Kara Eaker is a junior at the University of Utah. She competed for the Utah gymnastics team for the last two years and quickly became one of their top performers. However, Eaker has recently retired from the sport after alleged abuse from her coach, Tom Farden. 

Kara Eaker was easily one of the best gymnasts on the Utah gymnastics team. In her two years, she was a 2x first-team All-American on beam, first-team All-Pac-12 on beam, and scored two Perfect 10s. She was also selected as a Team USA alternate at the 2020 Olympic Games, is a four-year member of the USA National Team, and is a 2x World Champion. Her resume goes on for miles.

Nevertheless, it came as a shock when the star gymnast announced her retirement from the sport. In an Instagram post, Eaker posted the announcement and described the abuse she had faced during her time at Utah at the hands of the coaching staff. 

Two months ago, the University of Utah hired investigators to look into allegations of abuse from head coach Tom Fardin made by multiple student-athletes. 

According to the Salt Lake Tribune, the investigators determined that despite at least one derogatory comment, Farden did not abuse his athletes by definition. 

In Eaker's statement, she mentioned the investigation by saying “…It is incomplete at best, and I disagree with their findings. I don't believe it has credibility, because the report omits crucial evidence and information and the few descriptions used are inaccurate.” 

In the post, Eaker also notes examples of abuse from her coach including yelling and cursing when she made a mistake, slamming mats on the ground as a form of intimidation, and humiliating Eaker to the point of tears in front of her team. 

Where are all of the good coaches?

Every athlete enters the college world with hope and excitement about what is to come for them in their next four years. 

However, far too many athletes face the scary truth that not every college coach is a good one. 

Most coaches come across as super friendly and kind during recruiting visits, so how can you know which ones are the bad ones?

You have to do the research. During your recruiting visits try to pry the current athletes and alumni about what they really think of their coach. You should also look at the ratings on 2aDays. With anonymous ratings, athletes are not scared to say what they really think of their coach.

The recruiting process is hard and stressful, but you need to be thorough. With all the abusive coaches out there, it's hard to tell that there are good ones too. They really do exist, you just have to know the right people to ask and use the right resources. 

Image Credit: @_karaeaker/Instagram