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Miss USA Slammed for Mocking Asian Miss Universe Contestants For Not Speaking English


Miss USA, Sarah Rose Summers, is facing controversy after a video surfaced of her making what seems to be negative comments about two non-English speaking contestants taking part in the 2018 Miss Universe pageant being held in Thailand.

According to People, the video (which you can watch here) was part of an Instagram Live posted by Miss Colombia Valeria Morales, who appears alongside Summers and Miss Australia Francesca Hung.

“She’s so cute and she pretends to know so much English,” Summers said of Miss Vietnam H’Hen Nie. “And then you ask her a question after having a whole conversation with her and she goes — .” She then makes a blank, smiling expression that seems to mock H’Hen before laughing and adding, “She’s adorable.” Morales asks her to repeat the look and Summers obliges.

The trio then discusses Miss Cambodia Rern Sinat, who had earlier posted an Instagram photo of herself with Summers. “Miss Cambodia is here and doesn’t speak any English,” Summers said. “And not a single person here speaks her language. Can you imagine? Francesca said that it would be very isolating and I think yes, and just confusing all the time.”

Summers has since apologized in an Instagram post, although—as you’ll see below—social media reactions are coming fast and furious.

Obviously, social media users wasted no time in letting their criticisms of Summers’ comments be known.

“Do you speak any language except English?” one Instagram commenter asked. “Absolutely enraged that Miss USA, Miss Australia and Miss Colombia made fun of Miss Cambodia and Miss Vietnam for not being able to speak fluent English, TRASH,” wrote another user on Twitter. Another said, “@MissUniverse i wonder if you will still allow Miss USA, Columbia, and Australia to continue in the competition after their racist/ bigoted remarks toward fellow contestant Miss Cambodia. I can’t believe these ladies will be repersenting [sic] their countries!”

The Miss Universe pageant will air live Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. ET on FOX.





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USA Gymnastics Files for Bankruptcy in the Aftermath of the Larry Nassar Scandal


It has been a turbulent year—to say the least—for USA Gymnastics (USAG), the national governing body for the sport in America: 2018 began with the sentencing of Dr. Larry Nassar to 175 years in prison on multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct after hundreds of brave women came forward about the abuse they suffered while under his care as a team doctor.

On Wednesday, the USAG filed for bankruptcy in an Indiana court. (The headquarters are located in Indianapolis.) A press release posted on their website says that the voluntary filing “will enable USA Gymnastics to continue to support its athletes, to fully operate and meet its responsibilities to the entire membership and to expeditiously resolve the claims made by the survivors of sexual abuse perpetrated by Larry Nassar.” It also notes that any claims by victims would be covered by insurance, and not affected by the filing.

“We owe it to the survivors to resolve, fully and finally, claims based on the horrific acts of the past and, through this process, seek to expedite resolution and help them move forward,” Kathryn Carson, who was recently elected chair of the USA Gymnastics Board of Directors, says in the release. “Our sport is safer and stronger thanks to the bravery of these women. The Chapter 11 filing and the expedited resolution of these claims are critical first steps in rebuilding the community’s trust.”

She also says that the organization will continue to support gymnasts at all levels, including future Olympic hopefuls: “We have made significant progress in implementing safety initiatives and are in the process of searching for a new CEO who has the experience to build a leadership team that will restore confidence in USA Gymnastics, and set and execute a clear vision for a successful future.”

High profile gymnasts (and Nassar victims) like Aly Raisman have been publicly critical of the organization’s handling of the Nassar situation and the USAG’s hiring of individuals who they saw as a part of larger problems within the USAG. “I don’t trust the current leadership/board at USAG to pick a new CEO,” Raisman tweeted in October. “They’ve failed us too many times. They’ve shown us their lack of urgency to fix & understand this horrible problem. If changes in leadership/board don’t happen I am terrified that history will repeat itself.” The USAG hired Mary Bono as its new CEO, only to have her resign amidst controversy just four days later.

There are a number of major gymnastics events coming up in early 2019 including national qualifiers and the World Cup. Given the way sensitive matters have been handled thus far and today’s bankruptcy filing, it seems hard to believe this will be resolved before those premiere events.





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This Team USA Sailor Was a Little Too Enthusiastic About Meeting Meghan Markle and Prince Harry


A Team USA sailor hilariously broke royal protocol this week when he met Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in Australia and gave him a giant bear hug. Meghan Markle was by Prince Harry’s side, of course, and found the entire thing hilarious.

Here’s what happened: While watching a sailing event on the opening day of the Invictus Games in Australia, Markle and Prince Harry were greeted by a sailor who was so excited to meet them that he wrapped his arms around the Duke of Sussex and literally picked him up. “Now that’s a hug,” Markle observed, laughing as the sailor embraced her husband and patted him on the head.

When it was Markle’s turn to say hello, Prince Harry went into full protective mode and warned the man, “Now don’t hug her like that!”

“No, I know man,” the man told Prince Harry before giving Markle (who just announced she’s pregnant last week) a less-intense hug.

Watch this go down for yourself, below:

While royal protocol technically says commoners aren’t allowed to touch royals, this one seems to fall under the category of “rules Meghan and Harry are cool with breaking,” along with showing off public displays of affection and messy buns. On a recent visit to Sussex, Prince Harry even made one woman’s day life when he kissed her hand. And on one of the first days of their Australian tour, the couple broke protocol yet again by taking a photo with a fan who looked like a young Markle.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are halfway through their Australian tour, and over the weekend the palace revealed that Markle would be bowing out of some of her scheduled appearances for the rest of the trip. She opted to stay home and rest while Prince Harry presented the Invictus Game medals on Sunday morning, but thankfully she was there to witness the greatest hug of all time.

Related Stories:

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Simone Biles Called Out USA Gymnastics President for an Anti-Kaepernick Tweet


Simone Biles, record-breaking champion of the vault, is fresh off selection camp in preparation for the Doha, Qatar world championships—but that doesn’t mean she’s not keeping an eye on what people in her sport are talking about. On Saturday, she took to Twitter to call out a tweet by Mary Bono, a former Republican congresswoman from California who had just named the interim president and CEO of USA Gymnastics the day prior, in which she criticized Nike for its affiliation to Colin Kaepernick, the former NFL player who famously knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality and racism.

Biles had apparently been scrolling through to see what her sport’s new leader was up to (or had been up to) and noticed a tweet from Bono dating back to September, right after Nike launched its “Just Do It” campaign featuring Kaepernick. It consisted of a photo, presumably of Bono, marking out the Nike swoosh on a pair of shoes, in protest of the ad. The champion gymnast wasn’t about to let that moment slide: Biles issued an epic tweet of her own that resurfaced Bono’s original social message.

“mouth drop,” Biles replied to the tweet. “don’t worry, it’s not like we needed a smarter usa gymnastics president or any sponsors or anything”

Biles was presumably referring to past USA Gymnastics leadership—specifically, past president Steve Penny, who was a key figure in the Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal that rocked the gymnastics world earlier this year and was named in a damning ESPN report as one of the leaders who allegedly helped to cover up the rampant abuse. (She herself is one of the abuse survivors.) Plus, Biles has been sponsored by Nike.

A few hours after Biles’ response, Bono deleted the original tweet and issued an apology on the social media platform: “I regret the post and respect everyone’s views & fundamental right to express them. This doesn’t reflect how I will approach my position @USAGym I will do everything I can to help build, w/ the community, an open, safe & positive environment,” she wrote.

Bono also acknowledged that her Tweet—now a topic of conversation—wouldn’t exactly disappear: “Hey all, I know the Tweet will live on but have taken it down to move the focus to all I hope to accomplish on behalf of a great sport & those who are dedicated to it… I look forward to telling my gymnastics story, my vision for the future of the sport and why I wanted the job.”

Given that Bono’s tweet carried an implication of disdain toward people who have been victimized, it’s not a great look for a president coming in to carry forward an organization and team just recovering from sexual abuse scandal. A perfect 10 for Biles, though—as per usual.

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Former Team USA Gymnastics Doctor Larry Nassar Has Been Charged With Sexual Assault in Texas


Former U.S. gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was charged with six counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child on Friday, following an investigation conducted into an elite sports center owned by coaches Bela and Martha Karolyi. Nassar is already serving decades in prison after being found guilty of criminal sexual conduct and possession of child pornography in Michigan, where more than 100 victims recounted stories of abuse during court hearings.

The most recent charges came after five former gymnasts urged an investigation into the Karolyi ranch, which is located in a secluded area of the Sam Houston National Forest, north of Houston. Numerous Olympians have trained at the facility.

On Friday, prosecutors found no evidence of wrongdoing by the Karolyis, but did charge trainer Debra Van Horn with one count of sexual assault as an “acting as a party” with Nassar. Although a statutes of limitations prevented prosecutors from charging USA Gymnastics officials for neglecting to report abuse to authorities, Walker County assistant district attorney Stephanie Stroud shared a strong statement about the organization’s “total failure” to protect athletes.

“We are bound by the law, but that in no way means there was no wrongdoing at the ranch or within the ranks of USAG,” Stroud said. “It is our belief that there was a total failure by USAG to protect the athletes that were part of their program, and to take appropriate action once they were made aware of Dr. Nassar’s actions.”

It’s unclear if Nassar will face trial in Texas. Last month, Michigan State University agreed to pay $500 million to women Nassar abused while working at the university.

Related Stories:

Michigan State to Pay $500 Million in Settlements to Larry Nassar Abuse Victims

‘My Voice Matters’: 147 Survivors of Larry Nassar, In Their Own Words

Judge Sentences Larry Nassar to Another 40 to 125 Years in Prison



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Olympian Ariana Kukors Smith Sues USA Swimming, Alleges Sexual Abuse Cover-Up


Former Olympic swimmer Ariana Kukors Smith filed a civil lawsuit Monday in California against USA Swimming, the governing body of the sport, alleging that they covered up abuse she suffered at the hands of coach Sean Hutchison, the Associated Press reports.

Kukors Smith, who competed in the 2012 Olympics, first went public in February, alleging that Hutchison began abusing her when she was just 16 years old. According to CNN, she told Department of Homeland Security investigators that the abuse began in 2005 and that her former coach took thousands of sexually explicit photographs of her when she was a minor.

“I never thought I would share my story because I was able to leave a horrible monster and build a life I could have never imagined for myself,” she said in a statement at the time. “But in time, I’ve realized that stories like my own are too important to go unwritten.”

Hutchison has denied the allegations and said that the two later had a consensual relationship. In February, he released a statement through his attorney that stated, “I absolutely deny having any sexual or romantic relationship with her before she was old enough to legally make those decisions for herself. Prior to that time, I did nothing to ‘groom’ her.”

According to the AP, USA Swimming previously hired a private investigator to look into rumors of a relationship between the two in 2010, when Kukors Smith was 21. It closed the investigation without finding any misconduct.

In the new lawsuit, USA Swimming officials are accused of knowing about allegations of Hutchison having inappropriate relationships with underage swimmers, including Kukors Smith, who was 16 in 2005. It also alleges that they manipulated a background screening system to shield coaches accused of abuse. Also included in the lawsuit is former Olympic coach Mark Schubert in a mention that he failed to report “a reasonable suspicion of child abuse or endangerment.”

“Those at USA Swimming need to change the culture of protecting predator coaches over young and vulnerable athletes such as myself,” Kukors Smith said.



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