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As a former gymnast and former coach I take extreme offense to what this interview and, potentially, this book has to say about gymnastics in general. I spent nearly 25 years in several different gyms and never once had or witnessed the treatment that Ms. Sey mentions. The few girls I knew while competing who developed eating disorders were immediately removed from the competitive team and now allowed back until a doctor deemed them healthy. And those of us who were injured were kept out of the gym until we were healthy, often to our dismay, not the coaches. Perhaps it was different in the 1980's but when I was in the gym and still today, there is little chance for a girl with an eating disorder to be near the shape required for the sport.
Yes, you hear of terrible things happening occasionally, but it's just as likely to happen anywhere else, on the soccer field on a girl scout field trip. Send your kids to a reputable gym, talk to the owners about hiring practices and their mission statement. The thing you don't hear is all the benefits gymnastics offers to young girls. The strength and self confidence and pride gymnastics taught me are indispensable and I never once regret having spent my childhood in a gym. Don't let Ms. Sey scare you away from giving that to your kids.
