Fab Five gymnasts become Fierce Five

Gymnastics team changes name after U of M basketball players complained

LONDON – The U.S. women's gymnastics team has picked a new nickname. They are no longer calling themselves the "Fab Five", but instead have opted to call themselves the "Fierce Five."

The change came after Jalen Rose complained. Rose was a prominent member of the University of Michigan's 1991 basketball team whose five incoming freshmen — Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson, and Rose — were dubbed the "Fab Five."

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"To use the nickname just points and screams of lazy journalism by the national media, that's really what it is," Rose told Jamie Samuelsen of 97.1 FM in Detroit. "It's no fault at all of the young gymnasts. But I really wish they would have come up with an even more creative tag for them and their gold medal pursuit."

--Members of the University of Michigan's 1991 basketball team who were dubbed the "Fab Five"

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Apparently the gymnasts were not aware of history behind the nickname. ""I guess (Fab Five) was taken by some basketball team or something," McKayla Maroney said.

Maroney and Jordyn Wieber goggled words that started with the letter "F." The top two contenders? Feisty and fierce. Wieber felt feisty was perfect because, "We're all so fierce on the competition floor."

Related:

Read: Medals decided in women's team gymnastics

Slideshow: Jordyn Wieber's rise to fame


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