News that Mary Lou Retton was arrested on a DUI charge earlier this month in West Virginia is sure to raise new questions about what’s happened in recent years to the decorated Olympic gymnast who once came as close to anyone to defining the idea of America’s sweetheart.
People magazine and other outlets reported Monday that Retton, 57, was arrested May 17 in Marion County, West Virginia, according to court records. Retton, a native of Fairmont, a city in Marion County, was booked on suspicion of one count of “driving under influence of alcohol, controlled substances, or drugs,” WBOY.com also reported. The gold medalist at the 1984 Olympics was issued a personal recognizance bond of $1,500, which she posted that same day.
Retton’s arrest comes in the 19 months since she sparked both concern and controversy after her four daughters announced in October 2023 that she had been hospitalized in Texas for a rare and potentially deadly form of pneumonia. Her daughters said she was “fighting for her life,” as they launched an online fundraising campaign to help cover her bills for what turned out to be a month-long hospital stay. The controversy erupted when her daughters said they needed the money because their mother didn’t have health insurance.
While the spotfund.com campaign initially raked in $200,000 in its first day — and $459,000 total — some in the public and the media began to ask why someone as famous and presumably wealthy as Retton didn’t have health insurance.
Two months after Retton’s health crisis, she sat for an interview with the “Today” show in early 2024, saying that the “bottom line” is that she couldn’t afford health insurance. She blamed her plight on the COVID-19 pandemic, her 2018 divorce and pre-existing conditions from multiple surgeries over the years from sports-related injuries.
But criticism continued to grow over the view that Retton and her daughters had not been forthcoming about her financial challenges, her reasons for not having insurance and how they used the $459,000 from the spotfund.com campaign.
After Retton made history in 1984 by becoming the first American woman to win a gold medal in individual all-around gymnastics, she became an international celebrity and signed seemingly lucrative endorsement deals, including as the first female athlete to ever be featured on the front of Wheaties cereal boxes. She served as a commentator for NBC at the 1988 Olympics, wrote a daily column for USA Today during the 1992 and 1996 Olympics, co-hosted a TV series and competed on “Dancing With the Stars.”
In 2018, Retton also received $2 million in her divorce settlement, the Daily Mail reported, and was poised to potentially earn $2 million more in compensation over a legal dispute with the manufacturer of her two metal hip replacements.
USA Today columnist Christine Brennan wrote that Retton and her daughters had shown an “unwillingness to answer the most basic questions about her health care.” Brennan said those questions naturally arose because Retton’s daughters had sought public donations.
Later in 2024, Retton sat for another interview, this time from Entertainment Tonight. Retton hit back at those who questioned the need for the crowdsourcing campaign. She also appeared perplexed by those who asked for accountability on how the $459,000 had been spent.
“They didn’t deserve that,” Retton said about the criticism of her daughters launching the spotfund.com campaign. “They were just trying to take care of me.”
“I don’t care about the naysayers,” Retton also said. “There are trolls everywhere. It’s what makes us America. Everybody’s got an opinion.”