Memmels Speak Out Against USA Gymnastics

Danny Sierra on June 1, 2012, 11:00am | More Posts

The controversy surrounding Chellsie Memmel's failed petition to compete at the Visa Championships reached new heights on Thursday, as Memmel and her father, Andy, spoke out about the snub to several media outlets.

In an article published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Andy Memmel, who is also Chellsie's coach, revealed that USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny reached out to the Memmels, urging Chellsie to announce her retirement amidst an unexpectedly severe reaction from gymnastics fans around the nation:

"He said, 'Why don't you just retire? We'll make it look good for you,'" Andy Memmel said. "Well, wait a minute. They're trying to make it look good for themselves. They're not liking this backlash."

That backlash has included an all-out war on USA Gymnastics, and an outpouring of support for Memmel, over Twitter. A petition was circulated and sent to Penny and more and more news sources are picking up on the story.

Memmel also did an interview for Inside Gymnastics magazine, wherein she discusses her reaction to USA Gymnastics' decision to deny her petition.

The Visa Championships serve as the second in a series of three meets to decide the U.S. Olympic Team for London, and a rejected petition means that Memmel's hopes to compete in a second Olympic Games are dashed.

Martha Karolyi, National Team Coordinator, and head of the selection committee that shut out Memmel, said in an interview that Memmel's failure to meet a required score (14.0) kept her from qualifying to Visa Championships. Many fans, however, feel that this decision is inconsistent with treatment of other athletes, and are making these issues known.

USA Gymnastics released a statement from Penny, in which he acknowledged Memmel's contributions to the sport throughout her career and addressed some of the criticism.

"I recognize that Chellsie's many fans are upset that she will not be competing next week. I understand and admire the outpouring of support that Chellsie has received, and for the most part, her fans have been polite and respectful in expressing their thoughts about the circumstances. Decisions like this are never easy, esepcially in an Olympic year."

As of now, Memmel's camp has made no definitive statement with regards to her future as a competitive gymnast.

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Updated on May 20, 2013, 4:31pm

Categories: news

32 comments

Sad Fan 11 months ago

While I am disappointed with the treatment of Chellsie Memmel, I don't think she would have made team anyways. I admire her class while dealing with the unfortunate events; however, we already have two solid bar routines (Douglas and Ross). And quite frankly taking an athlete for ONE event on a FIVE man team seems a bit ludacris. Additionally, we have Price, who can not only put up a solid bars routine, but can contribute other places; we also have Anna Li and Rebecca Bross, both who can put up top notch scores. And if all goes wrong, we can use Wieber (granted we lose about .5, it all depends whether .5 is worth bringing a whole other athlete and taking up a spot on the Olympic Team is deemed favorable.)

Kat 11 months ago

What are we going to do now for bars? We just lost a great bar worker to those ego maniacs! They'll regret it after the Olympics.

CO Fan 12 months ago

This quad, we have more outstanding contenders for the Olympic team than ever. Every quad, someone is disappointed. Likely, it was Chellsie's year. The disrespect that was shown Chellsie is why the gymnastics community is outraged. The two interviews I read, she sounded graceful and respectful towards the decision. If it were me, I'd be spitting fire. I respect her passion and outlook. I wish her well and I hope when I'm faced with a hard life situation, I handle myself with that kind of grace.

Anonymous Coward 12 months ago

Chellsie can never take Shawn's place people. The girl could not hit one beam rountine, the ones who keep begging for Chellsie just sound silly. Chellsie doesn't need to be just given a chance she has to earn it now. The past is the past!! Good Luck to Chellsie and Shawn in their futures!!

Sarah 12 months ago

maybe they can give her shawn's space at nationals?!

Much 12 months ago

And timely enough, Shawn announced her retirement today.

Eric 12 months ago

The only one to blame in this situation is Chellsie herself. How are you just going to show up at Classics with one failed routine when they are one month away from selecting the Olympic Team. She clearly is not ready. She had two options to make it to Visas. 1) Not compete at Classics and petition straight to Visas or 2) Hit her Beam routine which she clearly didn't do. All the gymnast knew before hand they had to score 14 and up on at least one apparatus and Chellsie understood that.

Steps101 12 months ago

This whole situation can be summed up as this; When you don't play the game, the game plays you. For years now, Chellsie and her father have chosen their way to train and prepare. Fine, that is what they decided. Martha, national staff, or selection committee had no idea what Chellsie looked like or her progress this far. You cannot show up to a meet 2 months out from the Olympic games, bomb one event, and then expect it to all work out. Frankly put, Chellsie should've rocked that beam set out to even create a prayer of her being in the mix for the London team. Unfortunately, she just didn't have the adequte time to prepare. It's unfortunate that the gymnastics just wasn't there. She has done many a great thing for USA gymnastics and that won't ever be ignored.

All the Martha backlash is inane. You can cry favoritism, preferential treatment, etc. The rules for qualifying were plain and laid out. She's doing her job, end of story. She's not in place to babysit and coddle these athletes and coaches through this process. This is an Olympic sport in an Olympic year. The USAG backlash is just as silly. They're far more crazy and underhanded things that national governing bodies of sport have done.
Finally, Andy Memmel should consider his words very wisely when speaking on this situation. His anger and frustration in certainly understandable. However, he is a gym owner. The relationship between gym owners and USAG is symbiotic. One doesn't exist without the other. Other than Chellsie, he's got a gym full of kids who have to train and compete as well. It would be terribly unfortunate for all this press and debacle to negatively effect his livelihood.

dre 12 months ago

I can definitely appreciate that the rules are the rules, and she didn't earn the right to advance to Visa's. In a lot of ways the denial of her petition makes perfect sense. I can honestly see both sides. But in my post earlier what I was really referring to was that Steve Penny alledgedly asked her to retire so that USAG would look better. That is apparently what Andy Memmel said in the interview I read. I'm not saying thats the case, just what the interview said. I really didn't see any big issues with this whole thing until they asked her to retire...and in my post from before I made it sound like I was disgusted with them for not approving her petition...so sorry for that! I really have no problem with them denying her petition at all. That's life and the selection committee has a job to do that I don't envy! I just think it is a slap in the face to ask her to retire just because they are getting bad press. Not sure that was the best way to handle all the drama...but it is interesting to hear everyone's take on the situation. Anyway, just wanted to clear that up.

Stacey 12 months ago

She needs to move on with her life...

Anonymously 12 months ago

Get over it people! Chellsie isn't the only girl to have disappointments in life! I always said her dad would ruin her career in the end!! Chellsie is a class act, just not her dad!!

Celia 12 months ago

I 100% agree with the poster who stated - correctly - that the rules for entrance into Nationals were established well before Chellsie Memmel stepped onto the podium. They are posted on the USAG web site. Moreover, Nastia wasn't given a "free pass." She performed a strong routine at the Classic and managed to get over 14.00 on that routine. Sure, it's a darn shame that Chellsie won't be at Nationals but she's responsible for the way she charted her course this year. Give it a rest people! This anti-USAG hysteria is getting over the top. That said, I really admire the way that Chellsie is handling this and it confirms my sense that she's a class act.

M. 12 months ago

I think the main reason why Chellsie didn't compete more events was that she didn't want to do too much right at the beginning of her comeback. Also, I think she chose to compete only beam was to be able to petition. If she competed more events, she would have to fulfil the objective rules to qualify. By competing only beam, she totally left the subjective decision to the selection comitee.

She wasn't at the Camps because she had surgery in February and wasn't ready to verify her routines IMO.
I feel sorry for what happened but this is the life. And I admire her for how well she handles it.

JustAfan 12 months ago

Nastia was given a free pass to Nationals before the Classic meet. USA-Gymnastics is lying when they say she wasn't. This proves that teh rules are not teh same for everyone.

USA-Gymnastics is full of bullies and liars and they all need to be fired

Anonymous Coward 12 months ago

The bottom line people is that the Memmels don't play by the rules of usag.....they never have and the last time Marta let her go , her body couldn't handle the acutal training at the olympics.....she will not make that mistake again. Not with only 5 people on the team......chellsie trains very minimally compared to the rest of elite athletes I've ever seen.....

Anonymous Coward 12 months ago

Didn't really mind the decision itself as I think Chelsie's chances of making the team were essentially nil. She would have needed outstanding performances in possibly the toughest field ever to make up for the fact that she just came back from injury and haven't shown consistency in the last few years.

But trying to avoid the issue by pressuring her to retire is just pathetic. If you think you made the right decision defend it. Don't expect the victim to do your work for you.

Head in The bed 12 months ago

I like order

Anonymous Coward 12 months ago

Ok, this is starting to get irritating now. In terms of people saying it's nowhere in writing, it CLEARLY states the rules at usagym(dot)org(slash)PDFs(slash)Women(slash)ElitePre-Elite(slash)12elitechart(dot)pdf just replace the (dot)s and the (slash)es. and u can see the rules.

If you are not compelled to read them yourself, here is what they say:
Qualification to Championships
Automatic: 2011 World Team
and designated Alternates
or
54.00 AA, 3 Event=41.25,
2 Event =28.00 at 2012 Classic
meet or National Team members
at Team Training Camp (full
routines on competition
surfaces) or International
Assignment
so.. from that I gather, be it no fault of her own or otherwise, she did the very bare minimum to advance which was beam only, and unfortunately, she came up a bit short. So to recap:
1. She was not on the World Team (she would have most CERTAINLY been had she not had an unfortunate shoulder re-injury on bars.)
2. Although it says AA, 3 events or 2 events, she should not have only been competing ONE event in an OLYMPIC year! She should have competed what she has been training to make her case, but as I see it, they are making an EXCEPTION for her to at least get half of the 28.0 two event minimum.
3. Her routines could have EASILY earned qualifiying scores at camp (on competition surfaces), but she chose to skip it. Even the world team (who are automatically advanced) showed up to camp, so in hindsight she should have shown up to at least ONE.
4. She did not get a qualifying score at Pan Am's because she didn't COMPETE at Pan Am's.
If USAG hated Chellsie so much, why was she named a 2004 alternate, a 2008 olympian, several worlds teams, Pan Ams, and has been in gymnastics for 20 years if it's just a giant conspiracy against her? She even said that even though she is disappointed, USA Gym has treated her great so far and it's not their job to come and personally tell her the score she needed to advance. People are claiming that they are making up rules to smite Chellsie (which they are NOT) What some fans are actually advocating is for USAG to break them for her and only her. I love her, I really do, she is such a sweet girl, but this a SPORT, not a Justin Bieber concert. The Lakers did not advance to the finals because they didn't get the score they needed. Should the NBA let Kobe advance and give him just one more chance because of how much he's done for the NBA or because he has played injured or because he REALLY REALLY wants to compete?
So for everyone that continues to harass Steve Penny, Marta Karolyi, USAG, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Secret Deodorant, Procter & Gamble, Visa, Kellogg's, Adidas and even Ellen Degeneres, for God's sake please, CUT IT OUT! You are really making FOOLS out of yourselves! It is clear in her interviews that Chellsie has moved on, so why can't you?

Anonymous Coward 12 months ago

Sometimes a gymnast's body decides to retire before a gymnast's heart/mind decides to retire. In that case, the gymnast needs to deal with the fact that their body can't handle it any more.

Also, If every gymnast who has unconditional love for the sport and/or has ever worked hard to overcome injuries and setbacks were allowed to compete at nationals then every single elite gymnast in this country would be at nationals. If that were the case then what is the point of nationals? There would be none. Nationals is not an exhibition meet. It is a stepping stone to make the Olympic team. If Chellsie were to compete it would be basically an exhibition for the fans and there is just no time to play around like that.
It is true that Chellsie has accomplished so much, but if someone, like Carly Patterson, decided to make a comeback to elite gymnastics to try to make her second Olympic team didn't perform well she wouldn't have made it through either. It doesn't matter how decorated you are. You could win worlds 3 times in a row in the past, but if you couldn't perform now and be consistent then that's that. Chellsie already peaked in her gymnastics, that's why she was so successful in the past. But unfortunately she is now past her peak.

disgusted 12 months ago

@VA - why is it absolutely unfair to let Chellsie participate at Nationals even though everyone pretty much guarantees that she won't make the Olympic Team? It is obvious that Chellsie has an unconditional love for the sport - she's continued through all her injuries and setbacks. For the plain and simple LOVE of the sport. Adding one more person to an already very quick competition is not that big of a deal. With her past credentials she should be allowed to compete at one last meet when her body still allows her to do so. Who cares if she "looks" tired and not able to compete. She has the courage to go out there in front of everyone and still perform in a sport that she undeniably loves. I honestly don't think allowing her to compete at Nationals is going to ruin the chances of another great gymnast making it on the Olympic team... just because it seems that politics matter doesn't always make them right... USA Gymnastics makes many exceptions to their "rules," that is why the have petitions...and the way that Steve Penny handled this situation is just utterly disgusting to me.

I say let her go to Nationals and continue participating in the sport she loves and let her choose when she wants to retire...

VA 12 months ago

I think the fact of the matter is Chellsie (in the minds of those picking the team) was not going to make a 5 member team. There is no way Marta would have allowed her on that team. This is because:1) She has a long standing issue of injury at bad times. This happens because her body gets overtrained with typical prep for big meets. She has said so herself. 2) She respectfully chose do things her own way. The flipside to this is saying, My way is best. This is not team player mentality. Sorry...but it isn't. She chose to not go to any camps as the rest of the team does. Marta had nothing to say but "ok...as long as you produce." She failed to produce when it was on the line. The other thing is that it is hard to build a unified team when someone has to be different that everyone else. There are other women at the camps who have to train less numbers but they go to be part of the team. To be there and mentor young girls and mentally be building relationships with the girls on the team. I'm sorry but that does matter. It is a sad fact of life...politics matter.
3) Her start values were just not high enough to make her top three-four even if she hit on beam. Therefore there was no reason to think she would have been an asset on that event on a five member team. I am not sure if her other events had the difficulty yet or not to be competitive. I would guess if they did and she was ready...she would have done them.

Given that she likely had no chance to make the team....would it have been fair to send her on? I think it is not fair. It is unfair to the gymnast to have them keep training (risking injury) for something they are never going to get the chance to do. It is also unfair to the girls with a legit chance to make the team. I mean how many of you have been to a big invitational that had a session that was just too big? What happens...the meet drags on and on and on. The girls get tired from sitting around. They lose thier edge because the adrenal glands quit firing when you are sitting and waiting. The chance for injury increases because you get cold. It makes it that much more stressfull and hard to do their best.The girls trying to make the team are doing routines at the very edge of possible. Making itany kind of harder to do their best is unfair and maybe even dangerous. The way nationals is set now...there are 6 girls on each event. That allows for a pretty quick meet. This is also closer to what how fast sessions are going to be like at the games. If you want to pick the best team....it is best to make your meet format as close as possible to how it will be at the meet your are trying out for. Having everyone who wants to be at nationals, get the chance....you would have a million + girls. Like it or not....there were rules. Yes maybe they didn't enforce them so strictly in past years, but those were not Olympic years either. Last year the National team needed 2 full teams for 2 big meets. It makes sense to move people on because they still had a legit chance to make the squads. (Shawn...almost made the world team). This year...they said no because she did not in their eyes have a chance to go on.

Kelly 12 months ago

Other than the injury she got in the end, Chellsie rocked last year's nationals in the all around, at the age of 23 nonetheless. I think she surprised everyone then and could have surprised everyone this year, too. Disappointed in USA Gymnastics.

In Response to Midwest 12 months ago

Unfortunately, at the Classic you can't decide during the competition to add an event. If you watched the Classics, there was a moment when Gabby Douglass decided to warm up for vault but she had originally said she wasn't vaulting but because of her beam and floor sets she wanted to show off vault. However, USAG told her she said no it was no. They wouldn't allow her to compete on vault (probably a good thing since her podium training on the event wasn't great).

me. 12 months ago

Yes Chellsie was an amazing gymnast in the past decade, but the past is the past. What matters is the present and I'm really sorry but she is sub par right now. I agree with USAG to deny her petition. If a J.O gymnast failed to qualify at regionals and had no reason to petition to nationals then her petition would have been denied as well. I'm sorry to be blunt here, but this time around Chellsie doesn't have anything that would contribute to the team. So it doesn't matter if she did get petitioned to nationals, she wasn't going to make the team. I am a fan of Chellsie and I really loved her gymnastics, but what's the point of going to nationals, especially when you didn't qualify, for no reason. It would have been way different if she was in shape, but she wasn't. Look at the videos...she looks tired and she looks like she is trying really hard. It just wasn't working and everyone needs to come to the fact that unfortunately it's over. It's harsh, but gymnastics is harsh and it's something that many people go through. The fact is only 5 people make the team and the Olympics are in a month or so. It's time to get serious and down to business. I do hope that she finds a way to continue contributing to the sport in another way, perhaps coaching.

GJJ 2020 12 months ago

I meant scared. My spelling suffers from the same as gymnastics of today, a lack of perfection of the basics. Though Marta is probably scarred too from when non-Marta birds succeed.

GJJ 2020 12 months ago

A non-gymnastic groupy, Mark Belling, a Milwaukee talk show host, did a great comment section on the Memmel situation this afternoon. He had a point I, a groupy, hadn't thought of... what if Chellsie went to Nationals and did great. From an outsider's perspective, this is what Belling said of how he sees the situation --- Marta is scarred of Memmel, a non-Marta protege, doing too well at Nationals.

I guess I had disdain for the "USAgym/ Marta Inc. training camp era" where gymnasts go to secret camp there instead of competing around the world or the USA hosting meets other than the scAmerican Cup... so, for the Memmel situation, I'm not surprised but disappointed. I sure hope things change. To ask Memmel to retire is fuel on the fire. What a horrible thing to do.

JMF 12 months ago

I just put a letter into 60 Minutes to investigate this story and allow Chellsie to give her side of the story in a mainstream format. If you are interested in writing to 60 Minutes to shed light on Chellsie's snub to compete at the Nationals. Please go to contact us at 60 Minutes and ask for this!

I understand and appreciate everyone's comments, and I hope we can as a loyal and dedicated fan base bring Chellsie the respect her career and talent deserves.
Thank-you.

Head in The bed 12 months ago

Everyone who is there with Chellsie knows how bad she wants to go. Those things don't go away.

dre 12 months ago

I am disgusted with the way USA Gymnastics has treated Chellsie. Did she have an off day? YES. Has she had bad luck? YES. But for someone who has done so much for the sport over the last decade....2003 World Championships just to give ONE example...it is ridiculous to not allow her to atleast compete at Nationals and go out with dignity. It should be CHELLSIE'S choice if she retires. Not anyone elses. I won't pretend to know the politics of the sport, and I completely recognize that ultimately only 5 girls will go to London and at some point the cuts must be made. That's life. But to treat someone with such blatant disrespect after leading the way for USA Gymnastics to be put back on the map....frankly it is disgusting. I could care less if she had a shot to make the team or not. She was fighting against all odds and everyone knows, including her, how difficult making that team would have been. But to force her out of the sport she loves and has dedicated her life to, is absolutely inexcusable. She fell off the beam for God's sake. So what?!!!!!!!
It's not as if she took steroids, started a scandal, killed someone, or slandered USAG. For the love of God she had an off competition. And if good 'ol Gymnastike hadn't posted all of the amazing podium training videos of Chellsie in practice, then MAYBE, just maybe, USAG could get away with saying she wasn't ready or prepared. But us gymnastics fans know better. That girl is a BEAST and always will be. SO much love and respect for these incredible athletes...I am an athlete myself.
It's a shame the organization put in place to protect them can't even give a World Champion a proper thank you for her decade of service. The ONLY way to thank Chellsie properly is to LET HER COMPETE AT NATIONALS you wankers!

Anonymous Coward 12 months ago

I would just like to say.... I love how one gymnast gets denied and all hell breaks loose when.... well have you looked at the Canadian Gymnastics system???? WAAAAY more messed up. PLUS - yes, Chellsie has the name but sorry folks... she didn't make score and just flat out failed. That's gymnastics. You gotta hit when it counts and unfortunately, she didn't do her job. Think about all the other gymnasts who didn't make score either. Don't see any outcry for those athletes.