Romanian Infighting
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- Опубликовано: 5 ноя 2023
- Trouble In Romania
Today, we're checking in with a quick mini-sode (our main commissioned episode will come later this week) about what has happened in Romania since the women's team qualified to the Olympics at worlds last month.
We discuss what Jessica has learned from sources who witnessed what happened to Ana Barbosu during podium training at worlds-as well as in the mixed zone-as well as Catalina Ponor's television interview about it, and whether it is appropriate for Ponor to remain in the athlete rep position
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Ponor absolutely needs to step down. She won't if that interview is any indication, but she should.
Seems the only thing we know concretely is that she gave some advice. That hardly seems like grounds for removal.
People are so overreactive today! Stop with the knee-jerk reaction! Let's wait and be a little more balanced and measured before demonizing Ponor
@@SquirtlePower809I’m sorry that you think it’s appropriate for a 30+ year old women to go on tv for an hour and further attack a 17 year old girl. Ponor explained her side of the story and further talked down about Ana Barbosu and the whole team.
Nothing about this is normal. Ana has a coach that she likes, it is not appropriate to pretend to be the coach and talk down to this girl (who has been through SO much) in a demeaning way.
Ponor has shown terrible sportsmanship internationally and nationally since 2005 and has no respect even for the girls in her own country, as further evidenced by her tv interview hating on them for an hour
@@charlestoddsullivanforpres6628so you think “Advice” is going up to a 17 year old girl and saying “is your vault supposed to be laid out or tucked?
Ana: laid out
Ponor: then make it that way
Now take that interaction for Ana’s vault (which is very good) and tell me what advice Ponor just gave Ana?
Where was the advice? She talked down to Ana in a demeaning way like a verbally abusive coach would.
But bc she is gymnastics royalty, a culture of submissiveness continues in Romania and everyone thinks Ponor is in the right to pretend to be the coach and talk down to gymnasts like this.
Verbal abuse has gone on in Romania for generations, Ana felt uncomfortable and stood up for herself. This girl has endured tons of bullying in the past and thankfully has a coach by her side who helped her in this situation.
@@SquirtlePower809please, the Romanian gymnasts have been subjected to constant bullying for over a year now. And it keeps going. Before imparting ur wisdom on facts u clearly know nothing about, read the room.
Alina Alexoi is not just a reporter. She is a member of the Romanian Olympic Committee. Alina is one of the people who hates the Dutch coaches and was behind the move to remove all Deva gymnasts (girls coached by Dutch coaches) from the Romanian Olympic committee (funding for group of athletes with Olympic potential) This means that all Deva gymnasts (Ana Barbosu, Mara Ceplinschi, Amalia Ghigoarta, Lilia Cosman, Andreea Preda) lost funding between May 2023 - August 2023.
Alina only supports Sabrina and only wanted Sabrina to qualify (as did many people were rooting against them.) Ponor and Silvias are also friends with Alexoi and Silvias says they only made it to the Olympics thanks to others injuries.
Lots of people hate the Dutch coaches and Deva girls so much they were rooting against them.
Andreea Preda was also bullied to the point of quitting after 2023 euros as well.
The Deva gymnasts were re-added to the Olympic committee after Patrick Kiens fought to get them back on.
Ana Barbosu only quit for a few days due to online harassment and public pressure, adults fighting around her, and it was the Dutch coaches (who everyone in Romania hates) that encouraged Ana and Andreea Preda to return. Preda’s mom said the Dutch coaches were the reason both girls continued.
Alina Alexoi has also made lots of online posts in the past targeting the Deva gymnasts.
Jesus Christ... how horrible...
great work, guys you do an amazing job. about ponor, well ponor is ponor right, just remember the way she and her mother treated iordache in rio 2016, so some athletes unfortunately think that the world revolves around their fame.
Jos ponor And her mother treated iordache in Rio ? I don’t know anything about that
Me neither
The Romanian girls in the NT have done nothing wrong, but they have been treated horribly by the old garde in Romanian gymnastics. Constant bullying. Ana has been an outstanding leader of this team. And Patrick has done nothing but salvage the whole Romanian program. Literally, Ponor should be embarrassed by this shameful behavior. And Alexoi and the others bullies should be legally reprimanded. Thank you guys for bringing light to this !🙌
Everybody in a position of power in the 🇷🇴 gymnastics Federation needs to just for the safety and common decency of everyone should just leave them Girls alone and focus on their own business, They really need to start cleaning their own house out before even starting mess.😒🤨
This has nothing to do With the Romanian Gymnastics Federation. The FRG completely supports the girls and the Dutch coaches and the Deva girls (the ones targeted by Ponor and Alexoi and the media; and bullied online). They do not need to clean their own house bc the FRG is not the problem. The problem is Silvias, Ponor, Alexoi and a bunch of other people who hate the FRG, Dutch coaches who coach Deva gymnasts and these anti-Dutch group wanted the Deva girls to fail.
The Romanian Olympic Committee (what Alexoi is part of) wanted the Deva girls to fail.
The anti-Dutch group hates the FRG bc the FRG brought in the Dutch coaches.
@@Romaniangymfan07 just wondering, don't these Dutch coaches, in turn, have something to do with Sfiringu's removal from the national team? If so, the issues the adults have among themselves are indeed affecting these gymnasts and Romanian gymnastics very negatively.
Hello everyone just tuned in... I can't wait to hear this episode
But what was Ponor's answer/reaction to the statement of the host saying Barbosu not being strong enough? That should be also a deciding factor...
Ponor said people just think Ana is good and a leader because she won medals in junior.
Ponor also insulted the whole team saying it wasn’t impressive performance and said it’s unacceptable for Sabrina to place 4th because she won 2 medals at her first world championships, therefore this should still be the expectation.
She also said something along the lines of Ana does not have what it mentally takes for gymnastics I gues
@@Romaniangymfan07 Thanks for the answer, I think this makes it much clearer that there is a proven case that Ponor should definitely not be the Athlete Representative. If those are quotes from the interviews (I don't speak any Romanian sadly) then it should be a very done deal with kicking Ponor out of the FIG and giving the Romanian team an opportunity to speak out/act against Ponor without repercussions
PERIOD!!!!
Ponor is and has been selfish and a bully I remember in 2005 she wouldn't train in Deva with the rest of her team and that she could train in Bucharest and party and went to worlds and did not do well. She's been a mess. And ponor is one to talk about form still upset she won gold on floor in 04 with that horrible form. And the Olympic spot in Rio should've gone to larisa not ponor. Her longevity is undeniable but her attitude is horrible I met her and the attitude was not great.
And as the athletic representative you're job is the represent the best interest of the athletes first. She can give advice on her time but I wouldn't want her representing me for this already stressful sport. If I have a problem and I can't talk to the athletic representative then she shouldn't be there period. I personally transferred gyms more times than I care to say back in the 80s and 90s because of treatment and feeling like I had no one to turn to and it sucked not to mention it was expensive as well .
Chellsie Memmel for Athelete Rep!
She is already leading the US team.
If Ponor is a bully, why did she become an athlete rep?
Romanian gymnastics royalty. I mean, that's why...
Can they be tried for bullying with their online posts? Are people in Romania focused on that aspect or is this under the rug due to their reputations?
No one is going to put anyone in jail over something as minor and trivial as this. Just look at well known misogynist troll Andrew Tate with all the proof available and the guy is still under investigation.
When it comes to mistreating little girls to get gold medals, the Romanian national gymnastics program seems to have been operating outside the law since the late 1960's.
This is not the first time
It's a gray area, one instance like this doesn't consistute harrasment. I hope Ponor learns from it and works things out by apologizing for the misunderstanding
This is ridiculous if Ponor, Silivas, or whoever it is have a problem with the Dutch coaches why not to use your position of power to convince the Romanian federation to change coaches instead of bullying young athletes. Shame on Ponor and the other bullies.
The Dutch coaches are good and the FRG wants the Dutch as do the girls. There is no need to switch coaches again. The Dutch came in January 2023 and Daymon in May 2023.
Silvias Ponor Alexoi have an issue with there being non Romanian coaches so they hate the FRG for liking these internationals, they hate the Dutch coaches and they hate the Deva gymnasts bc the Deva girls like their new Dutch coaches.
The Dutch coaches have done so much for this team and completely flipped a mentally broken team around.
The team was mentally broken after 2023 Euros due to continued online bullying, esp targeted at Preda and Barbosu. These girls temporarily quit the sport and only bc of the Dutch coaches did they return.
The Dutch empowered this team and built them up, improved D scores, created positive environment, reduced artistry deductions. The girls like the Dutch coaches and Silivas and Ponor should leave them alone and be happy the girls like their new good coaches who treat them well
@@Romaniangymfan07 I known, and I have nothing against the Dutch coaches and the lately results of the Romanian team speaks lots about they work but did you get the point of my comment? If a bunch of adults have any problems with each other they should seat down and solve it among themselves, instead of using a group of teenagers as an outlet for their frustration just bc the poor girls so happened to be traped in between these adults. What Ponor, Silivas and Alina are doing is so immature, and also it surprises me to see Silivas being opposed to the presence of foreign coaches having herself married an American guy and having American kids and coaching in the US, if she's so patriotic why didn't she stay in Romania and made her life there? The hypocrisy is overflowing.
@@Romaniangymfan07just wondering, don't these Dutch coaches, in turn, have something to do with Sfiringu's removal from the national team? If so, the issues the adults have among themselves are indeed affecting these gymnasts and Romanian gymnastics very negatively.
@@eiraremejeene no, that was another story that the anti-Dutch media in Romania blew out of proportion. Silviana left Deva on her own because she didn’t want to work with non Romanian coaches (I’m pretty sure) she definitely only wanted to have Gina and Sandu. Silviana had already gone through many coaching changes in her career.
She was training at Constanta club gym (the coaches there are very anti Dutch as are all clubs in Romania) while doing rehab.
She’s been injured for a couple years and then recently retired for sure a couple weeks ago.
Silviana was asked to come back to Deva and was on the national team for august, September, October, and then chose to retire.
I think that is the correct story; different versions have been told.
It was coaching changes coupled with ongoing injuries.
@@Romaniangymfan07 Thanks. I just feel bad she left. She was such an asset and I hope she returns and do great things in gymnastics. She has all the potential to really do well.
I'm Romanian and I know everything you can know about this country's mentality in this sport. But what you need to know is that Ponor, same as Alexoi, same as Silivas are simply evil. And I say this without questioning myself at all. Their dirty character is ruining any medal, succes or career they have.
Certain romanians will always defend them no matter what because they're past champions and a lot of people are still stuck there, but please know these exact persons made the girls from the current team feel like garbage, didn't trust them or their work, they have publicly shamed them in the past years and they are hating on the current program and coaches so bad, that they influence the decision of other juniors.
Please speak up, it's time for these people to get canceled and be responsible for everything they did and still do to these children!
I saw a small blurb on this story and it sounded as if Ponor merely gave someone a quick bit of advice before an event and then got blasted for doing so - which I interpreted as 'no good deed goes unpunished'. Maybe there is more to this. I'll have to listen/watch but I hope this covers the whole issue without going to the pay site. I have no money.
There is so much more to this. Ponor is one of the people who hates the Dutch coaches and the Deva girls. She also insulted Ana Barbosu on tv for an hour and said she is not a leader of the team, she just has some medals from juniors and that’s why people think she’s good.
You should know that Ana has already been verbally harassed and bullied online to the point that she quit the sport. Ana IS the leader of the Romanian team. She is the oldest gymnast at just 17 and she hit 4/4 and her scores counted on all events. This is why some people in the media gave her the label as the leader.
Ponor also has zero empathy for Ana in this hour long interview she gave and has zero empathy for why Ana would need to quit the sport.
Ponor has bullied gymnasts on her team in the past and demonstrated poor sportsmanship both nationally and internationally since 2005. I’m genuinely sorry for you that you feel the need to defend this horrid person.
She did not give some quick advice she asked Ana if her 1.5 vault was laid out or tucked when both knew the answer is laid out. “Then make it laid out” this id bullying and how a verbally abusive coach talks down to gymnasts.
There is nothing wrong with Ana’s vault, she scores 13.4-13.5 on it internationally and has never done it in tucked position. It’s the WAY she talked down to her and asked Ana a question in a demeaning way. How would this “advice” help Ana in any way? Clearly she was always planning on doing it laid out and such harsh language would only throw her off.
Ana and Andreea Preda has already been verbally harassed and bullied online to the point of quitting the sport. Ponor should know these girls have been through hell emotionally and not bother them, especially when it is before the biggest competition of Ana’s life and she has immense pressure on her to hit 4/4.
@@Romaniangymfan07 I stand by my comments completely in light of information I had at the time. I don't need your pity for making a well reasoned comment based on available information. Your comments, if true, certainly do put this in a different light. But like the first bit I heard about this, I can't prove anything you've said is true or false. I appreciate the information.
@@Romaniangymfan07 The problem with what you relay is that context and voicing matter. The statements you say came from Ponor could be rude or kind, depending on how they are said. I'm willing to put some credibility on your account but your delivery is awful.
@@charlestoddsullivanforpres6628 what I am saying is all over Twitter, redit threads, instagram accounts.
There are other sources of information out there that would help inform you about how much the current Romanian gymnasts have suffered from Ponor and Alexoi Silivas and all the Dutch haters online and in these girls’ lives
Take off on gay? Split on rights?
I didn't understand that sign-off.
They are both super woke people. Either you just deal with it or find another channel unfortunately. Be prepared to hear a lot of politics here as well- they love talking about abortion rights. It's ridiculous
Saying that every athlete must be happy with the rep is bonkers and presupposes that no athlete can ever be wrong or trivial or vindictive etc. This subjects a rep to arbitrariness with regard to holding the position, and that's insanity. It's also the core of tyranny. Things must be fair for both sides.
Amen!! I am a teacher and I HATE this kind of believe that all of my students are angels and never wrong, and somehow I have to please hundreds of students all the time. And if I ever have a student that is unhappy about something, I should be fired??!
@@SquirtlePower809Ana has been bullied by multiple adults to the point she quit the sport.
She then has one of the Dutch coach haters come up to her and talk down to her asking her a question both know the answer to before the biggest competition of her life, when Ana has immense pressure on her to hit 4/4 the next day.
Ana had also been verbally assaulted by Alina Alexoi a woman who made countless social media posts attacking Ana and her coaches.
There was nothing wrong with her vault, she scored 13.5 in qualification.
Ana has endured so much hate online and in real life, this was just one instance over 2 years.
There have been multiple instances of Ponor bullying teammates going back to 2005. Ponor also has demonstrated terrible sportsmanship both internationally and nationally her whole career.
But go ahead defend her if you want 😂 and have fun with all your students 😂
@@SquirtlePower809you're a teacher? Auch...
This is messyyyy
Ugh. I hate ponor
EVERY athlete must be comfortable??!! Seriously 100%?? That is like me saying that your podcast must please 100% of viewers or you must be removed. Ps- i hate the new sign-off! Its so pandering and virtue signaling. Please leave political stuff out. We come here for gymnastics coverage, not to listen to abortion rights, gay rights, race rights, international warfare, etc. It's just annoying tbh. And i know everyone is going to assume that I'm a homophobic white supremacist (joke is on you, I'm a gay poc!) But its just not what we come here for. Thanks.
You belong in the '70 with your mindset
Everyone is just way too soft and sensitive. As Candace Owens recently said "Life's tough, get a helmet man!" There is a big difference between reasonable accommodations and fair/respectful treatment and treating everyone like they are made of spun sugar. Its obnoxious and creating weak people. Period.
Maybe, it would be appropriate in a different context for an athlete representative to give actual advice to a gymnast.
in this context it is not appropriate for Ponor to approach Ana given the bullying Ana has already been subjected to for 2 years. Ana has been incredibly strong overcoming so much hate and verbal harassment and had the mental willpower to continue in this sport, despite many people hoping she would fail. Instead of saying Ana is a weak person and is not tough, maybe you should educate yourself on what Ana and Preda have been through in their careers before accusing these 16 and 17 year old girls of being mentally weak.
Don't even try!
Leave this 1960 mentality behind, or are you Romanian by any chance??
These 30+ years old people are harassing children for 4+ years now, online or in person, direct or indirect. So don't even try talking about being sensitive!!