"I admittedly lacked some of the tools" - Coach and former Utah gymnast apologizes for abusive behavior during Stanford tenure

Former Utah gymnast and coach, Lisa Mitzel recently apologized to a gymnast named Tracey Kohl for her abusive behavior while training at Stanford. Moreover, the 59-year acknowledged similar experiences of gymnasts Kara Eaker and Kim Tessen, who also came out with abuse issues in the last few days.

Several gymnasts, who experienced abusive coaching at gymnasiums and respected universities, have recently come out. This became a hot topic when two-time world champion, Kara Eaker opened up about her abhorrent coaching experiences at Utah Gymnastics.

She accused the team’s coach, citing verbal and emotional abuse and also accused the university for the lack of their support. The events reportedly affected the 20-year-old to such an extent that she announced her retirement from the sport.

Kara Eaker’s courageous reveal inspired many gymnasts to confront their abusive experiences. Recently, a senior gymnast named Tracey Kohl also called out coach Lisa Mitzel for abusive coaching on Facebook.

Mitzel was a coach at the Stanford University in her 30s. Besides being a part of the reputed institution, she has also been an elite gymnast at Utah University and served as its head coach for some time.

When Kohl called out Mitzel for her abusive behavior at Stanford University, the former gymnastics coach immediately issued an apology through her Instagram account.

In the post, she acknowledged that her words and behavior might have negatively affected some gymnasts during her coaching tenure at Stanford University in the 90s.

She shared that she was deeply saddened when Tracey Kohl addressed her feelings on Facebook and would like to sincerely apologize to her. She also proposed the former gymnast talk about her issues with constructive dialogue and seek solutions and healing.

The Utah and Standford coach also added:

“I admittedly lacked some of the tools and life experiences to effectively address personal and sensitive issues. If my words caused hurt to anyone, I am genuinely sorry.”

Furthermore, Lisa Mitzel also mentioned the abusive experiences that young Utah gymnasts Kara Eaker and Kim Tessen had to face under the guidance of coach Tom Farden. She urged the sports community to be more sensitive and considerate toward the mental health of gymnasts.

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Kim Tessen opens up on her abusive coaching experiences at Utah Gymnastics

Recently, Utah gymnast Kim Tessen came out in solidarity with Kara Eaker about her abusive coaching experience at the university.

In her Instagram post, she revealed that initially, the university promised her a “caring, family-type environment with an understanding coach.” However, the gymnast faced the absolutely opposite of what she had expected. Coaches would draw comparisons among the gymnasts in the team, affecting their unity.

Tessen revealed that she bore extreme criticism from Tom Farden, who would reportedly suggest negative consequences to gymnasts if they did not eat or look a certain way.

Lastly, she added:

"I was verbally attacked without any signs of sympathy several times."