Rutgers is the latest in a long line of NCAA programs to suffer from coaching abuse allegations — Keep Beacon, USAG’s therapy dog, in your thoughts

Covering gymnastics over the last several years has sometimes felt like covering abuse scandal after abuse scandal, with occasional interruptions of big events, big injuries, or big comebacks. 

That sounds depressing—and sometimes it is. It is also a lesson in how athletes and coaches deal with trauma and continue to produce amazing results and to push the sport forward, and a lesson in the resiliency of both the human being and the human body. The Paris Olympics was a real triumph on both counts. 

Unfortunately, this week was one of those times when it just felt depressing. I recently covered the Long Island University (LIU) athletes who demanded change and the removal of their allegedly abusive coaches, followed with the news that the coaches were ultimately removed. 

This week, NJ Advance Media broke the news that the Rutgers gymnastics team, too, has been full of abuse allegations* against its coach, Umme Salim-Beasley. NJ Advance Media also detailed allegations that the university’s former athletic director, Pat Hobbs, who resigned in August, was involved in an inappropriate relationship, presumably with Salim-Beasley. The university launched an internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding Hobbs’ resignation, but announced Wednesday that it will hire an external law firm to conduct an investigation into the abuse allegations. That investigation, it said, will cost nearly half a million dollars. 

The Rutgers gymnasts who brought the allegations of abuse forward say that they are relieved, but want Salim-Beasley suspended while the external investigation is conducted. 

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This investigation resembles recent ones at Utah and Iowa, where head coaches Tom Farden and Larissa Libby, respectively, were suspended during investigations into their programs. It is likely the right course of action for Rutgers as well. As the allegations involve accusations of bullying, intimidation and retribution, it seems unlikely that keeping Salim-Beasley in place will improve the situation; in fact, it would probably make it much worse for the gymnasts who remain on the team. 

Full disclosure: I am a student at Rutgers, but have no involvement with the gymnastics team or the athletic department there. But it is the closest college gymnastics program to me (the next closest being, well, LIU), and I am a fan and attend meets there each season. I’ve interviewed Salim-Beasley and Rutgers team members for this newsletter. I’ve long been struck by how big the Rutgers team is, yet it never seems to move up in the standings or improve over the years. It is as though the team confuses size for potential. The team seems permanently wedged into the lowest tier of NCAA gymnastics, and never appears able to recruit itself out of that hole. The gymnasts show potential, but rarely appear to achieve as much as they could. Still, the program has money, or it wouldn’t be able to support its roster or its coach’s salary, which is larger than that of other Big Ten coaches with better performance records. All of these things that I noted appear in the articles about the team linked above, as well. In short, the team’s performance does not justify its big roster, nor the amount of money spent to support that roster and to pay a head coach. 

I hope the internal and external investigations resolve the questions swirling around the program, both about its seeming mismanagement by the athletic department and the alleged abuses of power by its coach.

* I have gifted the links in this article, so you should not encounter the paywall. If you do, and you want to read something, please contact me. 

Other gym news

College Gym News this week brings us an update on the new competition rules for the 2025 season, and what they mean for the fans. 

Portugal’s Filipa Martins, a three-time Olympian, will retire.

Rehearsals began this week for Simone Biles’ Gold Over America Tour, a.k.a. the GOAT. Dates are here. 

Biles was on Jimmy Fallon this week:

Flavia Saraiva had shoulder surgery:

Social media post of the week

Beacon, USA Gymnastics’ therapy dog, was hospitalized this week. As the news of the week continues to show, this type of support for athletes is sorely necessary. At press time, there had not been an update on his condition. We wish him a speedy recovery! 

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