Former LIU gymnasts expose alleged abuse — Aly Raisman on ‘Call Her Daddy’
By Lela Moore
The IX: Gymnastics Saturday with Lela Moore, July 20, 2024
Content warning: This post contains discussion of abuse.
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Happy Gymnastics Saturday! I wrote at the end of the 2023 NCAA season about three of LIU’s top gymnasts entering the transfer portal. Mara Titarsolej ended up at Missouri, Katy Koopman at Rutgers and Ilka Juk at Iowa.
Juk spoke to the “All Things Gymnastics” podcast about the state of the LIU program, and her description did not increase my confidence that the athletes were leaving only because they wanted a different graduate program or a bigger competition atmosphere. She spoke about not having much institutional support as an international student and noted that the gym where LIU athletes practiced, 30 minutes from campus each way, was a far cry from the facility they were promised when they signed their national letters of intent.
Turns out I was right to be alarmed: This week, 12 former LIU gymnasts posted statements damning the program and its coaches, Randy Lane and Olivia Courtney. Half identified themselves; half remained anonymous.
Syd Morris, a rising junior at LIU who surprised the gymternet when they retired from the sport a few months ago, posted all the statements to their personal Instagram account.
The other identified athletes are Talia Folino, Koopman, Jules Rider, Izzy Hilliard and Alana Ricketts. Folino transferred to Alaska, and Koopman, as I mentioned earlier, transferred to Rutgers. Rider left the team in December before her freshman season began. Hilliard and Ricketts were part of the inaugural LIU team.
Among the group’s allegations: Lane told the team he had never wanted to lead the program; dismissed gymnasts seemingly at random from the program, including Folino and Koopman; said he had “pity recruited” athletes to the school; complained to gymnasts’ families and club coaches about them (including telling one athlete’s parents that their daughter was a “bitch”); and complained to gymnasts that their families had raised them poorly. He allegedly changed Morris’ class schedule without her knowledge or approval. He allegedly criticized athletes’ food choices and fat-shamed them.
Courtney, too, was allegedly verbally and emotionally abusive to LIU athletes.
It’s all really shocking, despite the rumors about the school and the team culture at LIU that have floated around for years. All of the identified athletes who wrote statements said they left the team because of their issues with the coaches and the school, and others have followed suit.
Juk’s interview was a peek behind the curtain, but it focused far more on the situation with the facilities and the university’s lack of support than on the coaching. Now we know more, and hopefully more will be done.
I’d like to see Lane and Courtney gone, though I worry that LIU will get rid of the entire program rather than changing the staff. I would like to see someone from LIU in a position of authority, whether with the athletic department or elsewhere, respond to these allegations and lay out a plan for the future. And most of all, I hope these athletes find some peace knowing that they laid it all out there for us.
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Other gym news
Personal plug, Part 1: I had an article in Self this week about the five gymnasts chosen to represent the U.S. in Paris. This was lots of fun to research and write!
Personal plug, Part 2: I also had an article in College Gym News about former NCAA stars who were also Olympians.
College Gym News also has a Paris predictions roundtable this week.
The Self article arguably getting more buzz than mine was the cover story featuring Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu and Dominique Dawes. They spoke about their experiences in the sport, what the 1996 Olympics were really like for each of them, and their lives since the Magnificent Seven. Self did a great job here, and kudos to the magazine for doing so many articles to promote the Olympics.
Team USA checked in from Paris:
Japan removed Miyata Shoko from the Olympic team, allegedly because she was discovered smoking cigarettes.
Gabby Douglas spoke to People about the ankle injury that ended her comeback attempt for Paris and reiterated that she will vie for the Los Angeles 2028 squad.
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Five at The IX: Aly Raisman on ‘Call Her Daddy’
Aly Raisman spoke with Alex Cooper on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast (yep, the same one Simone Biles did a few months back), and the interview is deep and moving.
You can listen to the whole thing on Spotify, but here’s a YouTube excerpt as well:
| Mondays: Soccer |
| By: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer |
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| Thursdays: Golf |
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| Fridays: Hockey |
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| Saturdays: Gymnastics |
| By: Lela Moore, @runlelarun, Freelance Writer |
