LOS ANGELES — The black T-shirts read "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere," but the message meant to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. during UCLA's season-opening meet rang hollow for several Bruins gymnasts.
Wearing matching T-shirts did little to cloak wounds from months of internal strife within the UCLA program. After two gymnasts told The Los Angeles Times a teammate used a racial slur, which prompted a university response that some gymnasts of color found to be insufficient, the Bruins produced their worst team score in seven years. Senior Margzetta Frazier, along with a teammate who spoke with The Times on condition of anonymity because she feared repercussions, described a negative atmosphere and cracks within the famously joyful facade of one of the nation's most visible and successful programs.
The rift deepened to the point that Frazier and fellow senior Norah Flatley tweeted at UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond for help on Jan. 20.
