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Tom Forster slammed after women's gymnastic team comes 2nd in qualifying at Olympics: 'Fire him'

Tom Forster, who has been receiving criticism on social media following the performance, acknowledged that it was a challenging start for US gymnasts

Women's gymnastics, one of the most popular Olympic sports, saw empty stands thanks to strict coronavirus measures in Tokyo that allow only journalists and people linked to teams to watch games in person. But the lack of applause for the US women’s team had other reasons as well. 

The US women's gymnastic team experienced a rough Day one at the Olympics in Tokyo. And people are blaming US high-performance coordinator Tom Forster as USA came 2nd in the qualifying round. ROC came out one point ahead in the total team score: 171.62 to 170.56. The US team hadn’t placed second in the qualifying round or in the final since 2010.

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"I feel we did a pretty good job. Obviously, there are little things we need to work on, so we'll go back and practice and work on that, just so we can do our best performance at team finals because that's what matters," gymnast Simone Biles, who stepped off the mat twice by mistake — once in the floor exercise and in one of her vaults — told reporters. Grace McCallum had a bounce out of bounds. Sunisa Lee, who will compete in the all-around final, landed short on her final tumbling pass. Jordan Chiles fell twice on beam.

Forster, who has been receiving criticism on social media following the performance, acknowledged to the press that it was a challenging start for the team. "We had great performances today and some not-so-great ones. But the errors that we made I think are mental because the girls have been training incredibly well," he said. 

“Just like in any other sport, great athletes drop the ball in the end zone or a quarterback throws an interception,” Forster said. “It happens.” Forster also praised the performance of the ROC team. "What a transformation they've made since 2019," he said. "They're way deeper, they were cleaner...yeah, they did really well."

On Twitter, many are calling for Forster to be sacked. “It’s inevitable when you don’t take the highest-scoring team. Fire Tom Forster. This should show us how worlds 2021 will go,” tweeted one person. “Hey @USAGym fire Tom Forster,” tweeted another person. “Ultimately, I think the US still wins gold, which will make it seem like everything was fine and dandy, but it isn't. The best team wasn't taken. They are leaving medals on the table because of the way the team was composed. Bad job by Tom Forster and the Selection Committee,” tweeted a disappointed fan. 

“It’s almost like with team and individuals, two per country, and all the other Olympic rules that require utilizing strategy, USING NO STRATEGY WASN’T A GOOD IDEA. Tom Forster bet they were good enough it wouldn’t bite him in the a**. Well... IT DID,” tweeted one person. Another person tweeted, “Tom Forster is making a mess of things, yes. But make no mistake: winning fewer medals is in every way, shape, and form, FAR LESS IMPORTANT than not abusing young women. It's not an either-or. It's not one or the other. But NOT ABUSING GIRLS is the priority.” One tweet against Forster read: “I know y'all wont believe this but I do try not to be a bitch all of the time, & I say this from the bottom of my heart: I hope Tom Forster is having the worst day of his life & hiding in a broom closet crying only to be found by Lisa Spini. What happens after that is in god's hands.”