Gymnast who injured legs pleads for people to stop sharing video: "My pain is not your entertainment"
The star college gymnast who suffered severe leg injuries in a gruesome fall last week is asking everyone to stop sharing the video of the incident. Auburn University senior Samantha Cerio tweeted Wednesday, "My pain isn't your entertainment."
According to Cerio's gymnastics coach, Jeff Gramba, she underwent successful surgery earlier this week after both her knees were dislocated and multiple ligaments torn in the devastating tumble. Even though she's expected to make a full recovery, footage of her injuries is still hard to watch for her and her loved ones.
"Going through the pain and seeing my knees bent unnaturally in real life was horrible enough, but to continue to see it from videos/pictures because some people feel entitled to repost it is not okay," Cerio wrote in a note she shared on Twitter, CBS affiliate KFMB reports. She has since made her Twitter account private.
"I have family, friends, and teammates who do not need to see me getting injured over and over again," Cerio added. "My pain is not your entertainment."
Following her tweet, the Auburn gymnastics team's Twitter account shared a video featuring the aerospace engineering major. They wrote, "If there's any video you should watch of Sam Cerio, this is it."
If there's any video you should watch of @sam_cerio, this is it.
— Auburn Gymnastics (@AuburnGym) April 10, 2019
Like @AuburnPrez says, there could not be a better example of an Auburn woman than Sam! 🧡💙#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/LVSUx74fIu
During last week's NCAA regional gymnastics championships in Baton Rouge, Cerio was in the first pass of her floor routine when she took the brutal fall. Video of the injury shows she landed awkwardly on her legs after flipping through the air. Medical staff and trainers were treating her for almost 10 minutes before she was ultimately carted off the floor. The crowd gave her a standing ovation as she left. She is now recovering after having surgery.
Cerio, who hails from North Carolina, earned All SEC honors in 2017 and 2018. She announced earlier this week she's retiring from the sport she's practiced almost all her life. When she graduates in May, Cerio has a job lined up in Seattle with Boeing where she will be working on rockets as a structural design analysis engineer, according to her school's website.