Laurie Hernandez Says Ex-Coach Maggie Haney's Abuse Delayed Return to Gymnastics

Laurie Hernandez, a member of the United States' gold-medal-winning gymnastics team at the 2016 Summer Olympics, alluded to the emotional and verbal abuse she received from former coach Maggie Haney as one reason why she took an extended break from gymnastics. 

Hernandez addressed the situation in an Instagram post Thursday, writing, in part:

"This was the biggest reason why my comeback was so late. I thought I hated gymnastics, and it wasn't until mid 2018 I realized that it was the people that made the experience bad, not the sport itself. I moved across the country (NJ-CA) at 18 to try a fresh start. I wanted to unlearn a lot of bad habits physically, but mostly mentally, that I had picked up as a result of my old experiences."

Haney received an eight-year suspension Wednesday after a three-person panel for USA Gymnastics determined she "repeatedly emotionally and verbally abused young athletes," per the Orange County Register's Scott M. Reid.

Hernandez never mentioned Haney by name, but she wrote that she had to testify four years after she first reported her coach to USA Gymnastics. That and the timing of her post made it clear to whom she was referring:

"She'd sometimes yell so loud people could hear her from the parking lot outside. She'd get other adults to side with her; so if I tried to speak up to them, it was still, always my fault. I'd learned what every pose and micro-expression meant in the eleven years I was with her. With just a look I could be in tears. She'd humiliate me in front of others without a doubt, constantly make comments about me gaining weight, have me work out on multiple injuries, curse at me, point out the way I cried in front of others, and much more that goes beyond my own words."

Reid noted that Hernandez testified against Haney at the hearings and fellow gymnast and Team USA member Riley McCusker wrote a letter of testimony to the panel.

Hernandez trained under Haney at MG Elite Gymnastics, with the Asbury Park Press' Daniel LoGiudice noting their work began when Hernandez was six.

Following the Olympics, Hernandez competed on the 23rd season of Dancing with the Stars over the fall of 2016, winning the competition with dance partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy.

The 19-year-old resumed training for the first time since the Olympics in October 2018. Although she was unable to return to full competition in 2019, she said in March she was hopeful of representing the U.S. at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Hernandez will have more time to prepare after the COVID-19 pandemic forced officials to postpone the event until 2021.