Lawsuits against USA Gymnastics, Larry Nassar, etc. - news & updates

Sylvia

TBD
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79,987
Here is a separate thread for all legal matters/issues and news relating to Larry Nassar, former team physician at Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics, former USA Gymnastics president Steve Penny, the multiple lawsuits filed against the USAG organization, MSU, etc.

Rachael Denhollander and 6 others will take the stand against Larry Nassar in a preliminary hearing starting tomorrow morning in Michigan: http://michiganradio.org/post/meet-7-women-and-girls-testifying-against-larry-nassar-friday

Re-posting here from the Gymnastics thread:
Indianapolis Star article (April 19, 2017) - Appeals court won't toss lawsuit against USA Gymnastics: http://www.indystar.com/story/news/...oss-lawsuit-against-usa-gymnastics/100609912/
The Georgia lawsuit is among at least a half-dozen USA Gymnastics is currently facing related to the sexual abuse of its athletes. All allege the Olympic national governing body failed to protect young gymnasts from alleged sexual abuse by a coach or the organization's longtime team physician, Larry Nassar. He is facing more than 20 state and federal charges in Michigan.
[Steve] Penny, who had headed USA Gymnastics since 2005, resigned under pressure from the US Olympic Committee after it was revealed he waited at least five weeks to report Nassar to authorities after being made aware of alleged sexual misconduct involving the doctor.
 
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Artistic Skaters

Drawing Figures
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8,150
*** USA Gymnastics doctor to plead guilty to child porn charges :
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...-gymnastics-doctor-child-porn-plea/463025001/
Nassar, 53, of Holt, was indicted in December on charges of obtaining and possessing child pornography. Months later, the U.S. Attorney's Office added a third charge that alleged Nassar had images or files destroyed.

He signed an agreement to plead guilty to all three charges, according a copy of the agreement obtained by the Lansing State Journal. The plea deal does not include a sentence agreement.

Each charge carries a sentence of five to 20 years in prison.
*** Nassar in the News: more ex-patients claim abuse, additional counts bound over :
http://statenews.com/article/2017/07/nassar-in-the-news-july-6
The count of former patients who are suing Nassar over claims of sexual abuse is up to 119 after 23 more plaintiffs were added to a lawsuit last week.
*** Can USA Gymnastics reform itself under current leadership?
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/...ases-report-its-handling-sex-abuse/431192001/
USA Gymnastics needs a top-to-bottom culture change to put the safety of athletes ahead of winning medals, according to a critical review that confirmed many of the findings of a yearlong IndyStar investigation of child sex abuse in the sport.

While the Olympic national governing body has long maintained that it puts child safety first, it said Tuesday its board adopted 70 new policies as yet another "articulation" of that commitment.
 

Rob

Beach Bum
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15,218
Even if there is a recognized procedure of myofascial release (which is the defense he is putting forth), it blows my mind that Nassar would not carefully explain this to the patient/parent and obtain specific consent because so many were minors. And I understand this is used for pelvic/back injuries and urinary tract issues, but how does it make any sense with a foot injury? Tiffany Thomas of MSU said he did it to her for lower back injury without explaining it at all. When I was 18-19, I fell down some stairs on my backside and crushed my tailbone. Pretty agonizing, and I had trouble sitting for long, standing up after sitting. Nevermind dancing. I had an xray; the orthopedic said there wasn't much that could be done except wait for it to heal, but I could look into a chiropractor if I wanted to. I went to a chiropractor who did an assessment and a spinal adjustment. He then explained that there was a somewhat controversial procedure where he could do internal massage with a glove (and he was specific about the glove) where he would try to release the muscles around the area and help straighten out the crushed area so it would heal more quickly. He explained this to me in the office in great detail about what he would have to do, and said that it would be quite uncomfortable so I would have to weigh the long term benefit (potential, not certain benefit) against the temporary discomfort and invasive nature of the procedure - and I should give it some thought and then make an appointment for it. And if I was not comfortable with that, he could just continue with external massage and adjustments to see if it helped. I did not opt for the internal treatment, and he never put pressure on me to try it. It took a while for it to heal, but I was confident in his professionalism. I am horrified that someone would spring this on a young girl. I just don't see it as anything other than abuse in this context.
 

missing

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4,882
The ESPN article indicates a lot of anger on the part of former gymnasts to the plea bargain.

"They've told our clients that they are not prosecuting their cases," said John Manly, an attorney based in Irvine, California. Manly and his co-counsels represent more than 90 of Nassar's accusers, a list of clients that includes former Olympians and national team members.

"Many of our clients have spoken to and given evidence to the FBI. They gave that evidence and went through the trauma of reliving their experiences with the expectation that they would get justice," Manly told ESPN when reached by phone Sunday. "Dr. Nassar molested young women at the Olympics. He molested young women at national competitions. And our country is not going to charge him? The message that sends these women is: 'You don't matter.'"
 

VGThuy

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41,020
The ESPN article indicates a lot of anger on the part of former gymnasts to the plea bargain.

"They've told our clients that they are not prosecuting their cases," said John Manly, an attorney based in Irvine, California. Manly and his co-counsels represent more than 90 of Nassar's accusers, a list of clients that includes former Olympians and national team members.

"Many of our clients have spoken to and given evidence to the FBI. They gave that evidence and went through the trauma of reliving their experiences with the expectation that they would get justice," Manly told ESPN when reached by phone Sunday. "Dr. Nassar molested young women at the Olympics. He molested young women at national competitions. And our country is not going to charge him? The message that sends these women is: 'You don't matter.'"

Yep. That's this country.
 

Debbie S

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I heard on the news tonight that prosectors said (in an apparent turnaround) that the plea deal would not prevent them from pursuing additional charges in the abuse cases. He will still be tried for the abuse incidents that occurred in Michigan, the sticking point is the abuse that occurred outside the country at comps (not sure why that matters...he and the gymnasts are U.S. citizens and were representing a U.S. org). But apparently, the prosecutors did leave the door open to try the cases involving the elite gymnasts. But no guarantee that will happen. :mad:
 

Aceon6

Wrangling the duvet into the cover
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This has emerged about British Gymnastics.
Very sad, but not surprised. The culture in many sports is that the coach knows best and that anyone who can't keep up with whatever the coach expects is either lazy or not talented enough. It's also the same culture that contributes to hazing in team sports when the coach allows the older athletes to do whatever as long as they treat the coach with deference.

My nephew is a pretty good baseball coach, but his kids like other sports, so he's had to do a lot of research. He asks their prospective coaches about checks and balances, supervision of assistants, and the role of older kids on teams. Despite his due diligence, he's been surprised by some coaches' actions. It seems that there's always a subset of parents and administrators who will tolerate anything short of murder if it produces winners.
 

skipaway

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10,693
Nassar May Avoid Charges for Abuse at Foreign Competitions

Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team physician accused by more than 100 women of sexual assault, has agreed to a plea deal that could mean he won’t ever face criminal charges stemming from allegations he assaulted Team USA gymnasts overseas at the Olympics and other international events.

Under the agreement, Nassar has agreed to plead guilty to three federal charges related to possession of child pornography. Each charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years. According to the agreement, U.S. attorneys will recommend a combined prison sentence of about 22 to 27 years

Simply disgusting, disappointing, and crazy.
 

Sylvia

TBD
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79,987
Re-posting from the Gymnastics thread:
McKayla Maroney has spoken out about her abuse by Larry Nassar.

https://twitter.com/McKaylaMaroney/status/920548528870400001
One article based on Maroney's Twitter post: https://www.indystar.com/story/news...roney-says-she-victim-sexual-abuse/775023001/
She posted the tweet describing the abuse late Monday night with the #MeToo hashtag.
"People should know that this is not just happening in Hollywood," Maroney wrote. "This is happening everywhere. Wherever there is a position of power, there seems to be potential for abuse. I had a dream to go to the Olympics, and the things that I had to endure to get there were unnecessary and disgusting."'
Maroney dreamed of becoming an Olympian while watching the 2004 Olympics. "From the outside looking in, it's an amazing story. I did it. I got there, but not without a price," she wrote.
The Indianapolis Star, which is part of the USA TODAY NETWORK, has reported more than 360 cases in which gymnasts have accused coaches of sexual transgressions over 20 years.
 
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her grace

Team Guignard/Fabbri
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This is an older article, but Dominique Moceanu nails it:
"I was talking about abuse in 2008, and there were pioneers before me. Just ask (former national team members) Kathy Johnson Clarke and Jennifer Sey. Nobody did anything," Moceanu said. "It's like it was a burden for them to address abuse. So now, they're in a position where they have to. And I think they are going to be trying, because it's been a PR nightmare. They absolutely have to do something now. And they have to follow through. And, yes, it's time. But it was time years ago."

Also, I am thoroughly impressed with how the Indy Star has taken this issue and not let go. :respec: #freepress
 

Winnipeg

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5,177
This is really disgusting. Many were just little girls really or minors at least. I wonder what the parents asked when they were told about medical check ups?

Also, any adults who were aware of what was going on also should be charged for child endangerment
 

Erin

Banned Member
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As with all of the previous women who have come forward, I'm impressed with the courage and composure Aly has shown in sharing such painful information. I hope that she is shown the same kind of support that she has been demonstrating for others.

This brings to mind the comment that someone (perhaps John Manly) made, that he expects we are going to find that there is someone abused on every Olympic team since Nassar has been on involved. We now have people on the 2000, 2012, and 2016 teams who have come forward. I do not want to speculate at all on specific names. But I will not be surprised at all if we do see gymnasts coming forward from the 2004 and 2008 teams. It doesn't seem like there was much limit to what this man would do.
 

once_upon

Better off now than 4 years ago? Have TP now
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30,044
This is really disgusting. Many were just little girls really or minors at least. I wonder what the parents asked when they were told about medical check ups?

Also, any adults who were aware of what was going on also should be charged for child endangerment
If you saw Aly's interview and her parents' interview it underlines the issues. It's lack of knowledge on all parts, the favorite grooming by the perpetrators, and while it makes the girls uncomfortable, they "trust" doctors.
Parents can act upon knowledge, but they aren't in the exam room or lockers, often depending on what their children report to them.
 

Erin

Banned Member
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10,472
I teared up watching Raisman on 60 minutes. So much respect for her.

Absolutely - in retrospect, it's amazing that she has always been so mentally strong and such a leader while she was going through this.

I'm impressed she was able to be so articulate and for the sake of protecting other people from becoming future victims, I'm glad she was able to speak so clearly about things like grooming behavior, not being alone with adults, etc. I also think it was good that her parents were willing to be on the show and answer tough questions about where they might have failed her.

I hope she is successful in her efforts to create change.
 

Erin

Banned Member
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10,472

Thanks for posting the whole thing - I'd only seen a small clip that Raisman had tweeted. I think she showed in that interview why Fierce is an appropriate title for her book. Most interesting to me was the revelation that she tried to get back in touch with the private investigator in 2015 after she had time to process what Nassar had actually done to her and was told by USAG to keep quiet.

It will be interesting to see how the new USAG president Kerry Perry (who hasn't even officially started yet) handles this. If handled right, it could be an opportunity to work with Aly. I'm a little skeptical based on past history of what I've seen of the organization unfortunately.
 

Aceon6

Wrangling the duvet into the cover
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Is Aly planning on coming back next year like Simone is?
She's still training regularly. I think a lot will depend on how things go as Brestyan gets more involved with the Australian team. Right now, he's still mostly in Massachusetts, but things could change.
 

Aceon6

Wrangling the duvet into the cover
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My guess is that he pled in exchange for a possibility of parole as well as preferential prison placement. Without the plea, he could have gotten 100+ consecutive 20 year sentences in the state pen where he was likely to be assaulted or worse.
 

ilovepaydays

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13,253
Especially considering that Gabby's teammates had her back when there was all that outrage towards her during Rio.

It was very smart of Simone to screen shot that tweet and use it in her reply - it looks like Gabby has deleted her original tweet.
 

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