Laurie Hernandez had dreams of being on the USA gymnastics team again for the 2020 Olympics, but the 2016 gold medalist’s comeback got a late start because of a verbally and emotionally abusive coach.
After that coach, former US Olympic coach Maggie Haney, was suspended for eight years by USA Gymnastics on Wednesday, Hernandez opened up about the toll Haney took on her.
“This was the biggest reason my comeback was so late,” Hernandez wrote in an Instagram post Thursday, though she did not refer to Haney by name. “I thought I hated gymnastics and it wasn’t until mid 2018 I realized that it was the people that made the experience bad, not the sport itself. I moved across the country (NJ-CA) at 18 to try a fresh start. I wanted to unlearn a lot of the bad habits physically, but mostly mentally, that I had picked up as a result of my old experiences. (My mental health journey has been quite a rollercoaster.)
“Making the 2020 team would be a dream come true of course, but my first priority from the beginning was my happiness, and that was enough for me.”
Haney trained Hernandez through the 2016 Olympics in Rio — where she won a team gold and a silver medal on balance beam — after which the New Jersey teenager took two years off from gymnastics.
Hernandez recounted past experiences when Haney’s “reactions made me uncomfortable and distressed, or that their loaded words hurt, or that that style of coaching didn’t work for me.” But Haney always dismissed those concerns, according to Hernandez.
During their 11 years together, Haney would humiliate Hernandez, make comments about her gaining weight, force her to work out through injuries, curse at her and disparage her in other ways, Hernandez said. She eventually told her parents about some of it, but her mom’s phone calls to Haney would only make the next day at the gym worse, Hernandez said.
But in 2016, Hernandez’s mom overheard her conversation with a teammate about something that previously happened in practice, which led to Hernandez finally telling her the whole story. Hernandez’s mom put it in writing and sent it to USA Gymnastics.
“This kind of behavior and treatment is never okay,” Hernandez wrote. “There are some things from my experience that will unfortunately stick with me forever, and I’ll always be working to heal from it — but sharing my story gives me a chance to close the chapter, take a deep breath, and start something new. For years I was taught not to listen to my body or my mind, but now I’ve learned to trust my gut, and now that my experience and feelings are valid. No one gets to decide those things for me.
“Now that this weight has been pulled off me, I don’t mind sharing my story. Here’s to speaking up.”