Ex-Utah gymnasts favor resolution condemning abusive coaching

A former University of Utah gymnast who retired from the sport after alleging emotional and verbal abuse during her time on the team had some questions for state lawmakers Monday:

“My question to all of you and anyone else who cares to listen (is) why is this not taken as seriously as physical abuse or sexual abuse? Why is it not looked at that same way?” Kara Eaker asked members of the Senate Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee.

“And I don’t want to compare this to sexual assault or physical abuse but it is still just as damaging and still just as important to be able to recognize and do something about.”

Eaker, a two-time All-American and U.S. Olympic alternate at the Tokyo Olympics, appeared at the Capitol to testify in favor of a resolution condemning abusive coaching practices.

Rep. Sahara Hayes, D-Salt Lake City, said she drafted the legislation after reading about allegations of abuse surrounding the Utah gymnastics team last summer. Since starting work on the bill, Hayes said she has had parents of college and high school athletes reach out to her, including one who sent her photos of bruises a coach inflicted on her daughter’s arm.

“It’s a pervasive issue,” she told the panel.

HJR7 calls for Utah schools, elementary through college, to provide safe and supportive environments for athletes. It recognizes the “power imbalance” between coaches and students in which athletes don’t have a significant voice. It encourages schools to create positive environments by penalizing abusive coaches and to incorporate practices that support healthy relationships and mindsets.

Last August, the Deseret News first reported that the University of Utah hired an outside agency to review its nationally acclaimed gymnastics program after former gymnasts and parents alleged former coach Tom Farden verbally and emotionally abused and physically intimidated members of the team.

The review determined that while Farden’s coaching methods left some gymnasts feeling an “increased fear of failure” and pressure to retain athletics scholarships, the coach did not engage in “any severe, pervasive or egregious” acts of emotional, verbal or physical abuse or harassment. 

The U. placed Farden on paid administrative leave in mid-November and he and the school parted ways later that month.

Eaker said she knows many athletes who have been too scared to come out and say anything because they feared retaliation for simply seeking help.

“At the time that I was training, I was in no position to be able to help those people and I had to watch them suffer while I stood there powerless because I was also going through the same emotional and verbal abuse,” she said.

Eaker said she retired from gymnastics because it gave her the opportunity to stand up and speak out.

“That is why I’m here today is to ask you, what would you do in this situation? Would you join me in helping these people, helping these athletes and gymnasts?” she said, adding many are only around 18 years old.

“We’re children still and we have to suffer this by ourselves. We’ve been so isolated, so put down. We are treated as if we are worthless.”

Sen. Karen Kwan, D-West Valley City, said she’s sorry for what Eaker went through. “Nobody should have to suffer, and especially suffer in silence and feel like they can’t speak out.”

Elaine Alfano, a member of Utah’s NCAA championship gymnastics teams in the 1980s, became emotional during her testimony before the committee.

“I do understand hard coaching,” she said, noting she has coached national team members and Olympians. “I certainly know where the line is when it comes to abuse.”

Alfano said there are ways to motivate athletes. “But I don’t believe in berating them. I don’t believe in threatening. I don’t believe in throwing objects at children,” she said.

“I just want to say that there’s something that has to be done for these kids,” she told lawmakers. “They have to have an advocate for them. They have to be able to speak up when something is wrong and not say, ‘Suck it up.’”

Eaker said she was verbally abused in gymnastics starting at age 8 or 10 and it continued through college.

“I eventually just started blaming myself and asking myself what’s wrong with you. There’s nothing wrong with me. That’s their bias being pushed onto me,” she said.

Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, who will carry the resolution in the Senate, said he’s bothered by youth sports leagues that prioritize athletics over people.

“It’s sad that you have to come before the Legislature,” he told the former gymnasts.

The committee unanimously approved the HJR7 and sent it to the full Senate. The House passed the resolution earlier this month.