Jennifer Anne Sey (born 1969) is an American author, business executive, and retired artistic gymnast. She was a seven-time member of the United States women's national artistic gymnastics team and was the 1986 U.S. Women's All-Around National Champion. She was also a member of the 1985 U.S. Women's World Championship team that finished 6th, as well as the U.S. Women's Team at the 1986 Goodwill Games.[1] Following her gymnastics career, Sey entered the business world, and is presently the Founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics.[2] She developed a social media following due to her views around school closings during the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
Jennifer Sey | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Sey in 2024 | |
| Born | 1969 (age 54–55) |
| Alma mater | Stanford University (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Author, business executive, retired artistic gymnast |
| Employer | Levi Strauss & Co. |
Early life
editSey grew up in Cherry Hill, New Jersey and moved to Haddonfield, New Jersey, where she competed in gymnastics as a teenager and attended Haddonfield Memorial High School. In 1983 she moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania to train at the Parkettes National Gymnastics Training Center. She graduated from Allentown Central Catholic High School in 1987.[4] In the 1985 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Sey was hospitalized after fracturing her right femur. Sey then won the 1986 USA Gymnastics National Championships and deferred her college education to train for the 1988 Olympics. However, she decided not to enter the Olympic Trials owing to an injured left ankle which made it "physically impossible" to continue. After that disappointment, Sey lost her appetite for a while.[5]
In 1988, Sey enrolled at Stanford University.[5] She competed on the gymnastics team for one season in 1989 and graduated from Stanford in 1992 with a double bachelor's degree in political science and communication.[6][1]
Career
editSey began working at Levi Strauss & Co. in 1999, rising to chief marketing officer and brand president.[5][3] In February 2022, Sey resigned from Levi's after nearly 23 years at the company, over disputes with management.[3] Sey claims the resignation was in regard to her views on school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.[7] Throughout 2020 and 2021, she gained attention on Twitter and in the media as a critic of K-12 school closure.[8]
Sey is the author of Chalked Up, an autobiography of her time as an elite gymnast, and was one of the producers of Athlete A, a documentary on the Larry Nassar scandal at USA Gymnastics which won an Emmy for the 2020 Outstanding Investigative Documentary.[9] In November 2022, Sey published Levi's Unbuttoned: The Woke Mob Took My Job But Gave Me My Voice, an autobiography of her time at Levi's.
Since leaving Levi's, Sey has been a contributing author to the Brownstone Institute, a think tank that opposes various measures against COVID-19, including masking and vaccine mandates, and has written columns for the New York Post about the "woke mob" and cancel culture.[10] In February 2023, Sey compared the online harassment from speaking up about COVID-19 school closures to harassment from speaking up about abuse in sport.[11]
In March 2024, Sey started XX-XY Athletics, a sportswear company.[12] The brand's statement is that they want message "being brave, telling the truth, and protecting women’s sports".[12] The company was criticized for being "transphobic" and "anti-trans[gender]", due to their employment of brand ambassadors that were deemed "anti-trans" and the messaging of the organization.[13][14]
Personal life
editSey was a longtime resident of San Francisco before relocating to Denver, Colorado during the pandemic, where she now lives with her husband and four of her children.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c "How I went from elite gymnast to global brand president of Levi's". NBC News. June 25, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ "XX-YY Athletics - Our Founder". Retrieved May 26, 2024.
- ^ a b c Suddath, Claire (April 28, 2022). "How One Rogue Exec Thrust Levi's Into the Culture Wars". Bloomberg News. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ^ "Chalked Up: Inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams". silo.pub. June 20, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2022.
- ^ a b c Christian, Olivia (May 1, 2020). "Former Gymnastics Champ Jennifer Sey Speaks Out Against Abuses In Her Sport". Only a Game. WBUR. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
- ^ "All-Time Letterwinners". Stanford University. February 7, 2017. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
- ^ Picchi, Aimee (February 15, 2022). "Levi's Jennifer Sey resigns over pressure on views about COVID school closures". CBS News. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
- ^ Gallagher, Jacob (February 14, 2022). "Levi's Executive Jennifer Sey Resigns Citing Her Public Views on Covid-19 Restrictions". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ Jaipuriar, Rashika (October 1, 2021). "'Athlete A' wins Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
- ^ "Jennifer Sey, Author at Brownstone Institute". Brownstone Institute. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
- ^ Binion, Billy (February 2023). "Jennifer Sey Keeps Getting Canceled for Speaking Up". Reason. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Wightman-Stone, Danielle (March 26, 2024). "Jennifer Sey launches new activewear line". Fashion United. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ Lazine, Mira (March 26, 2024). "Ex-Levi's president launches anti-trans sports clothing brand XX-XY Athletics". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ Hayes, Britt (March 25, 2024). "Former Levi's Exec and COVID Denier Launches First Transphobic Clothing Line". The Mary Sue. Retrieved May 9, 2024.