Lauren Fleshman NY Times: “I Changed My Body for My Sport. No Girl Should.”

Why is it always someone else’s fault?

And, I've been mistreated in my life.

I think many people have.

I've never been a pro athlete, but I have been a pro musician.

Where is my NY Times article?

How is that all of you have NY Times subscriptions? Even Greg? Crazy!

Probably just regrets not having more real estate for her guerilla marketing temporary tattoos.

Is this the same Lauren that used to shame NOP member Jordan Hasay about that indoor DQ on social media even though Jordan never really did anything wrong?

Competing at the upper level of a single sport is never very good for your body. What about those poor boys who are encouraged to eat eat eat to become 3-400 lbs football linemen? Many of these guys end up with disordered eating habits, and other nasty things like heart disease and diabetes.

but but.. it's just the girls that need protecting from the mean old coaches.

If a girl can figure out how to gain weight and be faster that's awesome but that's not really how distance running works. Although it's not right to body shame. A professional coach should not just dismiss the subject, but treat it professionally. Everyone knew Salzar was a dbag long before any allegations came out, so it's not really a surprise he handled that subject like a dbag.

It’s an interesting argument but the facts of her case don’t seem all that compelling.

Fact 1. She saw some competitors eating salad with no dressing before a meet in high school. She ate pasta, and finished on the podium.

Fact 2. She had a lot of success in college without focusing on her weight and was told she was the exception to the rule. She nonetheless decides to focus on her weight, her career goes sideways, and it’s the system’s fault.

Am I missing something?

she's coaching... wrote:

Anyway, my take: she should solely take personal responsibility for messing up her career.

Bullspit. You don't make it alone and conversely you sure as hell don't arrive at long-term pitfalls and mistakes alone. You don't chose a coach whom you don't believe knows more than you and don't believe has your best interests at heart 100%.

If you’re not willing to get as lean and fit as possible then you can sit at home and complain about the system. Of course that system you’re complaining about is the cardiovascular system. Don’t complain when you are mediocre.

Do you think fitness athletes or cross fit athletes are sitting around crying about how they feel pressure to be fit?

A lot of patting herself on the back in that article . I wonder if it was ghost written by Alexi Pappas?

every sport requires every athlete to change their body in some way, shape or form to compete at the top level.

no one is born with the perfect body for whatever athletic endeavour they choose to pursue.

at some point however this pursuit of perfection can become physically and mentally unhealthy as well as detrimental to overall performance. it's up to both athlete and coach to know where the line is.

thoughts and prayers wrote:

every sport requires every athlete to change their body in some way, shape or form to compete at the top level.

no one is born with the perfect body for whatever athletic endeavour they choose to pursue.

at some point however this pursuit of perfection can become physically and mentally unhealthy as well as detrimental to overall performance. it's up to both athlete and coach to know where the line is.

I think of NFL linemen in regards to this statement. They put on an unhealthy amount of weight so they gain a leverage advantage. Hopefully after they retire they are able to slim up and get back to healthy weights. Jeff Saturday is one I think about on this.

Let's see you eat whatever you want and make the next Olympics. Lol

Greg wrote:

Skimmed this article. Just not that interesting to me.

What stands out: 'Coaches are the ones with power'.

No one has power over you unless you hold that belief.

'It’s time to call this behavior what it is: abuse.', sure, if you are being demeaned.. but then leave. Don't stay.

We all have free will on who we choose to associate ourselves with.

I think it is different for girls. They are less self-sufficient and usually mind security and social accountability to stay safe. Minding what they have to do to get accepted places.

You need some power structure supporting you. People DO have power over you. The military and police, for example. It is a two-way street of responsibility and support.

The idea is not too bad. Girls often lose lots of weight and do well, on any level, and it does not last in most cases. Molly Huddle seems to have done okay. She improved around the same time she dropped a lot of weight.

I have seen lots of girls lose a tonne of weight and succeed for the short-term with problems later.

The sensible, long-term approach makes sense, from some perspective.

At the end of the day, it is a job, a very, very competitive one. And sometimes you have to make sacrifices for it. There are jobs that are not the optimal work environment, and they are competitive, and some people have to do them, and many people are happy to be accepted to them. Working security, for example.

YMMV wrote:

Hounddogharrier wrote:

A lot of patting herself on the back in that article . I wonder if it was ghost written by Alexi Pappas?

It's the standard "self-empowering" Ivy/Stanferd/SJW boilerplate b*ch-think. They have no original though process whatsoever, it's all just a "look at me" ego reaction pushing the sh!t through that media-accepted filter.

Can you imagine Laura Muir or Shelby Houlihan moaning and castigating like these "offended" females? I can't.

Difference between Mary Cain / Amy and Shelby / Laura?

Shelby and Laura are actually good & relevant.

They got no time to run a PR scam on NYTimes

End of discussion.

YMMV wrote:

Hounddogharrier wrote:

A lot of patting herself on the back in that article . I wonder if it was ghost written by Alexi Pappas?

It's the standard "self-empowering" Ivy/Stanferd/SJW boilerplate b*ch-think. They have no original though process whatsoever, it's all just a "look at me" ego reaction pushing the sh!t through that media-accepted filter.

The article reads like another faux me too tale.

Co-Flounder wrote:

She makes good points, but since she’s the expert what is she doing to fix the problem? All she did was complain about the system.

If people want to be treated differently then they can’t expect treated the same.

She is doing something -- she's coaching, and perhaps offering an alternative to the abuse she decries.

But, as far as I know, it's not like feeding her kid depends on how her people perform.

Furthermore, it sounds like Fleshman did in fact get good advice from coaches, including Vin Lananna at a point where she could have gone in a bad direction. The decision to change her body was her own. Apparently she heard a lot of the stupidity, but as far as I can tell from nth hand observation, she's a strong-minded person who was capable of making her own decisions in college.

Director XV wrote:

we're witnessing the end of the US women being competitive on the world stage....

It's for the best for all involved I suppose. There will be plenty of trans athletes who will be happy to jump in and take their place.