When we first heard in April 2020 Haney‘s suspension was 8 years, I was surprised. Obviously USAG had strong evidence.
She failed “to provide a safe, positive and healthy environment with a culture of trust and empowerment.”
I’d not heard her respond until a recent NY Times interview.
The gymternet reaction was critical. Some called the article a fluff piece, not an interview. Some felt it was just part of a coordinated PR campaign to reinvent her reputation.
NY Times reporter Juliet Macur is well credentialed, by the way. And an athlete. Captain of the Columbia University rowing team.
NEXT we learned an arbitrator reduced the USA Gymnastics suspension for physical, verbal and emotional abuse from eight to five years.
Haney has also been named in a series of civil lawsuits filed in New Jersey by the families of former MG Elite gymnasts who allege they were physically, verbally and emotionally abused, body shamed and pressured to compete and train while injured by the coach. …
OCR
The Skating Lesson interviewed more than a dozen gymnasts, parents and family members who have trained under Maggie Haney and Vicky Levine at MG Elite.
Listen to those interviews here.