The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community has been shaken by developments at team Atos. A number of high profile competitors have left the team.
Keenan Cornelius has broken his silence on allegations of SA involving head coach Andre Galvao, offering an analysis of what he believes are institutional problems within martial arts.
Keenan Cornelius famously left team Lloyd Irvin in the wake of serious allegations and later joined team Atos. Cornelius left team Atos years ago following unrelated disputes and went on to establish Legion Jiu-Jitsu in San Diego.
The current situation became public after several prominent competitors departed from Atos, coinciding with rumors of an incident involving Andre Galvao. While no official statement has been released by the team, multiple sources familiar with the situation have confirmed details to media outlets. San Diego gyms have since opened their doors to students leaving Atos, with at least one facility offering free month memberships.
Adele Fornarino, a double ADCC gold medalist who trained under Andre Galvao‘s corner during her championship run, addressed the situation publicly following her second-round submission victory over Selma Vik at Polaris 35. After securing an RNC finish, Fornarino used her platform to make statements about systemic failures.
“There’s a crisis in jiu-jitsu at the moment. There’s a big, big problem, and it’s coming from the hierarchal structure of our sport. There’s people in positions of dominance over people that are vulnerable. And these people in positions of dominance, their job is to protect, is to look after, and teach people how to protect themselves. So these are the very people that are taking advantage of the most vulnerable in our sport. And it needs to stop.”
She called for collective responsibility within the jiu-jitsu community.
Cornelius addressed the situation through a detailed video commentary.
“Hey guys, long time no talk. I just wanted to give my opinion and comment on the s**ual misconduct allegations coming out of Atos towards Andre Galvao.”
He noted that people often wait for conclusive evidence before forming opinions, even though such material rarely becomes public in the way many expect.
“The reality of these situations is that if there was a cri me committed, the proof or the evidence is presented to a jury, and then the jury has their verdict, right? There’s the whole court process.”
Cornelius said he has heard from members of the community that developments may still occur.
Rather than limiting his commentary to the immediate allegations, Cornelius examined patterns he has observed across martial arts communities. He identified rigid hierarchy as a recurring condition that enables abuse of authority.
“This is actually a martial arts problem because martial arts has a unique hierarchical structure that preconditions these abuses of power. Obviously, you know, people are responsible for their own choices, and they’re, you know, people can make terrible, terrible decisions for whatever reason, but we can’t control people, but we can control structure.”
Cornelius explained how instructors are often elevated beyond their expertise. Students seek guidance not only on technique but also on relationships, family, or life matters, expanding an instructor’s influence beyond any formal qualification.
“Imagine hundreds of people coming to you daily for your wisdom and guidance. However, you’re just like kind of a normal dude who just happens to be knowledgeable in like a niche martial art. Okay, that’s the situation. But people, hundreds of people, are coming to you, and there’s a sort of shift. There’s like a warping of the context where it’s no longer always just about martial arts.”
He described this dynamic as creating an environment where authority goes largely unchecked and decisions are centralized in one individual.
“That is where the abuse of power now falls into the decision making of one person, that leadership figure. He has complete omnipotence in in their domain. And then now it comes down to that person’s character. Are they going to abuse this power or not? And many, too many times, the power abuse occurs in martial arts, especially.”
Cornelius outlined solutions focused on governance, arguing against single head coaches and in favor of shared authority among multiple instructors.
“You can’t have an emperor in a business, especially a martial arts business where you’re dealing with these people who people who come in and listen to you talk. By distributing the authority, you maintain authority, but no one person has the ability to abuse the power because the power has been divided, right.”
He said his own academy operates under this model, avoiding concentration of authority.
Cornelius encouraged students to pay attention to warning signs within gym culture.
“As a student, I would urge you to beware when there’s too much hero worship going on of a particular personality.”
Legion’s Sloan Clymer shared an insteresting story on instagram
