Inside Suni Lee’s Difficult Journey Back to Gymnastics Ahead of the Paris Olympics

[ucrgirl]

I have always found the idea that ncaa is all hearts and flowers and elite is evil to be laughable

Well, some of those gymnasts who experienced the Karoli's and Nassar later became NCAA coaches so it couldn't be hearts and flowers.

 

[BB12]

Love Suni being open about how her NCAA expereince wasn't sunshine and rainbows.

Auburn sound like they were completely unprepared for a big name on campus and the coaches weren't equipped to handle having a 'star' in the program.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Love Suni being open about how her NCAA expereince wasn't sunshine and rainbows.

Auburn sound like they were completely unprepared for a big name on campus and the coaches weren't equipped to handle having a 'star' in the program.

It's not like they didn't see it coming either. Obviously Suni coming in as Olympic AA champion was a surprise and it's understandable that nobody planned for that. But she was a world champion in 2019, so they got years of notice she'd be the most successful gymnast they'd ever had. And even if Tokyo had gone exactly as expected, there was a realistic chance she'd have won two Olympic golds just before starting. It would have been at least a potential issue to manage whatever happened.

 

[MaryClare]

It's not like they didn't see it coming either. Obviously Suni coming in as Olympic AA champion was a surprise and it's understandable that nobody planned for that. But she was a world champion in 2019, so they got years of notice she'd be the most successful gymnast they'd ever had. And even if Tokyo had gone exactly as expected, there was a realistic chance she'd have won two Olympic golds just before starting. It would have been at least a potential issue to manage whatever happened.

No. Olympic AA champion is a whole other stratosphere. Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross were Olympic gold medalists, both had normal student athlete experiences. Now yes, they were at UCLA, which always has many Olympic gold medalists across several sports but I honestly don’t think they’d have had a vastly different experience at other schools

 

[JaJa]

No. Olympic AA champion is a whole other stratosphere. Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross were Olympic gold medalists, both had normal student athlete experiences. Now yes, they were at UCLA, which always has many Olympic gold medalists across several sports but I honestly don’t think they’d have had a vastly different experience at other schools

It is also possible thought that there are differences in individual temperments which result in different experiences. I remember Kyla Ross saying , after London 2012, how kids in her HS were all staring at her etc etc

Taking videos of you eating is of course a different level than staring -- but when you are in fact a "star" you need to understand that some of this sort of thing will happen.

And perhaps coaches need to better prepare returning Olympians for this phenomenon.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

No. Olympic AA champion is a whole other stratosphere. Madison Kocian and Kyla Ross were Olympic gold medalists, both had normal student athlete experiences. Now yes, they were at UCLA, which always has many Olympic gold medalists across several sports but I honestly don’t think they’d have had a vastly different experience at other schools

I know it's another stratosphere. My argument is that the one they would've expected her to be in was still a league above everyone else on the team. That is, it was reasonably foreseeable in a programme like Auburn that a world and Olympic champion might put noses out of joint.

UCLA is a world apart from Auburn in that respect. She'd have been one of a long line of Olympians there, and not even the first Olympic champion.

 

[wishfulgoddess]

As for the part about feeling like an outcast and not being able to confide in her teammates, she might just have a different personality than the others on the team, which can make it hard to bond. I'm an introvert and I had a lot of trouble with the team spirit aspect when I competed. I was supportive and got along with most of the girls on my team, but I'm just not the hugs all over the place "rah rah" cheering from the sidelines type. It was hard for me to relate to my teammates because we were so different and had such different interests outside of the gym, too, and I always felt like a misfit. I doubt I would have lasted a week on an NCAA team where you are expected to be loudly enthusiastic.

 

[arabiandoublefront]

She might just have a different personality than the others on the team, which can make it hard to bond. I'm an introvert and I had a lot of trouble with the team spirit aspect when I competed. I was supportive and got along with most of the girls on my team, but I'm just not the hugs all over the place "rah rah" cheering from the sidelines type. It was hard for me to relate to my teammates because we were so different and had such different interests outside of the gym, too, and I always felt like a misfit. I doubt I would have lasted a week on an NCAA team where you are expected to be loudly enthusiastic.

Yeah, I felt that way on my high school team, although I did have lots of school spirit.

 

[cuuf]

I encourage everyone to think from outside the gymnastics world bubble. Being an Olympic all-around champion is certainly a big deal in the gymnastics community and yes there is a fair amount of exposure in the general public. But for the general public, it is merely a passing interest for the 6--12 months post olympics. I can guarantee that Bo Nix had more scrutiny and attention than Suni ever did at Auburn. I find it strange that only a few seem to entertain the possibility that maybe her own personality/quirks/demons contributed to her experience.

 

[JDB]

There's the other issue, that Auburn is quite culturally different from the Twin Cities area where Sunisa Lee grew up.

 

[irichluck21]

Being told she needed to hire security, forced to do online classes, and getting filmed while she ate in the cafeteria have nothing to do with personality/quirks/demons.

Gymnastics is THE premiere event at the Olympics. Suni winning AA gold was major news.
Even outside of the gymnastics bubble, this is a major deal.

What you don't realize is how Auburn used her and her name in various promotions but then failed to protect her and make her stay at Auburn a positive one.

My colleagues son goes to Auburn and will be a senior this fall.
Auburn splashed Suni's Name, Image, and Likeness all over campus. Auburn used Suni's AA gold to increase ticket sales. Advertising "Come see Olympic All Around Champion Suni Lee!". You couldn't go into one building without seeing some advertising with Suni on it. There were watch parties for Dancing with the Stars, etc.

I don't blame Auburn for advertising Suni, but they failed her.
Going into Tokyo no one expected Suni to win AA gold, so perhaps Auburn was unprepared for it, but they still used her fame as an advantage.

In terms of the teammates, I am sure some of it was envy. it is supposed to be a team sport but all eyes were on Suni. I can imagine various gymnasts, especially the upper classman might be upset they were being overshadowed.

But no, 6-12 months passing interest didn't happen at Auburn for Suni. Auburn took advantage that she was an Olympic champion. Hard for students to have a passing interest when her name, image, and likeness were all around campus constantly.

 

[MaryClare]

There's the other issue, that Auburn is quite culturally different from the Twin Cities area where Sunisa Lee grew up.

That doesn’t appear to have been an issue for her. She mentions that she still has good friends there, who compete in other sports. There was also a rumour that the situation with her family was because they didn’t like her boyfriend at Auburn. Which suggests that they had the problem, but she was adjusting just fine.

Sure, it was always going to be different from a school in LA with several other Olympic champions and a large Asian student body. But that really isn’t the issue

 

[irichluck21]

Also, Suni arrived at a time when NCAA gymnastics was getting a lot of attention for not only Suni, but the other Olympians/alternates and others as well such as Dunne and Thomas.

We can't really be surprised at Auburn's reaction to Suni. Look at LSU and Livvy Dunne's popularity. It got to a point that security was a concern for her as well, given her fans and their actions, especially at the Utah meet.

 

[JaJa]

I find it strange that only a few seem to entertain the possibility that maybe her own personality/quirks/demons contributed to her experience.

Several of us have commented on just that. It is an obvious possible factor -- maybe a major one

 

[MrSixkiller]

I think it’s absolutely ludicrous to suggest that certain personality types aren’t entitled to the same feelings as everyone else.

 

[BB12]

It's not like they didn't see it coming either. Obviously Suni coming in as Olympic AA champion was a surprise and it's understandable that nobody planned for that. But she was a world champion in 2019, so they got years of notice she'd be the most successful gymnast they'd ever had. And even if Tokyo had gone exactly as expected, there was a realistic chance she'd have won two Olympic golds just before starting. It would have been at least a potential issue to manage whatever happened.

My guess would be the coaches thought they were prepared and planned around her being the AA champion but thats where a lot of tension was created for everyone else on the team.

 

[Caledi]

Who told her to hire security? Was it her publicist/agent? Because the article said that Auburn denied knowing anything about that.

 

[cuuf]

Being told she needed to hire security, forced to do online classes, and getting filmed while she ate in the cafeteria have nothing to do with personality/quirks/demons.

Gymnastics is THE premiere event at the Olympics. Suni winning AA gold was major news.
Even outside of the gymnastics bubble, this is a major deal.

What you don't realize is how Auburn used her and her name in various promotions but then failed to protect her and make her stay at Auburn a positive one.

My colleagues son goes to Auburn and will be a senior this fall.
Auburn splashed Suni's Name, Image, and Likeness all over campus. Auburn used Suni's AA gold to increase ticket sales. Advertising "Come see Olympic All Around Champion Suni Lee!". You couldn't go into one building without seeing some advertising with Suni on it. There were watch parties for Dancing with the Stars, etc.

I don't blame Auburn for advertising Suni, but they failed her.
Going into Tokyo no one expected Suni to win AA gold, so perhaps Auburn was unprepared for it, but they still used her fame as an advantage.

In terms of the teammates, I am sure some of it was envy. it is supposed to be a team sport but all eyes were on Suni. I can imagine various gymnasts, especially the upper classman might be upset they were being overshadowed.

But no, 6-12 months passing interest didn't happen at Auburn for Suni. Auburn took advantage that she was an Olympic champion. Hard for students to have a passing interest when her name, image, and likeness were all around campus constantly.

Its obvious that you believe Suni is perfect, a model of a person and gymnast. As mentioned before, no one from Auburn told her to hire her own security (Kinda goes to my point about the original article, there were plenty of things she said that a proper journalistic approach would have researched and verified statements before publishing). I'm not denying her perfectly valid feelings, but everyone has feelings and opinions. Sometimes those feelings are based upon fact, other times they are based upon one's internal bias that colors everyone's viewpoint of the world. I am fairly certain that out of everyone on this board no one personally knows her. I am merely pointing out a plausible alternative other than taking everything in the fluff interview at fact. In life relationships are complex, some of us take years to figure out how to manage them, some never figure it out. Is it not possible that Suni is still trying to figure out how to manage relationships and at this early stage instead of looking inward, she is looking outward?
Again, I guarantee Bo Nix had more scrutiny, even threats of harm than Suni. Sure Auburn utilized her, just like they use every athlete that competes for a college. Yes, Suni was highlighted more than the average athlete but in today's day and age, everyone knows that is the name of the game. This is why they have sued and won and are continuing to receive more money directly to them.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

Its obvious that you believe Suni is perfect, a model of a person and gymnast. As mentioned before, no one from Auburn told her to hire her own security (Kinda goes to my point about the original article, there were plenty of things she said that a proper journalistic approach would have researched and verified statements before publishing). I'm not denying her perfectly valid feelings, but everyone has feelings and opinions. Sometimes those feelings are based upon fact, other times they are based upon one's internal bias that colors everyone's viewpoint of the world. I am fairly certain that out of everyone on this board no one personally knows her. I am merely pointing out a plausible alternative other than taking everything in the fluff interview at fact. In life relationships are complex, some of us take years to figure out how to manage them, some never figure it out. Is it not possible that Suni is still trying to figure out how to manage relationships and at this early stage instead of looking inward, she is looking outward?
Again, I guarantee Bo Nix had more scrutiny, even threats of harm than Suni. Sure Auburn utilized her, just like they use every athlete that competes for a college. Yes, Suni was highlighted more than the average athlete but in today's day and age, everyone knows that is the name of the game. This is why they have sued and won and are continuing to receive more money directly to them.

This is a rather confusing post.

Could you say more about what led you to believe @irichluck21 believes Suni to be perfect? I'm struggling to see it in anything he's written.

It's also not immediately obvious why Bo Nix would be the relevant standard here? Some explanation of that would be useful.

 

[jenifer9]

I know you’re not necessarily going to be that interested in my opinion, cuuf, as I barely post on the board, but I hope you don’t mind too much if I share it anyway. The reason I wanted to speak up is because I definitely don’t think Suni is perfect! That’s not a contributing factor in my analysis of her (or why anybody might find her praiseworthy, sympathetic, or conversely, annoying) at all.

Looking at her history, it’s possible I may be misremembering this, but isn’t it true that when her father was so badly injured - in fact, paralysed - she was just about to compete at Worlds (?), and didn’t make any public fuss about what had happened at all? That is my recollection, but as I said, perhaps that is not an accurate memory. I certainly don’t think she made a big thing of it, though - however, later on, NBC commentators did lay it on pretty thick about her family and Everything They Had Been Through (which isn’t to say they didn’t genuinely suffer! of course they did). But I can see there were elements of telling her story as one of personal suffering, which may be grating for the viewer at an individual level. The storylines about her dad sometimes bug me - speaking as a wheelchair user - because they can be a bit regressive and patronising, even though I’m sure becoming paralysed suddenly is objectively far worse than my own “journey” (cringe) to needing a wheelchair.

Anyway, sorry if this is already tl;dr, my point is really just that I think not “vibing” with Suni as a gymnast is obviously fine, and being irritated by how a gymnast is presented in the media (as you say, we don’t know them!), including their own role in that, is probably quite normal. I personally don’t think Suni even comes close to the most self-victimising gymnasts, but I won’t repeat any of my earlier mistakes on the gymternet by mentioning who I think those are… And it’s definitely YMMV territory.