As much as I’m not a huge Marta fan, you have to admit that this is actually a true take on whats happened over the last 25 years. Not saying its right or wrong. But this is the truth:
“However, over the past ten years, a wave of sensitization has swept through developed democracies that completely reinterpreted what is free and what is not, what is acceptable and what is not permissible, where the limit is for coaches. You don’t have to go back to the Romania of the seventies. It’s only been 25 years since the Atlanta Olympics team final. When Bela encouraged Kerri Strug, who had suffered an ankle ligament rupture after her first vault, with a suggestive look and the famous phrase “You can do it,” as a result Kerri ran, vaulted, stood up for the second time, then collapsed and slipped off the mat with a distorted face. It was considered a feat. After all, the American team defeated Russia for the first time thanks to this last vault. Thanks to Kerri’s training and pain tolerance, Team USA won historic gold. 25 years ago, the incident was celebrated by the American people as a triumph of willpower. Even Bill Clinton called Bela to see if he could borrow that phrase in his presidential campaign. Nowadays, this is also criticized, misinterpreted. Some say it’s downright a sin, saying the coach, even at this crucial moment of Olympic gold, shouldn’t ask for it, let alone instruct his competitor to continue while injured.”
Can you blame a 74 year old Romanian woman for not keeping up with modern takes on culture and being “athlete centered” etc. Society evolves and gets better over time. She was of a different age.
Marta was consistently celebrated, over a fifty year period, by governments communist and capitalist, for her methods. They were reinforced and rewarded. It’s all she knew.
I genuinely don’t think she knew about what Nassar was doing. The culture of the Ranch was a perfect breeding ground for it - but I don’t think that means you can blame her for it happening.
It’s like homophobia. Barely 10 years ago, prominent Democratic politicians were saying “marriage is between a man and a woman”. I don’t begrudge them for holding those views then.Obama saying “marriage is between a man and a woman” in 2008 (or whenever he last said it) could argue created a breeding ground for homophobia in the USA. It is unfair to stretch that to blame Obama for homophobic hate crime then.