a message to young gymnasts that it doesn't matter how you behave outside of the gym, as long as you are able to score highly enough. Here is proof of her tweeting the n-word:

Even ignoring all of this, don't even get me start on her execution. Her moors will most likely be deducted immensely in Tokyo - if not downgraded. Her one-armed cheng honestly scares me to death and her bars execution is just plain messy. MyKayla's execution on beam is disturbing and don't even get me started on that landing. She literally was bent at the hips, piked down more than ninety degrees. She constantly complains about being underscored - and yet - when your execution looks as sloppy as hers does, I simply don't understand why she complains in the first place. Unpointed toes, bent arms, splits that don't hit remotely near 180, her execution is truly just one mess after another.

Besides the fact that MyKayla has said the n-word not only on twitter, but recorded videos of her saying it on her Snapchat story, she has demonstrated the worst sportsmanship I've ever seen in gymnastics. When Grace made the team over her, she was immediately on twitter liking and retweeting tweets that she should have made the team over Grace. While she may think this, acting out this way is truly despicable and hurtful towards Grace, who did nothing wrong except outscore her at Trials. Someone needs to get this girl a media specialist ASAP - before she does something that shames all of the US once again. During her stunt in the NCAA, MyKayla would also constantly retweet tweets saying that Kyla Ross and Maggie Nichols (two gymnasts who constantly beat her at championships) were not deserving of their wins, implying that she thought she was better than them. While this was several years ago, this shows a pattern of arrogant and reckless behavior MyKayla has when she is not given her way. Knowing that she's done this for the past FIVE years of her life, what's to stop her from tweeting vile things after she gets 2-per countried out at Tokyo? Edit: here's the link of her liking tweets putting Grace down: /r/Gymnastics/comments/o9etqa/the_irony_of_mykayla/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

This post was not meant to shame MyKayla, but to defend the integrity and spirit of the US in the name of sportsmanship and humility. While I admire the effort she has made to comeback and I truly believe that it is incredible for her to be both a wife and a gymnast, I cannot simply ignore the hurtful comments and past she has. MyKayla has shown over and over again that if not given her way, she will resort to selfishness at the expense of her teammates. Someone with a racist and incredibly selfish past is not someone I want representing my country at the 2021 olympics, and I am so disappointed the US olympic committee chose her to compete in Tokyo.”

 

[UCFKnights07]

the fourth spot was bound to be controversial.. the top 3 made sense even before Olympic trials started. there was at least 3 or 4 people i could have seen making the 4th spot.
while i love mykayla and her coming back after the disappointment from the last Olympic trials, i dont get why she was given an individual spot, i saw her as making the team or getting nothing, simply because almost everyone chosen outscores her. She might make vault finals, but even then, between simone and other international gymnasts, i cant see her making podium.
i think they chose more towards winning team gold, vs picking a team who can win the most individual medals. So the team as a whole makes sense, but individually, simone and sunisa will probably be the only two walking away with individual medals.

 

[kristenthegreat]

I had to look up her history and found this on Reddit (I shortened it slightly). Poor sportsmanship aside, do you agree with the comments on her technique? I don’t know gymnastics outside of cheer tumbling.

Even ignoring all of this, don't even get me start on her execution. Her moors will most likely be deducted immensely in Tokyo - if not downgraded. Her one-armed cheng honestly scares me to death and her bars execution is just plain messy. MyKayla's execution on beam is disturbing and don't even get me started on that landing. She literally was bent at the hips, piked down more than ninety degrees. She constantly complains about being underscored - and yet - when your execution looks as sloppy as hers does, I simply don't understand why she complains in the first place. Unpointed toes, bent arms, splits that don't hit remotely near 180, her execution is truly just one mess after another.

*Shortened quote tweet.

MyKayla's form has gotten better than it was in 2016 (I have to thank her collegiate coaches for getting her to put two flippin' hands on the vault table FINALLY), but it's not always great. On vault, because her block isn't good (and yet better than before?), because of the aforementioned 1 1/2 hands she puts down, so she doesn't get much height and has to rotate pretty early. She can sometimes maintain her form midair, but it's not the prettiest. She MIGHT be able to squeak through, but again she's facing two very strong vaulters. He form on other events is...fine? Enough? But she's a bit on the power-over-performance crowd. My mom likes to call them 'alligator hands'- when they're trying to do "pretty fingers" so hard they look like alligator mouths.

Do I agree with her being chosen? Not necessarily yes or no, but without Riley it's not like we had anyone else coming in to medal where someone else wasn't already (except bars). Her scores were also higher compared to everyone else. Honestly- if Chellsie Memmel could have made it through/hung on, I would have chosen her instead- she could have delivered on a number of events INCLUDING bars.

 

[kristenthegreat]

the fourth spot was bound to be controversial.. the top 3 made sense even before Olympic trials started. there was at least 3 or 4 people i could have seen making the 4th spot.
while i love mykayla and her coming back after the disappointment from the last Olympic trials, i dont get why she was given an individual spot, i saw her as making the team or getting nothing, simply because almost everyone chosen outscores her. She might make vault finals, but even then, between simone and other international gymnasts, i cant see her making podium.
i think they chose more towards winning team gold, vs picking a team who can win the most individual medals. So the team as a whole makes sense, but individually, simone and sunisa will probably be the only two walking away with individual medals.

*Double post

Yeah- this particular crop of gymnasts is just...an odd collective. So many young girls and a LOT need more seasoning and to upgrade skills. I think there's a lot of promise coming up, and I'm so excited for Jordan Chiles, but I feel like the natural flow of athlete growth got upended with the adjusted Olympics. Some tried to hold on and got injured, some tried to push up faster than they might have normally.

 

[cheerKT]

I really do love both Grace and MyKayla. I think Grace could give you any routine you need in a team final if you wanted to rest Simone on bars or something or not use Suni on vault since she's still nursing an injury. She's consistent on most events (despite some missteps at Trials but she wasn't alone there)

My confusion was that Tom Forester said a handful of times they wanted to take the highest scoring 3 up 3 count team, which would have been MyKayla in the fourth spot. Instead, they took rank order which doesn't really make sense in a 3 up 3 count team. Don't get me wrong, they are still going to win and by a good margin, so it probably doesn't matter anyway.

Then there's taking MyKayla in the individual spot....which really doesn't make sense since her and Jade are basically the same gymnast (their strengths are in the same events....vault and floor). So you're shooting yourself in the foot in terms of possible medals for the US due to 2-per-country. Their one weakness would be a second bars competitor. Which IMO was Riley McCusker.....fall or not at Trial. Simone will most likely make event finals on everything except bars, so now MyKayla and Jade will cancel each other out on floor and vault finals by having the same strength. Instead we could have used that spot for a second bars competitor in addition to Suni. Rileys bars are better than Simone's.

And then we get to the alternate scenario. You get to bring 5 this year due to covid. We didn't even take our full allotment and only picked 4! No reason not to put Riley in that last alternate spot in case one of your specialists goes down with an injury or covid tracing.

Like I said, I think the team will be totally fine and gold medalists for sure. There were just inconsistencies with what was said vs. what was done. I'm happy either way. Just confused lol

 

[cheerKT]

Same.

I really like Grace, but I thought Mikayla made more sense in the team spot. Like why are we sending two individuals that do the same thing? I know that Riley majorly screwed up, but she at least gives them a (slim) shot at another medal on UB, whereas Skinner and Carey will both be fighting for the same spot. USAG is a mess.

I would have sent Riley in the individual spot even with that fall. It made the most sense. And then to not even select her as an alternate......??? I don't get it.

 

[CoachTamara]

I forgot about the N-word, so now I'm taking back any leeway I was giving Mikayla.

I do think her technique is pretty atrocious, and I don't see any way she walks away from Tokyo with a medal. I think that's why she's pissed, because the team meant a guaranteed gold and individual spot basically means nothing. Obviously people can bomb, but I see Jade taking the vault and floor over her. It's almost like a slap in the face to her, but USAG also isn't that smart and they love her.

I'm also mad about not even giving Riley the alternate spot. I mean, seriously? Come on. They are mad about MH I guess (who once again, is a disgusting human that should never ever coach again), and it just tells me she didn't have a chance even if she would have hit everything.

 

[catlady]

I had to look up her history and found this on Reddit (I shortened it slightly). Poor sportsmanship aside, do you agree with the comments on her technique? I don’t know gymnastics outside of cheer tumbling.

“As someone whose been passionately following the US women's gymnastics team for the past nine years, I am appalled by the idea of someone such as MyKayla Skinner representing the United States at the Olympics. Besides the fact that her execution will be HAMMERED by the international judges, the way she conducts herself online and outside of gymnastics is an embarrassment to our country.

….The comments MyKayla made after the 2016 Olympic trials was hurtful to the spirit of the Olympics. Retweeting images of her face photoshopped over Gabby Douglas (our very first African-American all-around champion) and racist emojis, MyKayla has proved time and time again that she is very much in no simpler words - a racist. She also retweeted a tweet that contained negativity towards Gabby and several monkey emojis - leaving no room for interpretation on what she thought of an incredibly talented African-American gymnast making the team over her. Besides this, MyKayla has also tweeted the n-word HERSELF. Never apologizing for her own words, she only took this tweet down when her university (Utah) forced her to. On a team that will very likely include Simone, Suni, and Jordan, having someone with a racist past not only diminishes the accomplishments of the incredible three women of color, but also sends a message to young gymnasts that it doesn't matter how you behave outside of the gym, as long as you are able to score highly enough. Here is proof of her tweeting the n-word:

Even ignoring all of this, don't even get me start on her execution. Her moors will most likely be deducted immensely in Tokyo - if not downgraded. Her one-armed cheng honestly scares me to death and her bars execution is just plain messy. MyKayla's execution on beam is disturbing and don't even get me started on that landing. She literally was bent at the hips, piked down more than ninety degrees. She constantly complains about being underscored - and yet - when your execution looks as sloppy as hers does, I simply don't understand why she complains in the first place. Unpointed toes, bent arms, splits that don't hit remotely near 180, her execution is truly just one mess after another.

Besides the fact that MyKayla has said the n-word not only on twitter, but recorded videos of her saying it on her Snapchat story, she has demonstrated the worst sportsmanship I've ever seen in gymnastics. When Grace made the team over her, she was immediately on twitter liking and retweeting tweets that she should have made the team over Grace. While she may think this, acting out this way is truly despicable and hurtful towards Grace, who did nothing wrong except outscore her at Trials. Someone needs to get this girl a media specialist ASAP - before she does something that shames all of the US once again. During her stunt in the NCAA, MyKayla would also constantly retweet tweets saying that Kyla Ross and Maggie Nichols (two gymnasts who constantly beat her at championships) were not deserving of their wins, implying that she thought she was better than them. While this was several years ago, this shows a pattern of arrogant and reckless behavior MyKayla has when she is not given her way. Knowing that she's done this for the past FIVE years of her life, what's to stop her from tweeting vile things after she gets 2-per countried out at Tokyo? Edit: here's the link of her liking tweets putting Grace down: /r/Gymnastics/comments/o9etqa/the_irony_of_mykayla/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

This post was not meant to shame MyKayla, but to defend the integrity and spirit of the US in the name of sportsmanship and humility. While I admire the effort she has made to comeback and I truly believe that it is incredible for her to be both a wife and a gymnast, I cannot simply ignore the hurtful comments and past she has. MyKayla has shown over and over again that if not given her way, she will resort to selfishness at the expense of her teammates. Someone with a racist and incredibly selfish past is not someone I want representing my country at the 2021 olympics, and I am so disappointed the US olympic committee chose her to compete in Tokyo.”

I wasn't aware of this, so I Googled to find out more and expected to find multiple actual news stories on this. The interesting part, I could find nothing about it except from Reddit, Another Big Fish in the Pond, and Lipstick Alley all quoting the same story as above. Meanwhile, from the "Gymternet" it quoted:

Angry redditors have called Gabby USAG’s “affirmative action pick,” and Skinner’s twitter followers are using monkey emoticons as shorthand in their rants about Gabby.

I found several recent articles on NCAA gymnastic programs and fellow athletes being called out on racism, but again, nothing directed toward Mykayla. I didn't have any real preference on the individual, but technique aside, I can't understand putting a person on the team that would cause immediate angst on this level. I found plenty of "Mykayla's A Racist" tweets out there, but not a single screen shot or video linking her to any of those accusations.
Does anyone know if these retweets/videos actually happened? Or, is this just a Reddit story that gained traction?

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

I wasn't aware of this, so I Googled to find out more and expected to find multiple actual news stories on this. The interesting part, I could find nothing about it except from Reddit, Another Big Fish in the Pond, and Lipstick Alley all quoting the same story as above. Meanwhile, from the "Gymternet" it quoted:

Angry redditors have called Gabby USAG’s “affirmative action pick,” and Skinner’s twitter followers are using monkey emoticons as shorthand in their rants about Gabby.

I found several recent articles on NCAA gymnastic programs and fellow athletes being called out on racism, but again, nothing directed toward Mykayla. I didn't have any real preference on the individual, but technique aside, I can't understand putting a person on the team that would cause immediate angst on this level. I found plenty of "Mykayla's A Racist" tweets out there, but not a single screen shot or video linking her to any of those accusations.
Does anyone know if these retweets/videos actually happened? Or, is this just a Reddit story that gained traction?

Here’s the full Reddit post I quoted which includes a screen cap of her saying the n-word on Twitter.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Gymnastics/comments/oaafsd/a_list_of_mykayla_skinners_indiscretions_racism/

 

[UCFKnights07]

Here’s the full Reddit post I quoted which includes a screen cap of her saying the n-word on Twitter.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Gymnastics/comments/oaafsd/a_list_of_mykayla_skinners_indiscretions_racism/

i find people who follow pro athletes this closely, just a little too off their rocker to take seriously... Im not denying that teens and young adults make really dumb decisions, etc. But the reddit poster writes like she knows this girl personally. and to be quite blunt, social media really isnt the best thing to base how someone is in person.
the reality is, young people become far too invested and obsessed with their idols, sports stars, reality tv stars, etc. Holding people you have never met or probably never will converse with to such an absolute high standard, is beyond unhealthy.

i really like kevin harts statement about such scrutiny and cancel culture in an article that i read a few weeks back...

"Because, last I checked, the only way you grow up is from f—ing up"

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

i find people who follow pro athletes this closely, just a little too off their rocker to take seriously... Im not denying that teens and young adults make really dumb decisions, etc. But the reddit poster writes like she knows this girl personally. and to be quite blunt, social media really isnt the best thing to base how someone is in person.
the reality is, young people become far too invested and obsessed with their idols, sports stars, reality tv stars, etc. Holding people you have never met or probably never will converse with to such an absolute high standard, is beyond unhealthy.

i really like kevin harts statement about such scrutiny and cancel culture in an article that i read a few weeks back...

"Because, last I checked, the only way you grow up is from f—ing up"

IDK I think this person comes across as pretty well-informed. I didn’t get “teen” vibes. She did mention something about a “school year” but I get the impression she’s a parent or a teacher rather than a kid condemning an athlete who disappointed them. We’ve all seen Cheer Confessions… I think if a teen wrote that it’d go something like: “MYKAYLA SKINNER is an OVERRATED RACIST COVIDIOT BULLY. And that would literally be it.

So yeah, I don’t get “kid” impressions from that post. The COVID part seems a little incendiary, but I understand that the issue is polarising for people. I was fortunate enough not to lose anyone to COVID this past year, but if I had I’d be pretty angry at those I viewed as responsible for the spread.

I do agree that well-known personalities of all kinds are often held to impossible standards and crucified on social media for the slightest digression, and that that’s not healthy or helpful.

However.

I have a real hard time overlooking the use of slurs. This particular case is no exception. The fact that she posted it publicly only further confirms to me that this kid has some real character flaws.

 

[CoachTamara]

I have a real hard time overlooking the use of slurs. This particular case is no exception. The fact that she posted it publicly only further confirms to me that this kid has some real character flaws.

This this THIS. Nobody I know throws out the n-word on social media just as a small oops. It usually comes from racism being deeply engrained in them and they don't even think twice about it, until others point it out. Followed by apology, delete, and zero actual change. Usually also followed by complaining about snowflakes being offended by it to their family that continues to use these terms in private.

 

[catlady]

Here’s the full Reddit post I quoted which includes a screen cap of her saying the n-word on Twitter.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Gymnastics/comments/oaafsd/a_list_of_mykayla_skinners_indiscretions_racism/

When I click on it, it just just states "this post is gone," but I'll take your word for it. I have to say though, if she was calling someone a slur on social media, I am truly surprised it hasn't hit every major news source.

 

[CoachTamara]

When I click on it, it just just states "this post is gone," but I'll take your word for it. I have to say though, if she was calling someone a slur on social media, I am truly surprised it hasn't hit every major news source.

It's still working for me. Here is a screen shot, and she has apparently said it on snapchat as well.

jordynslefteyebrow.tumblr.com/post/147332997469/do-you-have-proof-of-mykayla-skinner-saying-the

Copy and paste that. It won't let me post a link.