Whatever it is that the
San Francisco Chronicle does in selecting or training or mentoring the writers
who produce its sport section, I like it.
As a group, they are funny, knowledgeable, and talented. They will even get me to read about sports in
which I have no interest because of their ability to write. Joan Ryan is an alumna of that group and one
I miss on my daily visits to the Sporting Green.
Therefore, it is no
surprise that I found her book Little
Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters
to be a good one, if a book as disturbing as this one can be described as
good. It came out in 1995, but remains
relevant today as the—how shall I put it—disaster that is the sexual abuse
scandal in American gymnastics continues to unfold. In fact, I am saddened that the book was not
enough of a wake-up call; twenty more years of abuse happened.
Ryan details the
manufacture, use, and scrapping of skating and gymnastic stars, from physical
and mental abuse through staggering expense, eating disorders, death, and
destroyed families. There are almost no
voices of sanity in the wilderness of ego and greed on display in the service
of exploiting little girls.
Let’s say no. The machine of ultra-competitive sports is
bad for all of us (Hi, Football, I’m looking at you…). We all need to move our bodies. It is good for us to want to be our best and
to push toward that goal. We do not need
to get there by abuse and we definitely do not need to condone the abuse of
others for our entertainment.
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