Suni Lee Thread; latest: confirms one more season at Auburn and then Olympic bid

[Kittentoes]

And Fresno. Don’t forget Fresno

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

The stuff about ingratitude, disrespect and the like seems to have died down on the gymternet now. I presume Auburn having got to the NCAA final has seen to most of it. I thought it was interesting though that some people, if a minority, did genuinely think this. Wasn’t just cuuf. It speaks volumes to the marketing of and assumptions about NCAA gymnastics over the years, I think. There’s the idea that the college experience is something innately positive in itself, as opposed to an arrangement between an individual and an institution that will inevitably suit some people and not others.

If we consider the relative ubiquity of NCAA for top US gymnasts in the last couple of decades, with mostly only those who’d have been financially worse off for it opting out, there’s no way that across the board they all wanted to combine university studies with gymnastics done in a particular way. There are always going to have been people who weren’t arsed about studying but did the minimum so they could keep competing, and others who didn’t want to compete or give a shit about the programme, but did it because being ‘paid’ with free education and other associated benefits was best for their finances. Still others might’ve been happy to balance competition with studying but didn’t find the type of gymnastics fulfilling. And this is exactly what we’d expect, it’s just not usually been spelled out as clearly as Suni did here. There’s no particular reason to think of it as a privilege or even a norm.

We saw some of the cracks coming with Skinner, whose evident dissatisfaction said some of the quiet part out loud. Now that process has just been accelerated thanks to a combination of the new endorsement rules and everything that’s going on in US elite at the moment. But I think it was coming anyway.

 

[ucrgirl]

I grew up in Fresno and remember a news anchor mentioning the “ha-mong” people and knowing that she wasn’t from the area because the locals would know how to pronounce Hmong. It shocked me as an adult to realize that the Hmong community in the US was small since they had a significant presence in our town.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

To nobody’s surprise, Suni has confirmed that this is her last season with Auburn and she will then return to elite training for the Olympics.

instagram.com/reel/C…

 

[cuuf]

Honestly have no idea why she went to college. It was pretty obvious from day one that she was half into it. But hey great for Auburn.

 

[ArnoldRimmer]

I can see the commercial rationale.

 

[cuuf]

Ya, and that’s probably why my opinion of her is a bit diminished as a brand. (I am sure she is a lovely human being). Just a significant contract from Jad and Jordan and how they have taken to the college life

 

[Hatsumomo]

That and the fact that her coach’s twin is the coach for Auburn. She probably felt some sort of obligation.

 

[nog]

No surprise to anyone that watched that podcast show she did with fellow auburn students. It was obvious then that she had very little intent to actually get any kind of degree at college and that she was using college as a platform for gymnastics. Is what it is there, just saying, no surprise that this will be her last year as ncaa

 

[RedBirdie]

She committed to Auburn pretty young, iirc. And then with Simone’s dominance, winning the Olympics and all that comes along with it probably seemed impossible. Right up until the moment it wasn’t. She may have felt obligated to give college a try.

 

[navyblue]

Yeah, Suni is definitely still living with a decision she made as young as 14 or 15 or 16, with some of the obvious pressure (but probably genuine enthusiasm) involved from her coach’s twin brother being head coach. Then, her circumstances changed radically overnight, so it’s no surprise she’s re-considered that choice. She was one of the few athletes listed by name in this recent NYT article about the female athletes most successful in light of new NIL rules.

I’m nervous about wading back into a debate that we already had cuz I know some folks here feel strongly that she is betraying her university in particular (or the higher ideals of scholastic achievement in general) but I think for better or worse American universities have been struggling under a sea change of consumer power relations in recent years, and I don’t tend to orient these choices toward an ethical framework…

 

[rlayt]

Decisions made so young to commit to college are not a good deal. Or to sign a contract to go pro.

 

[Caligym]

There could be many reasons. Maybe she misses home and her community. Maybe college/university just isn’t for her. Maybe she doesn’t like living in Alabama. No one who makes a decision at 14 should be forced to live with that choice for 4 years.(she was just turned 14, before the recruiting rules changed). You do you Suni.

 

[cuuf]

The thing is she was under no obligation to go to Auburn. This wasnt some arranged marriage. Plenty of athletes in college commit to a school and never attend or choose not to or choose to go to another school after they committed, or even after they have signed an NLI. You make it sound like she was a baby and obligated herself at 14. She was a grown azz woman when she decided to go to Auburn after the olympics. No one would have blinked if she came out of dancing with the stars and said I have decided to pursue other opportunities. Laurie did it, Aly did it, Jordyn did it, plenty others did it. So dont play the she was so young when she committed card. I’ll give you maybe she felt pressured by the Graba bros to go to college and give it a try when she really wasnt in it.

 

[choclatechip45]

Plenty of students go to college and realize it’s not the best choice for them or that school is the right for them. Doesn’t help when you make that decision at 14 and a bunch of life changing things happen in between the decision and going off to school.

 

[cuuf]

Doesn’t help when you make that decision at 14 and a bunch of life changing things happen in between the decision and going off to school.

Again, she didnt make the decision to go to college when she was 14! A verbal committment is only slightly more serious than a 14 yo saying they are going to medical school. Unless she still had the cognitive capacity of a 14 yo after the olympics. She made the decision to go to college as an adult.

 

[Denn]

Yeah, I am not understanding these arguments. This was – and still is – a decision made by an adult.

 

[choclatechip45]

Sure she could have gone back on her verbal commitment. Some people do and some people don’t. I had a friend whose dream it was to go to Michigan her whole life, she got in and after two years she transferred to another college. Sometimes the school you want to go to as a teenager isn’t the best fit for you as an adult. I see Suni’s situation similar to my friends situation.

 

[makam]

And if she thought she was going to be afterthought at the olympics, then what happened happened and everyone wanted a puece of her, going to college might have felt like a “normal” thing to do.

 

[YurchenkoLoop]

Maybe she only wanted to do two seasons at Auburn in the first place. Doesn’t make it any less worthwhile of an experience