Jeff Graba woke up early Thursday morning and tuned into the Olympics, where half a world away, Auburn signee Suni Lee was vying for the women’s all-around gold medal.
Lee put on the performance of a lifetime, finishing with a total score of 57.433 to edge out Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and give the Team USA its fifth consecutive gold in the sport’s premier event — even with reigning Olympic gold medalist and all-time great Simone Biles out of the finals due to a medical issue. It was a proud moment for Graba — whose brother, Jess, is Lee’s longtime coach and with her in Tokyo as part of Team USA — and also one of relief for the Auburn gymnastics coach.
“Just a very exciting morning for us,” Graba said. “Obviously, I woke up and watched one of my future athletes go win the gold medal, and I can’t say it’s surprising to us. We were preparing for her to win a medal this whole time, and we thought she had a shot at the gold. So, the simple fact that she followed through and does what she does, it’s an exciting day for Auburn gymnastics, for Suni Lee, for Midwest Gymnastics — which is my brother’s gym — and obviously for my brother and my family.”
A question lingered on the minds of many after Lee’s star-turning performance in Tokyo, though: Will the 18-year-old Olympic gold medalist still come to Auburn after that?
Lee is currently listed in Auburn University’s People Finder, and Graba confirmed Thursday afternoon that she is currently enrolled in classes for the fall semester, which begins Aug. 16 — eight days after the closing ceremonies of this summer’s Olympics.
“She still has to get on campus and go through all the other stuff; she’s been—busy,” Graba said with a chuckle. “But that’s the plan.”
That likely wouldn’t have been the case had Lee won gold in any prior year. Historically, that would have led to a gymnast of her caliber forgoing college and signing endorsement deals, capitalizing on the opportunity to cash in on the spotlight that comes with the Olympic glory. The recent shift in NCAA rules allowing college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness, however, is a game-changer on that front for a sport like gymnastics — which doesn’t have any real pro league and whose athletes rely on endorsement deals at that level.
Now, Lee can still attend college, compete at the SEC and NCAA level, as well as take advantage of her rapidly growing marketability with NIL. Thanks to NIL, Graba believes Lee will also be able to extend her career, because it will allow her to profit off her success while still training and competing at the college level for the next four years, with a chance to make a run at another world championship team or another Olympics.
“It’s a huge deal,” Graba said. “… Suni, in the past would have had to go pro. There’s just no doubt. She would’ve had to make that horrible decision. Her career is over then. You don’t go pro and then — you have to spend a year or two doing that stuff and then you have to decide if you’re making a comeback. In our sport, making a comeback is nearly impossible.”
It doesn’t have to be an either/or decision for Lee now. She can profit off her hard-earned Olympic gold medal — and the silver she won in the team final, and any future medals still to be won in the beam and uneven bars finals — and still go to school at Auburn and compete at a high level.
Graba said there are still things to figure out with Lee’s schedule for this semester -- including whether it would be best for her to take some online courses, given how busy her schedule will likely be after the Olympics, though he said “full-speed enrollment” on campus is still a possibility.
Either way, the expectation remains that the newly crowned Olympic all-around gold medalist will be an Auburn student this fall.
“She doesn’t have to make a horrible decision,” Graba said. “She’s capable of, in her words, ‘I want it all. I want to be able to do everything.’ Now she actually gets that shot.”
Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.
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Will Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee still attend Auburn? - AL.com
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