GoFundMe?

[simpleSimon]

Did anyone else think it odd that Mary Lou Retton, now 55, (aka "America's Sweetheart") and the first woman to grace the cover of the Wheaties box wound up begging for money to pay her medical bills?  Her daughter started a gofundme with a target of $50k and they quickly raised more than $420k.  Why wouldn't someone like MLR not have health insurance or be able to pay her own way?  The family was quick to request privacy when faced with such questions; that brings me to another thing that annoys me about some gofundme efforts.  People are quick to ask for privacy even as they ask for money.  If privacy is your primacy concern then keep you money troubles to yourself and pay your own way—do NOT turn to the public and beg. If you are going to beg the public you should be prepared to answer some obvious questions.


Mary Lou Retton's lack of insurance raises questions as crowdfunding reaches $421,000
https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/10/11/mary-lou-rettons-lack-of-insurance-raises-questions-as-crowdfunding-passes-250000/

[lightning]

You only have to scam people once in your life, to become a multi-millionaire. I'm guessing that was the intent of MLR and the family of MLR, but 1/2 million didn't really get them anywhere near their goal.

[nebo113]

I wondered the same thing.  NO INSURANCE!?!?!?

[dismalist]

As long as giving money on Gofundme is voluntary, I see no problem.

[kaysixteen]

No problem?  Individual private citizens/ families should no more be allowed to scam people on GoFundMe than big corporations can on tv commercials.

[Ruralguy]

Many former athletes blow through their money very quickly. Also, in those days, I don't think even someone as well known would have even made that much total. She was an amateur athlete, then had a few sponsorships that were likely gone in less than 4 years until the next star came a long.

I wouldn't be surprised if many former athletes have no insurance even if they have money. Those with money just pay as they go. The ones without just suffer.

I'm not saying that I know that this *isn't* a scam. I just wouldn't be surprised if it were completely honest.

[Wahoo Redux]

I am willing to believe Wikipedia for the big picture since it cites its sources.

This is what it says about MLR's endorsements:

Compensated endorsements
During the 1990s, Retton worked as a spokeswoman, appearing in advertisements for the U.S. drugstore chain Revco.[21]

Retton has many commercial endorsements, including bowling and shampoo.[22] She was the first female athlete to be pictured on the front of a Wheaties box, and General Mills stated that Wheaties sales improved after her appearance.[23][24][25] In 2019, Retton became a spokesperson for Australian Dream, a pain relief cream. She is a frequent analyst for televised gymnastics and attended The University of Texas at Austin after the Olympics.[26]

On Amazon, Australian Dream cream ranks

Best Sellers Rank: #8,197 in Health & Household (See Top 100 in Health & Household)
#34 in Joint & Muscle Pain Relief Rubs
#1,266 in Sales & Deals

So, okay, it sells, but this is hardly like an endorsement for American Express or another Fortune 500 company, and that was almost 25 years ago.  I've never heard of "Revco." 

She has had some sporadic media appearances, and I think these would pay far less than we might expect them to:

Film and TV appearances
1985: ABC Funfit; hosted a series of five-minute segments on physical fitness which were broadcast between Saturday morning cartoons.[29]
1988: Scrooged; as herself.[30]
1992: Knots Landing; as herself in the episode "Letting Go".[31]
1993: Baywatch; in the episode "The Child Inside".[32]
1994: An Evening at the Improv; as herself.[33]
1994: Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult; as herself.[34]
2002: Mary Lou's Flip Flop Shop.[35]
2010: Glee; in the episode "Grilled Cheesus" Sue Sylvester refers to Mary Lou Retton as her worst enemy.[36]
2014: RadioShack Super Bowl XLVIII commercial "The '80s Called"; cameo appearance.[37]
2018: Appeared as a contestant on 27th season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Sasha Farber. Eliminated Week 6 – 9th Place[38]

Honestly, I think the world kind of forgot about MLR until this business. 

I don't know if she has been working 9-to-5 somewhere, but it is believable that she is out of money.  Many Americans can't put their hands on more than $400 at one time anymore. 

[ciao_yall]

MLR did ads for Depends. And she is younger than me.

Boy, that was depressing.

[kaysixteen]

She did have a 9k sq ft mansion in Houston she was offering for sale last year.   She had to have some assets.

It is of course possible this is scam, perpetrated by one or more of her children whilst she was unconscious.

[Wahoo Redux]

She did have a 9k sq ft mansion in Houston she was offering for sale last year.   She had to have some assets.

It is of course possible this is scam, perpetrated by one or more of her children whilst she was unconscious.

Well, if she did have millions, and this is her house, we might see where her fortune went.

[simpleSimon]

She did have a 9k sq ft mansion in Houston she was offering for sale last year.   She had to have some assets.

It is of course possible this is scam, perpetrated by one or more of her children whilst she was unconscious.

Well, if she did have millions, and this is her house, we might see where her fortune went.

This does NOT pass the smell test. I wonder if her donors would have been so quick to donate had they seen photos of the 9000 sq ft mansion she listed for sale last year.  She literally had millions in endorsements!  Where did that money go?  And why didn't she have health insurance at a time when the Affordable Care Act makes it effectively available to everyone?  I wish her good health, but this solicitation for cash has the stench of chicanery and/or inexcusable irresponsibility.

[Wahoo Redux]

See, I would be a little hesitant to pass judgment just yet----I mean, she sold the house, right?  Which sounds like money problems for a rich person.

As I said, it looks to me like she may have made a boatload of money 30 years ago, but where has she been since?  Even millions fritter away if you are living the lifestyle of the rich and famous.  Johnny Depp I would absolutely be suspicious of. Mary Lou is famous for my generation, but after that, Mary Who?  And then one gets sick...  I know that my dad's cancer treatments cost almost a million dollars; even if he sold everything in his estate, he wouldn't have been able to pay all that; insurance actually worked the way it is supposed to.

Maybe this is somebody's scam.  Or maybe not.

https://www.jacksonprogress-argus.com/arena/parade/mary-lou-rettons-net-worth-in-2023-and-why-she-had-to-crowdfund-her-medical/article_db3bcf78-9243-5c3a-bc3a-f5cf03d49869.html

[clean]

IF ONLY there was a law that would require people from all walks of life and incomes to have health insurance so that they do not become burdens to society. The government could even subsidize low income people afford the policies. 

(Oh wait.... it was struck down) 

[marshwiggle]

IF ONLY there was a law that would require people from all walks of life and incomes to have health insurance so that they do not become burdens to society. The government could even subsidize low income people afford the policies. 

(Oh wait.... it was struck down) 

Or, the government could even PAY for it for everyone from general revenue. Can you imagine if any country on earth tried that???

(Oh wait.... almost all of them do) 

[dismalist]

The Affordable Care Act is still on the books. Nothing was "struck down" by a court. Rather, the "'tax' on not having insurance" was voted out of the law.

While there is a moral hazard argument for coercion here, the Act has nevertheless been effective. Lower income people are indeed subsidized. In 2022 92.1% of the population had some form of health insurance.

Share with health insurance

To return to Gofundme, the lady not having health insurance is anomalous. But no deception was undertaken, and as I said, donating was voluntary. So this is a non-problem.