“I Take Full Responsibility”: MyKayla Skinner Once Again Apologizes to Gymnastics Community for Harsh Comments After US Olympic Trials

“I feel like a lot of you guys had misinterpreted or misunderstood exactly what I was meaning or had said,” a comment like this didn’t prove to be enough after the stir MyKayla Skinner brought on the American gymnastics circle. She hurled questions on the commitment of someone like Suni Lee, who appeared on the gymnastics trial six months after surviving her kidney disease.

She belittled 16-year-old Hezly Rivera, whom she had once cheered after the latter’s 2018 US Classic junior medal victory. So, the streak of backlash continued even after the initial apology from her on July 3. But now, MyKayla Skinner has inched forward to mean her apology. 

On July 6, in her socials, the former world champion put down a long note defining her utmost respect toward the USA women’s gymnastics team that had earned their qualifications after going through the stringent trials. Rather, in her share, she added the ‘apology’ term quite a few times. However, she didn’t hesitate to mention, “I take full responsibility for what I said and I deeply apologize.” She also acknowledged the hard work of the gymnastics squad that had ultimately made them stand among other participants in the trial in Minneapolis. 

Yet, at some points, MyKayla Skinner remained steadfast as the points she had previously mentioned in her apology note on July 3. It is regarding her past dealing with gymnastics coach Marta Karolyi in the US camp. Notably, Marta and her husband Bela used to inflict a hard schedule on the gymnasts in the camp. The trainer induced an environment of competition and jealousy among the fellow gymnasts in the camp to bring out their A-game in the contests. Although the harsh training led the American team to win several Olympic golds in the women’s category. But the same camp gave birth to the fiasco regarding team doctor Larry Nassar’s inappropriate behavior with the gymnasts. 

Needless to say, MyKayla Skinner was also in that camp and had to face the aforementioned issues. Eventually, she penned on her note that she is yet to forget that past, and that hardness may have led her to go hard in the comments. But, MyKayla Skinner’s predecessor from Marta Karolyi’s camp didn’t go as hard on the current US Olympic gymnastics squad as MyKayla had. Rather, On July 4, she used logic to dismiss MyKayla’s argument. 

Is MyKayla Skinner showing results after hitting a wall? 

After MyKayla Skinner’s previous comment on the work ethics of Suni Lee and others (except Simone Biles) who found themselves in the US Olympic gymnastics team, a storm of criticism followed her. Several gymnasts, including Jade Carey, Simone Biles, and Suni Lee, unfollowed her on social media to show their protest against her. Perhaps Vanessa Atler delivered the most pointed and impactful response.

Vanessa remained one of the prominent faces from the Karolyi Ranch to make it big on the gymnastics mat, and she never vowed to the hardship she faced from the Karolyis. Rather, while dismissing MyKayla’s logic of the current gymnasts lacking work ethics, she wrote, “In Marta and Belas era we had athletes that were forced to work hard. Is that what we want? All of these women are here because they want to be. To me that is a real athlete.” She further continued with her sharp logic. 

Meanwhile, Vanessa Atler went brickbats on MyKayla Skinner’s ‘in my era’ comment. She minutely pointed out, “I think the former athletes can all say “in my era” things were different, things were harder. You have no right to take the difficulty away from these athletes.” Such a jibe remained too high to look away from and it may have made MyKayla Skinner reconsider her statement.