Maroney speaks out

[Big_rock_show]

I read Rachel Dehollender’s book last year. It was horrifying but it seemed important for me to know what went wrong and sort of prepare myself to do the right thing if a child ever reported something to me.

THIS. I read her book several months ago. There are times where you are so ingrained in the system that abuse is hard to identify. By educating yourself on how to better spot it and advocate for those reporting it, you can be part of the solution instead of the problem. Such a valuable thing to learn.

 

[rlayt]

It’s been many years since I’ve read it, I’d have to re read it to answer your original question with any sort of detail

Then how the heck can you say it’s overly sensationalized if you don’t even remember what is in it? Who read it is immaterial to what is in the book.

“You are missing my point” sounds like you are side-stepping from what you originally said. The discussion began with the existence of the book and its impact or lack thereof NOT who read it.

 

[irichluck21]

Then how the heck can you say it’s overly sensationalized if you don’t even remember what is in it? Who read it is immaterial to what is in the book.

Joan Ryan made herself perfectly clear that she could not stand Bela Karolyi and was very biased against him. Obviously Bela was a monster and likely committed several acts of physical and verbal abuse, but the book itself was obviously very negative toward the Karolyis. I do recall that several gymnasts that were interviewed for the book stated that Ryan twisted their words and also left out various parts of their interviews in order to fit the narrative of her book.

 

[rlayt]

Thank you. I just wanted to know!

 

[irichluck21]

It has been 20 years since reading it so I don’t recall the details. But it was definitely a Bela bashing from the start.
He deserved it without a doubt, but it was also very clearly biased.

 

[MaryClare]

Exactly. And unfortunately that made the valid claims highlighted in the book easily brushed away and Joan Ryan labelled as an untrustworthy outsider looking to make trouble

 

[Kittentoes]

The only untrue bit I remember is Natalia Yurchenko didn’t blow her knee on her namesake vault. It was the Tsuk.

 

[Big_rock_show]

Joan Ryan made herself perfectly clear that she could not stand Bela Karolyi and was very biased against him. Obviously Bela was a monster and likely committed several acts of physical and verbal abuse, but the book itself was obviously very negative toward the Karolyis. I do recall that several gymnasts that were interviewed for the book stated that Ryan twisted their words and also left out various parts of their interviews in order to fit the narrative of her book.

If she herself did have negative interactions with the Karoliys, or people shared their stories of the Karoliys’ abuse with her, I don’t think it would be considered a bias.

Twisting people’s words, if that’s what she did, makes her lose a lot of credibility though.

 

[rlayt]

Well I’ve never heard that but Rich is a person who tells you the way it is.

 

[MaryClare]

No, she by her own admission hated the Karolyis

 

[Big_rock_show]

Right, but she may have had a reason?

 

[irichluck21]

Right, but she may have had a reason?

To sell books.

Karolyi was a polarizing coach at the time and very much well known at the national level. There were also various coaches that disliked him because of his personality and forceful nature in gymnastics meets. A few judges didn;t care for him either. Don Peters was a huge antagonist with Karolyi and vice versa.

It culminated before the 1988 Olympics when named head coach Don Peters resigned because of pressure from Karolyi to do so. Greg Marsden held the coaching position before Peters but also resigned due to Karoyli. Bela even made a threat not to travel to training camps and then not to Seoul if he didn’t get Olympic coaching credentials and could be on the Olympic floor.

Some people forget that Bela was very much like an adult bully in the 80s. He started to tone it down some around 92 and from 95 on. Bela was the “bull in a china shop”.

Here is an article explaining: https://www.deseret.com/1988/8/9/18774589/peters-resigns-as-gym-coach

For Joan Ryan it was a no brainer to go after Bela as he has pissed off USAG, coaches, and parents.

 

[rlayt]

I think that book wasn’t the only warning. If you read “Start By Believing” USAG was aware of Geddert’s abuses a long time before shit hit the fan. USAG had a long history of devaluing athletes, their parents and any complaints. Bela and Marta were just the first. At least neither of them was court ordered to anger management the way Geddert was.

 

[Big_rock_show]

I’m not disagreeing with you! All of that is information that can be backed up for multiple sources. I’m just pointing out that someone’s negative opinion of someone is only a bias if it’s pre-judging the person before actually looking into any accusations. How Joan uses that information or those accounts can either be sensationalized to sell books or told as an outside perspective, but what I think you’re saying is that Bela had plenty of negative accounts from those who have dealt with him. And I totally agree with you! So, to me, it doesn’t seem like Joan’s writing would qualify as biased, just sensationalized if it was written in a way to capitalize on making money.

It’s like if someone wanted to write something about Larry Nassar. It would be mostly negative, since the facts that have come to light by multiple sources Are mostly negative. Very few people will defend him or his character. Writing about him in a negative light wouldn’t mean the author is biased against him unless they added accusations that were not already things he was accused of or known as facts. I don’t know if that makes sense or not.

 

[irichluck21]

Joan Ryan was against Karolyi long before her book came out. She often went to interviews on radio and television and discussed him negatively.

Granted she was correct about most things abusive far before it came to be seen as child abuse.

 

[rlayt]

But what about the other books? Jen Sey “All Chalked Up” and Moceanu’s “Off Balance”. In 2008 Moceanu told the world on TV about having a Karolyi slam her face into a phone. There was the open secret of Don Peters too.

There has been plenty of corroboration of abuse and my point is that the warning bells rang for years before Nassar. It finally reached a point where the media and the victims forced recognition of it. It’s a darn shame Fong can’t be brought to justice.