Who is Tianna Madison?

For all of you sport lovers out there, Tianna Madison is your average best performing athlete with a record of being on the track and basket-ball teams during High School. She had been on the High and Distinguished Rolls during all of her four years in Elyria High school and was named Gatorade Ohio High School Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year in 2003; during which she had appeared in the Faces of the Crowd section of Sports illustrated .

The state of Ohio owes many of it’s titles to Tianna Madison who had won not one but four events at a state championship in all of Ohio’s sport history. When you look deep into  Tianna Madison’s athletic life, everything seems to be going well for her as she is well performing for her track team being captain of it for three of the four years, as well by helping the team win four titles during those years.

Tianna Madison’s success did not stop in High school or College where she had won All-America honors for both Indoor and Outdoor long-Jumps, that not only helped her get selected for SEC Freshman Outdoor Field Events Athlete of the Year but also pave the way for her winnings and record setting for her team and herself; earning the World Champion in Long Jump in the year 2005.

Today , however, Tianna Madison’s name is not mentioned by the media for being the role model of young women through ‘Club 360′ ( Tianna is Founder and President of Club 360), which she established to empower young women to make educated decisions in their lives as well as providing programs through which they can combat unhealthy choices. She is neither being mentioned for the 1477 Facebook followers or the gold medal she brought home at the London Olympics but for the feud that resulted shortly after, between her parents and herself.

 

Family Feud?

Let’s admit that drama is somehow eye catching and ear rubbing for most us humans and this particular family drama has caught the attention of many, leaving us to ponder on what the outcome might be. But why has this Gold medal generated into a feud and not a family celebration?

Well, not all families are like the Brady Bunch where everything is perfect and dandy; and the Madison family is not one of those families at this time.Tianna Madison’s parents sued her on the grounds of the stories she allegedly spread of them saying that they were bullying and selfish parents.

Though we might find ourselves in the middle of a confusing misunderstanding, as we read into this story we are left to wonder if Tianna’s alleged statements to the media are somewhat true, after the lawsuits filed by her parents for a sum of more than 25 000$ each for punitive damages. Robert and Jo-Ann Madison say they had been nothing but loving and caring parents as most parents should be; when on the other hand Tianna accuses them of being everything but that. According to Tianna, they had been reckless with her finances and her private life by allowing a boy who had molested her into their home.

The lawsuits her parents have filed against Tianna Madison and her husband John Bartoletta has not been given an answer yet but it all started with a misunderstanding when her husband stated the mismanagement of Tianna’s finances by her parents. Though no lawsuit has been filed by Bartoletta, since March of 2012, the family has been at odds regarding the libel and mismanagement of finances.

For those of us who are simple bystanders or unconcerned parties the whole story leaves us with our jaws dropping to the floor as to which side to be on, for the simple fact that the Madison family had organized a rally for their daughter after her Gold medal in London which Tianna had not attended in her home town and because none of the allegations have yet been supported with facts or evidence.

What next?

We can only go so far back to try and understand how the Madison family misunderstanding started, it will still leaves us with unanswered questions on what the future of this family feud will bring. For the moment the only trials Tianna Madison and her family are facing are her athletic trials as she and her husband are thinking of having Tianna join the USA bobsled team.

Yet we still wonder where the rights and obligations of parents start and end as well as those of children? Where does respect, mutual understanding and love come into play when dealing with a 100 000$? Last but not least ,where and when does the media enter in these types of equations? And should caring and generous parents sue their own children for money which might show a different image than that of loving parents?