"Incredibly Disrespectful Move"- Fans react to Kathy Johnson Clarke's Retirement before Gymnastics Nationals

The gymnastics world is hooked to the 2024 NCAA gymnastics championships currently. However, Kathy Johnson Clarke's retirement has captivated more attention than the gymnasts and their performances. Her decision to retire from ESPN right before the final game has raised several eyebrows.

Kathy Johnson Clarke has played a significant role in the field of gymnastics. After delivering stellar performances and early retirement, she put her vast knowledge of the sport to use and built a career as an ESPN sports commentator.

Johnson Clarke, now 64, decided to draw curtains on her career but the decision was not well received by her fans. Aly Raisman, who signed a one-year contract with ESPN earlier this year, will replace Clarke in the commentator's box.

Fans expressed dissent towards Kathy Johnson Clarke not being present for the finals. One of them said,

"Aly is wonderful and I’m glad to have her as a commentator for NCAA, but KJC deserved to call nationals, in person. You don’t retire your star player before the final game. Incredibly disrespectful move by."

Another fan echoed a similar sentiment by saying that Kathy Johnson Clark is the 'greatest' and she deserved to call her retirement after the nationals.

"KJC is the GREATEST, she deserves to end her career calling Nationals. Something smells rotten in the state of Denmark."

Another gymnastics enthusiast had a special request as he wanted to see Bart and Kathy have one last in-person meeting together.

"Isn’t it on again this year? Perhaps all Gym fans should petition repeatedly for Bart and Kathy to have one last in-person meet together. You don’t end the top pairing at a regional event. Deserves star billing."

One of the fans opined saying that having the two powerful gymnasts together would have been great.

"Having them together would honestly have been so great. All women, with one passing the torch to the other."

Kathy Johnson Clarke reveals reason behind her retirement before NCAA Gymnastics finals

Recently, there have been controversies around unfair judging at the NCAA. Clarke cleared the air by stating that she was not quitting because of those reasons.

Taking to her X (formerly Twitter) account, Clarke expressed:

"To be clear, I'm not quitting broadcasting because of judging or nonsensical scores that don't align with or reflect the Code of Points, making it obsolete. I am retiring because I am retired as irrelevant, a relic from the past. And I am okay with that now, I promise."

She also mentioned her desire to leave her company with greater dignity. In addition, Clarke said that she would be stepping away after a few pending meets and also wished all the gymnasts luck going forward.

"I would've preferred to bow out more gracefully, but at least I took back ownership of my retirement as if it belonged to me. I will be happy and relieved to be stepping away after my few remaining meets, and then I'll wish everyone in NCAA Gymnastics "Godspeed!" Onward & Upward".

Moving forward, the finals will feature Aly Raisman, the retired American artistic gymnast and two-time Olympian.