re: Remove

With the AJ situation, I am seeing a common theme of context, culture, and grace.

Unless we get a statement from UCLA and Jeffrey regarding the situation, we will not know the full extent and context of AJ's situation. If UCLA's faculty would have treated it appropriately, there would have been less misunderstanding and rumors on social media. We need to have the full context of the situation to come to a conclusion. Were the slurs maliciously directed at POC teammates (she does not belong in our program if this is true) or was AJ singing a song containing the slur in the gym? Did this happen on multiple occasions? Was there clear communication between the staff and AJ that what she said offended teammates? Believe it or not, context matters.

Another thing to consider is culture. UCLA is known for being the most progressive and "accepting" gymnastics team in the country. Most of UCLA's recruits are looking for an inclusive environment while also contending for a national championship. But in the past two years, there has been a drastic decline in quality most likely due to COVID and the loss of a stellar senior class. When you are constantly underperforming to previous standards, problems and conflicts will show up more than often. In addition, it seems their athletes focus very heavily on being activists. While there is generally nothing wrong with this, conflicts may seem a lot more personal and pervasive, which may have affected this situation.

This next part is based on the most logical assumptions I could make based on all of the info on social media. Imagine an 18-year-old Missouri native moved into a completely different environment, something she had never experienced before. In the build-up to the season opener, AJ said a slur that offended multiple gymnasts. UCLA staff were approached by the offended gymnasts and talked to AJ. She apologized to her teammates, but some of the gymnasts did not forgive her because they questioned her sincerity. From AJ's perspective, she was being bullied for making a mistake, while the other gymnasts felt reluctant to have a racist in their ranks. AJ no longer felt included in the program and felt the need to transfer. Chris Waller and the UCLA AD tried to manage the situation but failed spectacularly. UCLA's administration tried its best to sweep it under the rug, but the offended gymnasts leaked information to people in the gymnastics community. Before the news broke, Jay Clark called Waller to ask why AJ was transferring. Waller did not give an appropriate explanation, so Jay okayed the transfer. Now that the news broke, a good amount of the gym community wants AJ's transfer to be rejected. Take all of this with a grain of salt because none of this is confirmed.

Now, this situation will really test LSU's forgiveness. I believe that LSU's gymnasts and more specifically POC gymnasts (Kai, Kiya, Tori, Haleigh, Aleah, Lexie) should be able to decide AJ's possible future at LSU. If they all agree to accept her fully and unconditionally, I would support AJ in joining the roster. She will need to take this year off to learn from her experiences, gain the trust of her teammates, and recover from the emotional turmoil caused by this situation. Grace has always been one of the most redeemable qualities of a person, and I hope our gymnasts will show some if they feel comfortable with the situation. There will be negative PR, but that is nothing new to LSU.

Overall, I want the best for our gymnasts because they are a part of our LSU family. If AJ's transfer brings any harm to our gymnasts, I fully support rejecting the transfer. But if our gymnasts can show AJ some grace and AJ can learn from this, our team will be so much stronger. We will be able to show the gym community how to properly deal with these tough situations.

Sorry for the essay. Wanted to give my two cents on the situation!