For more than two decades, a wall inside Brown University’s Pizzitola Sports Center carried the names of the people who had been part of the gymnastics program. Created in 2004 by former gymnast Melissa Forziat, the legacy wall became a tradition, with generations of gymnasts, coaches, and staff adding their names. That tradition ended on September 11, when the wall was painted white and around 250 names disappeared. And now, this decision has upset former members of the program, with Forziat among those speaking out about the loss of a piece of Brown gymnastics history.
Speaking about its removal, Forziat, who competed for Brown from 2001 to 2005, said, “I think it’s insulting … I think that the purpose of the wall was to be inclusive, to honor the legacy of this team, to honor every person who’s contributed,” Forziat said.
Forziat’s concern is also tied to the way the change happened. She said the gymnastics community was not given advance notice before the names were covered, leaving former members to discover that a piece of their shared history was suddenly gone. Among the names lost was that of Jackie Court, Brown’s first gymnastics head coach, who died in 2020. Court led the program for 32 years and was later inducted into the Brown Athletic Hall of Fame…