#at least suni has the hardware to comfort her

[viktoriakomova]

i know this is going to come off as very harsh which is why im saying it here and nowhere else (dont be an asshole and screenshot + repost on gymtwt, or at least if u do crop my url out lmao) but i feel like this is a Safe Space fully separated from the figurative algorithmic orbit of gymnasts' social media activity bc there are like 40 of us here max and Todays Teens dont use this platform at all

addison fatta is fucking ridiculous ive never seen an elite gymnast be so openly emotionally enmeshed with the gymternet and responsive to its opinion of her. not gymnastics journalists/media/commentators, peanut gallery gym fans as a whole. she actively combs through quote retweets for mentions of herself, even oblique mentions that take care to refer to her by initials in case she name searches (i already think that practice is infantilizing and asinine but thats a whole different thing, and this ordeal ironically undercuts the purpose of it lmao). shes even worse than suni and thats REALLY saying something.

fans are not responsible for your self esteem. if you link your self worth in any way to what random strangers who live inside your phone, ones who are not in your comments/replies/mentions directly shitting on you but are just discussing you beyond your direct gaze as an athlete, happen to think of you and your athletic career, that ultimately falls on you. you chose to be a senior international elite gymnast. and further, you're the one choosing to do elite for one more season. with exposure comes scrutiny. it's a package deal.

you cannot be aiming to earn a place to compete at the US olympic trials in 10 months and still expect to be treated by the whole entire universe with kid gloves. you are an elite athlete. grow up or log off.