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Utah Utes gymnast Kara Eaker, a two-time world champion, announced her retirement on Instagram, citing abuse by a coach.
The 20-year-old also revealed that she would be withdrawing from the University of Utah.
“I accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Utah because I truly believed the school was a place where I could contribute to the community, be a strong asset to the gymnastics team, and be free to develop myself and future career,” the former USA gymnastics national team member wrote.
“For two years, while training with the Utah Gymnastics team, I was a victim of verbal and emotional abuse.
“As a result, my physical, mental, and emotional health has rapidly declined. I had been seeing a university athletics psychologist for a year and a half and I’m now seeing a new provider twice a week because of suicidal and self-harm ideation and being unable to care for myself properly,” Eaker continued.
“I have recently been diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression, anxiety induced insomnia, and I suffer from panic attacks, PTSD, and night terrors.”
“During my recruiting process, I was promised a ‘family’ within this program and a ‘sisterhood’ with my teammates, who would accept me, care for me, and support me. But instead, after I entered as a freshman, I was heartbroken to find the opposite in that I was training in an unhealthy, unsafe, and toxic environment.”
Eaker added, “I was scared to death by the loud and angry outbursts from the coach, ‘What the hell is wrong with you!’ What the f— are you doing!’ ‘You better get your s— together!’ and ‘Pull your head out of your a–!’
She also claimed that she requested meetings with members of the school’s athletic department to discuss the issues and was “completely dismissed.”
The Utah Utes’ gymnastics program was investigated and a report was issued in September.
In that report, Husch Blackwell, an outside law firm, determined, according to ESPN, Utah gymnastics coach Tom Farden “did not engage in any severe, pervasive or egregious acts of emotional or verbal abuse of student-athletes” and “did not engage in any acts of physical abuse, emotional abuse or harassment as defined by SafeSport Code.”
Many of her gymnastics peers as well as her family issued responses to Kara Eaker’s shocking retirement on her Instagram post.
LSU gymnastics star Olivia Dunne wrote, “Sending love Kara.”
While her dad, Mark Eaker, commented, “I’ve taken the weekend to absorb your post and I still can’t come to terms with how I (your father) failed to see the signs and protect you.
“I now understand the secrecy implemented by the Utah program. To have a coaching staff instruct it’s athletes to not talk to their parents about what goes on in the gym is a tactic to isolate.
“I watched your demeanor drop from light to dark but convinced myself it was you becoming an adult and dealing with things on your own terms.
“I have no words to fix this. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you.
“It all makes sense now… and any gymnast that continues to cover for this type of abuse essentially becomes part of the problem.
“It’s time to speak up parents and athletes!”
Interestingly, on August 24th, Eajer expressed on Instagram that she was “so excited that this year has officially begun!”
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