“Worst stolen valor I’ve ever seen” – Fans blast ACC for Katie Ledecky Olympic record post

The ACC's post congratulating Katie Ledecky despite her graduating from Stanford when it was in the PAC-12 division has garnered criticism.

“Worst stolen valor I’ve ever seen” – Fans blast ACC for Katie Ledecky Olympic record post

Katie Ledecky (via IMAGO)

Katie Ledecky has arguably established herself as the greatest female swimmer ever. Her recent victories at the Paris Olympics have bolstered her all-time medal count to 13, and she still has one more race to go! The congratulatory messages and posts have begun to flood in from fans, other athletes, and her alma mater.

Katie Ledecky is a proud graduate of Stanford. The University has remained a key part of the Pac-12 conference since joining it in 1918. However, until recently, the school opted to discharge itself from the existing conference and move to the ACC or Atlantic Coast Conference. Ledecky graduated from Stanford in 2021, when the University was still in the Pac-12 conference, however, the ACC congratulated the swimmer via a post on X.

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A simple congratulatory post would not have irked fans. However, the ACC’s post carried the tagline Olympians Made Here and featured the conference’s logo on the header and footer of the post. To give it straight, the ACC’s post gives the impression that the swimmer thrived and benefitted from having a collegiate career in swimming in the ACC. But that could not be far from reality.

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Fans rip into ACC over Katie Ledecky post

Katie Ledecky had a historic run during her days at Stanford too. In the 2016-17 NCAA season, she went on to set 12 NCAA records and nine American records in her freshman year! That signaled the start of something special and put the world on notice. In the Pac-12 Championships that year, Ledecky won the Swimmer of the Meet honors and set four American records. She went on to lead Stanford to its first conference title in four years.

Katie Ledecky
Katie Ledecky (via PEOPLE)

Ledecky played a pivotal role in leading Stanford to its first team title since 1998 at the NCAA Championships in Indianapolis. Her freshman season was capped off with a Honda Cup victory, the honor given to the nation’s top female collegiate athletes. Needless to say, the ACC attempting to share in the credit for Ledecky’s achievements in the Pac-12 division irked fans, that did not respond kindly on X. Here are some of the reactions:

The ACC seems to think that since Stanford is now a part of its conference, it gives them the de facto right to take credit for all past accomplishments of athletes who were affiliated with the Pac-12 in recent history and are enjoying success now. The ACC misjudged the impact that this post would have on its image.

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