Duluth girl disqualified from swim meet for wearing 'Black Lives Matter' suit

DULUTH — Leidy Gellona spent this past Saturday with her mom purchasing iron-on letters, cutting them out and carefully affixing the phrase "Black Lives Matter" to the bathing suit she'd wear during the next day's swim meet.

The 12-year-old Duluth girl, who is Black, was devastated by the news of the death of Amir Locke, who was killed by police Feb. 2 in Minneapolis. The bathing suit statement, said her mother, Sarah Lyons, was her show of support and her way of working through her sadness.

"She was really proud of it," Lyons said.

But at the Duluth YMCA-sponsored meet in Superior, Wis., on Sunday, Leidy was told by an official that she must change out of the suit or be disqualified.

The first-year swimmer refused to change, Lyons said, and was told she couldn't compete. While quick intervention from the YMCA and the Duluth branch of the NAACP overturned the decision, "There is obviously trauma and damage done," Lyons said.

"She was sobbing. There is an emotional toll, and I don't think we talk often enough about the trauma that comes from these kinds of situations," she said. "The outpouring of support has been awesome, but it came at the expense of a 12-year-old having to be singled out, having to be reminded that she's seen differently."

The Superior High School event was officiated by USA Swimming. The volunteer head official told the girl her suit violated a USA Swimming political language policy, said Sara Cole, president of the Duluth YMCA.

Leaders from the nonprofit were notified and "swiftly disputed" the official's interpretation of policy, overruling the decision and removing the official from her post. Leidy, who had already dressed to go home, was reinstated. She returned to the pool to compete in her remaining events.

"Our No. 1 concern is always supporting the youth and families we serve at the YMCA, and yesterday we felt we were able to do that," Cole said, noting the official wouldn't be asked back to future meets.

Lyons, who said other coaches and officials were supportive of Leidy but still deferred to the head official, had called Duluth NAACP President Classie Dudley when her daughter was told she couldn't participate wearing her suit. Dudley, who had just returned from Minneapolis where she had protested the Locke shooting, went to the meet to intervene, mobilizing supporters and sharing the incident on social media.

The YMCA handled the situation well, she said, but Leidy shouldn't have been put in the position of "refusing to take off her suit" for displaying a phrase about human rights.

"That was bravery beyond what I can comprehend, but I am hurting for her because at 12 years old she shouldn't have to be that brave," Dudley said.

She noted the official at one point changed her reason to disqualify the swimmer from making a political statement to displaying a logo. Neither claim was accurate, Dudley said.

It would have been helpful, she said, if more coaches, parents and officials had voiced support for Leidy, who was one of the few Black people at an event of several hundred.

"We can all use it as a great learning moment," Dudley said.

A statement from the YMCA said it will continue to train all staff and volunteers on diversity, equity and inclusion, and "hold independent officials accountable" for systemic racism education.

"The Duluth Area Family YMCA is committed to being an anti-racist organization and stands with [Black, Indigenous, people of color] communities throughout the Northland and throughout the country," the statement says.

Lyons, who said she'd received a call of support from L.A. Laker LeBron James on Monday, said both USA Swimming and the YMCA's websites talk about the Black Lives Matter movement.

"This is an opportunity for both of those organizations to not practice performative ally-ship but really step up and show what they are going to do differently and where their values are," she said.