The University of Georgia had expected to bring fire to the performance of the women’s gymnastics program this season. The first step was to recruit Cecile Landi for the co-head coaching job. If you are familiar with the twists and turns of the gymnastics world, you may have an idea of Cecil’s prowess. Well, the 1996 Olympian is the US Gymnastics Hall of Famer coach. Before taking the reins of Georgia’s gymnastics program in August last year, she also donned the role of Simone Biles‘ coach. A commendable recruitment! Isn’t it? However, the program did another exceptional job at the beginning of the season to set everything on fire. 

Before the GymDogs’ season opener this year, they brought Simone Biles and Jonathan Owens to Stegeman Coliseum, the program’s home turf. The authority honored the couple by unveiling accessories in their names. On the other hand, Simone thanked everyone for the gesture and wished the gymnasts luck in the competition. Yet every such attempt to set the fire fell short. On February 14, the program faced a lot of crises while facing serious fire issues. 

Georgia GymDogs program faces the heat away from the mat 

On February 16, the X-handle of Gymnastics Now broke the news. It said, “Things got smoky at Stegeman Coliseum Friday night as a small fire broke out before the GymDogs’ meet vs. Arkansas [emoji]. However, any update on the loss of property and lives has yet to come. But the news was big enough to create tensions among the stakeholders. A further note explained that Georgia GymDogs didn’t pay much heed to the fire and entered the iconic arena to play the SEC gymnastics contest. 

The GymDogs ensured that the setback didn’t hinder their outing on the mat. In the end, they overpowered the visitors by the scoreline of 197.125-197.050. After 2022, this was their first victory over the Razorbacks. Furthermore, the victory on home turf allowed the program to maintain a clean slate in the venue this season. Simone Biles’ former coach took note of it. She praised the gymnasts for remaining calm until the final whistle of the match. Altogether, everything that happened with the GymDogs on Friday night seemed to be positive. But the gymnastics fans were quick to spot the risk that came with the fire accident that night. In the comment box, they bared their fangs against the authority. 

The safety of Simone Biles’ former coach comes under a cloud of uncertainty

What happened in Stegeman Coliseum that Friday night? Someone was quick to take that question up on X. In the comment box, that fan wrote, “For those asking: there was a fire outside Stegeman Colesium. Doors were open for admission to the gymnastics meet & smoke got in. The meet started with the gym filled with smoke. That’s all I know but here’s some imagery.”

Meanwhile, the visuals supported the statement. So, two prominent gymnastics teams, the coaching staffers, including Olympians like Cecile Landi and Jordyn Wieber, the audience, and the other workers spent hours in an arena filled with smoke. Yet the authority didn’t come forward to address the issue. Problem? The fans counted it as a tremendous problem on any day. Moreover, they suggested that this would account for a risk in any sport. One comment read, “Allowing athletes to continue to compete in a smoke filled Stegeman Coliseum is irresponsible at best. @Brooks_UGA, your athletes deserve better.” The fan even tagged Josh Brooks to register the disappointment. But has the athletic director of the University of Georgia shared any line on it?

Nothing so far. Such deafening silence from the authorities even shocked sports journalists like Gabriel Stovall. In the comment box, he submitted his question, “Wow: what’s going on here?” Despite three days already passing by, the question is still taking the rounds. Fans have yet to figure out the reason that the authorities compromised everyone’s health factor that evening in the arena. 

An X-user raised the point on the comment box, commenting, “…but screw the fans that paid, they can suck it in? Fans deserve better too.” In the days when women’s gymnastics at the college level is facing serious questions on popularity, such indifferent attitudes toward securing safety are bound to face questions. That’s what’s taken the lead now. In the meantime, another fan threw a fireball at SEC in the comment box by mentioning, “The @SEC – Where it just means too much.” There are differences between the NCAA and SEC gymnastics and this season, it has been limited to the scoring debate so far. However the current talking point revolves around the topic of the stakeholders’ safety. Do you have any take on it? Let us know in the comment box.