Imagine a toddler running in the gym while the gymnasts are in a full practice session there. Something scary, right? With the Rutgers University gymnastics program, things are not going well. First, coach Umme Salim-Beasley was axed from her position. After a thorough investigation, the university authority found her guilty of having “an undisclosed relationship with former athletic director Pat Hobbs.” It was a clear breach of university policies and she had to pay the price. And all this is happening when the gymnastics program is in full swing in the ongoing season, sealing nine victories in ten duels! As if this was not enough, another shocking detail recently came to light that has left fans awestruck. Wondering what it is? Remember the opening line?

On January 19, a gymnastics handle on Reddit shared a frightening update. The handle claimed that the Rutgers gymnastics’ practice sessions had often been attended by three children. The post claimed that two of those children were unable to walk and one was a mere toddler. They are the coaching staffers’ kids. Also, the post claimed that those children were “occasionally brought to practice, often on Wednesdays.” But is it an issue? A loose gaze might miss spotting the problem. But hold on! The post had a few more shocking details to help to learn the problems. 

The post subsequently revealed, “Gymnasts recalled that the toddler would run under the equipment and down the vault runway during practice. One gymnast recalled a time when a child walked under the uneven bars and she had to stop swinging to avoid hitting him.” The description serves as a lens to spot the problem. In the gym, the gymnasts under Rutgers gymnastics’ flag were feeling the pressure to continue their practice sessions. They had to deal with the challenge of the routines and had to protect themselves from facing injuries in the practices. On top of that, they had to keep an eye on not hurting the toddler who used to run the mat during the practice sessions. Isn’t that too much for a gymnastics program? 

Exactly, it is. The fans felt concerned about learning the entire picture of the fiasco. In the meantime, someone who has an idea of the risk mentioned before expressed a real-life situation where she had experienced a similar picture. The comment read, “My toddler ran under a slowly moving disc swing earlier today and it was terrifying for all involved. I can’t even begin to imagine how bad that could be with bars.” Anyone with a little knowledge of the sport can imagine the fatal situation. But did the support staff, including the program’s coach, gauge the problem? 

Apparently not. According to the post, several gymnasts brought the issue to the support staff or coach Umme’s view. Unfortunately, they turned a blind eye to the issue. In fact, as per several gymnasts, Umme Salim-Beasley was part of the problem. The gymnasts’ complaint claimed that the coach used to remain distracted in the practice sessions while holding one child. She was never in support of forcing those young ones out of the practice sessions. Per her, the kids were not hampering the sessions and were under close monitoring. Then why did a lot of gymnasts from the program face the pangs of injury? 

The investigators discovered that, in Umme’s tenure, a massive number of gymnasts had to medically retire. In fact, six gymnasts complained that they had been forced to enter the practice sessions despite being injured. According to the Reddit post, the issue also had the children’s presence. How? 

The post claimed that a gymnast experienced a similar situation. Umme Salim-Beasley forced her once to enter a contest despite having an injury. However, in such a scene, the gymnast expected the trainer to intervene. But she wasn’t attentive enough to watch the issue. Why? She was busy with her child. The fans couldn’t ignore the problem. Beneath the Reddit post, they explained their frustrations. 

Gymnastics fans call the latest issue in Rutgers’ program a ‘mess’

Mess, criminally negligent, and scary—these are the few common adjectives the issue found on Reddit. Examples? A gymnastics fan wrote in the comment box, “What a mess… I feel for the gymnasts 😔” This was a mess a the gymnasts had nowhere to go. The investigation on Umme Salim-Beasley found her gravely accused of wrongdoings. The crisis led another fan to write, “That sounds like criminal negligence.”

The investigators came to the conclusion that, “While it appears that Salim-Beasley sincerely believes that she had the student-athletes’ best interests at heart, her conduct clearly wounded many of them in significant ways.” In the comment box, a few gymnasts also drew the actual picture of what was actually happening in the Rutgers gymnastics in the presence of children in the practice sessions. 

One penned, “Sometimes, the rec kids would get loose from wherever they were and interfere with team practice. I remember a rec kid ran across the vault runway when I was running. I didn’t hit them but said “oh my god!” I got kicked off the event for swearing.” Again, the vault issue came in! The description claims the gymnast was facing a penalty because of venting her tension. The entire phase could pose as a double-edged sword for the gymnasts, as they had no escape from the problem. Another gymnast explained her similar experience in the comment box. 

She wrote, “Kids running around during a full-blown practice is the worst. I’ve nearly done a bhs onto a little kid bc they ran behind me just before I went. My coach was spotting me and gripped my arm to get my attention to stop. Kids who know how to behave and occupy themselves during practice are fine. It’s the loose ones who scare me.” Fortunately, she had her coach intervene promptly. But the gymnasts of Rutgers had the coaches as the instigators. Spot the difference and imagine the depth of the issue.