See Why This Jumper's Career Was Thwarted by a Controversial Photo

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Allison Stokke's Controversial Picture

We live in a world defined by still images. Most of the information we receive is filtered through these silent visuals, and the amount of power a single photograph can have is near-astronomical. Celebrities and public figures, in particular, are no strangers to this notion. Careers have lived and died by the photos which document them. There’s a lesson to be learned here, and the story we’re about to tell has a certain allegorical quality to it, though we’ll leave that bit up to you, dear reader. With all the heady notions of didactic allegory out of the way, we hope you’re still interested. 

Click NEXT to discover how an athlete’s career was forever changed by one controversial photo.

Meet Allison Stokke

Hailing from Southern California, one might say that athleticism was in Allison Stokke’s blood. Almost everyone in her family had some history with the sporting world and, as a result, were always supportive of Allison’s own athletic inclinations. Initially, the young Stokke did her best to follow her brother’s footsteps, who had become a renowned national youth gymnast. And though she would never receive the same acclaim her brother had garnered in that particular sporting realm, she would eventually discover a sport of her own where she might leave her mark.

A Bright Future

It wasn’t long before Allison discovered pole-vaulting, which quickly became her passion and focus. While she was a natural athlete, she was also persistent and worked hard to eventually become one of the most promising young pole vaulters while she was still in high school. She seemed destined for greatness. But the path to success is paved with misfortune and danger and can often lead to failure if you aren’t careful - Allison was about to find this out for herself.

A State Champion

Before she would learn her lesson, Allison would first go on to achieve further greatness in 2004, when she broke the national record for freshman pole vaulters, at 12 feet and seven inches. But that wasn’t enough for the young Stokke because that following year, she broke the record once more, this time coming in at 13 feet and 5 inches. To no one’s surprise at all, she won the gold medal at the California state championship.

With Every Rise, a Fall

Hot off the heels of her new-found success, Stokke no doubt felt the need to try and out-do herself. After all, complacency has a way of snuffing out the flame of success. One day, while at practice, Stokke decided to try out a larger pole than she was used to, and as a result, she miscalculated how high she would need to jump over the bar as she propelled herself forward. And disaster ensued.

Benched

It’s amazing how much of an effect one small error in one’s judgment can have. Stokke’s underestimation of how high she needed to jump left her with a broken ankle after she landed on a concrete box. Because of this, she could not compete in the state championship again that following year and immediately went for surgery to repair the damage. She was, for all intents and purposes, decommissioned and out of order for the next six months. But things were about to change.

Back in Action

Allison’s body had been built to withstand and overcome a whole lot more than a broken ankle, and she quickly recovered from her injury. In her senior year of high school, she was once again declared the state champion, earning herself a scholarship to UC Berkeley. But, as we’ve said before, with every rise comes a fall, and Allison was about to fall harder than ever.

New York, New York

When she was 17, Stokke flew to New York for another pole-vaulting competition, which turned out to be a highly publicized event. A track and field website based out of her own native California documented and photographed the event, including the young Stokke’s warm-up routine. One of these images quickly caught the public’s eye, and Stokke’s life was forever changed.

The Photo

The photo in question (which we’ve included above) shows the young Stokke tying up her hair, a pole leaning on her shoulder, presumably waiting for the competition to commence. The photo itself does not seem like something that could cause such a stir, but it did, thanks to one particular blog.

The Blog and What It Said

While we won’t go into the particulars, the blog - called With Leather - commented on Stokke’s physical appearance, rather inappropriately. Needless to say, this left many with a sour taste in their mouths - through no fault of Stokke herself. Sports fans everywhere were left with an uncomfortable feeling concerning the young athlete.

Barely Legal

The owner of the blog, Matt Ufford, quickly rose to defend himself after receiving significant backlash because of Stokke’s age at the time the photo was taken. She was seventeen, after all, and the comments Matt made concerned her physical appearance, which he described as “sexy”. In his defense, he claimed that he posted the blog entry some two months after the photo had actually been taken, meaning that Stokke had since turned eighteen and was now “legal”. It was a shaky defense at best and an appalling justification at worst.

The Photo Goes Viral

Within weeks, the photo - and the discussion surrounding it - had gone viral all across social media. Several major publications, too, had joined the fray, including the LA Times and The Sydney Herald. Much of the buzz came from the discourse surrounding the morality of Ufford’s actions, his words regarding the underage Stokke. Following this, the owner of the photo decided to take legal action.

The Pain It Hath Wrought

In an attempt to mitigate some of the effects of the attention Stokke was now receiving, the original photographer tried to sue Ufford. But it was too late. The photo had already spread like wildfire across the Internet and several publications. There was no way the photographer could retract it. And the damage, as they say, had already been done, leaving the young Stokke to deal with the pain it hath wrought.

Unwanted Attention

Stokke had never conceived of the idea of being recognized outside of her athletic bubble. The sudden wave of attention caught her off-guard, and she began to receive requests for photoshoots and invitations for interviews. Under different circumstances, this media coverage may have been a good thing for the young up-and-coming athlete. But these were not different circumstances. Before too long, Stokke’s parents stepped in in an effort to mitigate some of the damage which had already been done.

Meet the Parents

Allan and Cindy Stokke thought that the services of a media consultant might be enough to help both Allison and her family navigate the situation. Allison also uploaded a video to YouTube wherein she discussed her passion for pole-vaulting, a sport to which she had dedicated a lot of her young life to. She had hoped to divert the attention away from her physical appearance and direct it back to her physical abilities and athleticism.

Backfire

Unfortunately, this video did not quite have the effect Allison had wanted. Tragically, in trying to draw attention away from her looks, she received even more comments about her physical appearance. The video’s comments section was filled with inappropriate remarks about how she looked, and photographers continued to show up at each of her events like ghouls. Soon, entire forums and pages were created solely to “admire” the young athlete’s physical appearance.

Unbearable

It all seemed too much. Stokke and her parents openly discussed their feelings on the matter, particularly their disgust for the posts they saw and what people were saying. Allison herself felt especially frustrated at the level of infamy she had received. In an interview with the Washington Post, she said that besides the legality (or lack thereof) concerning the comments originally made by Matt Ufford, the entire experience felt demeaning for her because of how hard she had worked for a different kind of fame and recognition. Despite her obvious skill and talent in the sporting world, nobody paid any mind to that.

Improvising, Adapting, Overcoming

Stokke ended up attending UC Berkeley after all, and proved to be a stellar student, as well as being able to recapture some of the glory she had lost, proving that there was far more to her than the pretty face she had been painted with. As a student, she broke several records during her freshman year, and in her second year, she was declared to be one of the best pole-vaulting athletes in the Pac-12 conference. Things, as it seemed, were turning around for her once more. You can’t keep a good sportswoman down for long.

Here, At the End of All Things

Shortly after, Stokke competed for a spot on the 2012 US Olympic team in London but ended up falling just short of qualification. Despite the bevy of success she had achieved in college, Stokke decided to end her pole-vaulting career then and there, signifying the end of an era in her life. But, as it has always been, an ending also means a new beginning, and Stokke quickly made a name for herself in a different kind of industry.

A New Beginning

Sometimes, rather than avoid them completely, your best bet for any hope of survival is to roll with the punches. Allison had received blows in her short career that could have easily been a knock-out. But Stokke was better than that, smarter too. Rather than reject the fame she had received due to her looks, she decided to embrace it all and began modeling for some huge sports brands, including Nike, Uniqlo, and Athleta. She also landed a deal with GoPro for a YouTube series, which showcased her and her sporting abilities.

All’s Well That End’s Well

Having found sure-footing for herself once more, Stokke was able to recover from the ordeal which had plagued her at the height of her athletic career. She began dating Rickie Fowler, a man who shared a similar sporting background with her, also becoming an acclaimed sportsman at a young age. He had become the number one amateur golfer in the world and finally went pro at the age of 21. He was also a native of Southern California. Clearly, birds of a feather will indeed flock together. Needless to say, they quickly hit it off.

A Match Only Heaven Could Make

After a year of dating, the young couple announced their engagement and quickly earned a reputation for being a match made in heaven. They were the William and Kate of the sporting world (or Harry and Meghan, if you’re so inclined) without the massive fanfare. In October of 2019, they were married in a quiet ceremony surrounded by their family and close friends and then embarked on a well-deserved Honeymoon.

The Honeymoon Mystery

The wedding ceremony itself was held in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, but the location of the couple’s honeymoon has become a well-guarded secret, prompting plenty of unnecessary speculation. One report claims that Puma - a brand that sponsors Rickie - sent a company jet for him and Allison and flew them to Cape Town, South Africa. But again, all of this remains hollow speculation.

Happily Ever After

Stokke currently enjoys a lucrative career as a fitness model and influencer. This has given her a strong platform upon which to inspire millions of people across the world. And although her focuses have since shifted from the sport which put her on the map, she now voices her many thoughts, opinions, and ideas. She also gets to spend plenty of time with her husband.

The Lesson

We started off our story with the implication that there’s a lesson to be learned from all of this. As is the case for many female athletes, Stokke spent a great deal of time enduring demeaning comments about her appearance, time she could have spent participating in the sport that she loved. And although she managed to make the best of a bad situation, there’s no guarantee that others like her would be able to pull that off. Therefore, the lesson is this: don’t be a d***.