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

Spun Silver

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This is all so unbelievably sickening. How long will it take for the Karolyis and US gymnastics to be held accountable?
 

danafan

Canadian ladies über
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VGThuy

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“I got a phone call probably the next day [from] Steve Penny,” Gina told SI. “He called me, I don’t know how many times, to talk to me about it and make sure that I understood they were taking care of it. When I have the president of USA Gymnastics telling me what to do, he’s in a position of power over me. We’ve given our whole family up to get our daughter to this point and [when] I have Steve Penny telling me this is what we’re going to do, we’re going to be quiet, I’m going to listen to him. I’m not going to jeopardize my daughter’s chance of going to the Olympics."

As helpful as Gina Nichols' quote is in showing all of us how all people's priorities get skewed and how people succumb to pressure of Olympic-level competition where a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is at stake after a lifetime of work and sacrifice, I can't believe Gina Nichols said that publicly. This post is not meant to deflect attention away from Nassar and Penny.
 

ilovepaydays

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I’m not a lawyer and I’m aware that some may :mad: at me for this opinion, but should the USOC and/or FIG discipline USA Gymnastics for this? Is there a basis in their Code of Conduct/rules against federations? Or would they only discipline for things like doping/cheating?

I bet if Simone Biles was stopped from going to Worlds this year or had to compete as a “Authorized Neutral Athelete” like the IAAF has with Russia right now, things would more likely change with USA Gymnastics.
 

Erin

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A lot of people have been calling for the USOC to decertify USA Gymnastics. USA Gymnastics has lost a lot of its sponsors so I do wonder if it will have to start over as a new organization. It is tough for the current athletes coming up though who are the ones that suffer but their safety is more important than athletic success.

As much attention as has been placed on USA Gymnastics and MSU, the FBI really dropped the ball on this one too. More than 9 months to begin investigating? And nice of them to get in touch with Maggie right before the Olympic Trials.:rolleyes:
 
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rudi

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Of course USAG inevitably makes its "statement"

https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=21169

Where to begin.....

Screw you, USAG.

Hopefully we will see some much needed change in this sport, but it's so sad that it had to come to this.

Have been involved with gymnastics for 40+ years as an athlete and then as a parent. Dominique Moceanu's quote posted in this thread is spot on. If anyone gets a chance to read her book, or Kerri Strug's book, or Jennifer Sey's book, they are all good, easy reads and give insight as to what the training environment can be like in this sport and how these kids are treated if they speak up, get ill, or get injured. And the ones that I've seen being treated the worst are the ones where the parents are either not around/present or are willing to do whatever the coach says in order to advance their kid's careers. So the moral of the story is that parents really need to be present, involved, and advocate for their kids physical and mental well-being.

I have a love/relationship with gymnastics. It makes you a strong person who can handle anything life throws your way. Like many sports, it teaches life lessons such as teamwork, commitment, discipline, mental toughness, etc. It is a beautiful sport to watch and one of the most difficult IMHO. I made the decision to pull my daughter out of it at a relatively young age and, although there are times when she and I both miss it, I have no regrets.

There are coaches out there that I would never let coach my child, and I hope I see the day when they (including the Karolyis) get their comeuppance.
 
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NoStefaniaNo

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Yes, it is time for USA Gymnastics to be decertified and for a new governing body to be formed. The question is who and how? I don't trust the USOC because their SafeSport committee includes Fran Sepler, the investigator USAGym hired who did not report this abuse to the police and who discouraged the athletes and their families from speaking up.
 

Rob

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USAG didn't find a reasonable suspicion of sexual abuse after hearing Maggie and Aly's reports? That a doctor performed such a "treatment" without explaining at all it to the athlete, parent, and coach and without gloves? Head in sand! USAG "hired an experienced, independent investigator" - as a lawyer, I have watched a number of independent consultants become not so independent when they are investigating the organization that pays them and when the investigation is conducted under a cloak of darkness. And the investigator didn't suggest bringing in law enforcement until she heard from Maroney, the only athlete not trying to make the Rio team, the one they couldn't control, and the one who lawyered up. Bad facts!

Aly Raisman has been an outspoken team leader since 2011-12. Once she realized that she had been abused, I am sure that the fear of retribution played a role in her silence until last year, as did other factors like not wanting the distraction leading up to Rio and the normal shame and embarrassment that victims/survivors unfortunately feel after sexual assault. It was clearly in the Nichols family minds if the mother did say something like this.
 

Aceon6

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Starting over is the only option. If what I read was correct, MSU and USAG called the pervert in and gave him an opportunity to “explain himself”, then accepted his explanation related to a little known procedure that had been used for injuries to the coccyx.

These people are so dumb that just accepted what the pervert said. They didn’t question glove use, nor did they call in another doctor to review standard of care. The AMA explicitly warns docs to always offer to have another person present for any vaginal procedure. When is the last time you had a pap without being asked if you wanted a nurse present? Not a single person of power at USAG thought it was odd, or squicky, or a potential situation requiring parental approval? IDIOTS!
 

ilovepaydays

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The AMA explicitly warns docs to always offer to have another person present for any vaginal procedure. When is the last time you had a pap without being asked if you wanted a nurse present? Not a single person of power at USAG thought it was odd, or squicky, or a potential situation requiring parental approval? IDIOTS!

Isn’t it also AMA’s standard that there should always be someone else present when the patient is a minor, regardless of the procedure?
 

VGThuy

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Not only should USAG should just be dismantled and replaced by a new org, but I really do think it needs to consist of totally new members in charge. It will probably be difficult to find people who are knowledgeable about gymnastics to lead the new org, but I think this is the only acceptable option right now. It's clear that they mishandled this whole situation from the start and continued to do so to prevent this incident from being discovered. However, this is bigger than Nassar and if you've been following the stories from the Indy Star, you'd see a huge history of sexual assault and abuse being mishandled not just by USAG officials but people in the sport (from low level coaches onwards). It's truly a cultural issue. I know some of these happened years (decades even) ago and people may not have been educated on this issue, but that doesn't go very far when you consider the totality of the circumstances.

I don't know if USA gym in general can survive this because now all people will do is associate gymnastics generally with sexual abuse. The sad part is that they aren't really wrong to do so.
 

Debbie S

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Isn’t it also AMA’s standard that there should always be someone else present when the patient is a minor, regardless of the procedure?
Most hospitals and medical offices do, but several clinical areas are exceptions. One is ob-gyn. Psychiatry also, plus emergency, depending on circumstances. But yes, since Nasser's treatments weren't considered privacy-sensitive, a parent should have been there. But much of the abuse occurred at the training camps, which parents weren't allowed to attend. And I remember reading some accounts of his victims that a parent was actually in the room but was seated so his back was facing them and they couldn't see what he was doing.

Not only should USAG should just be dismantled and replaced by a new org, but I really do think it needs to consist of totally new members in charge. It will probably be difficult to find people who are knowledgeable about gymnastics to lead the new org, but I think this is the only acceptable option right now.
The org's paid staff doesn't need a gymnastics background - most of USFS staff doesn't come from the skating world, although many have worked in other sports-related orgs. But the real issue is the volunteer leadership, i.e. the Board, since they really control the org - set the rules, hires the director. Unless those individuals are willing to embrace a cultural and organizational change from the top down, there won't be improvement at the level needed.
 

Erin

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:( Sad to hear, but unfortunately not surprised at this point. Without making any attempt to imply someone is a victim who has not made a statement, I fear we are going to find there are very few top gymnasts who have not been abused by that man.

Unfortunately, I am so jaded by this that one of the first thoughts that pops into my head is "how badly is USAG going to mess up their statement about this?" It's hard to imagine they will do worse than their statement in response to Maggie but I'm sure they will find a way. Second, Simone is the highest profile person to come forward yet - I don't know if that will make a difference in anything that happens going forward, but it can't hurt.
 

danafan

Canadian ladies über
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Unfortunately, I am so jaded by this that one of the first thoughts that pops into my head is "how badly is USAG going to mess up their statement about this?"

No I had the exact same thought.

As a friend shared on facebook, USAG may have been able to bully others good luck trying that against Simone, who is bigger than USAG and maybe even bigger than gymnastics itself.
 

Aceon6

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For those of you close to the bigger clubs, is there any talk of secession? Forming an alternate governing body might be the only way to get rid of USAG and their lawyers and fixers.
 

Choupette

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As helpful as Gina Nichols' quote is in showing all of us how all people's priorities get skewed and how people succumb to pressure of Olympic-level competition where a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is at stake after a lifetime of work and sacrifice, I can't believe Gina Nichols said that publicly. This post is not meant to deflect attention away from Nassar and Penny.
Years ago, through free pages on Google Books, I read most of the book written by Shannon Miller's mother after the 1996 Olympics.

At one point, she describes how she noticed her daughter was missing a basic and simple required element in her floor routine, and she feared telling Shannon's coach Steve Nunno. After some thinking, her solution was to go through assistant coach Peggy Liddick.

When Shannon was really young, perhaps 11 or 12 years old IIRC, while she was already throwing crazy difficulty few gymnasts her age were even attempting and certainly no other American, she struggled with consistency (big surprise!). In response, Nunno would threatened to remove her from competitions. Shannon got extremely anxious as a result. Her mother's first solution? Have Shannon meet with a priest to learn how to cope with that stress. She did eventually come to the conclusion that she really should talk to the coach, and did so, but not immediately.

I couldn't believe either that she would write such things in a book. One would think reading it that it was Nunno who was paying Miller's parents and that they were depending on his money, not that it really was the other way around and that they had hired him to train their daughter. And those weren't the only absurdities I noticed.
 

Sylvia

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^^^ Devastating article to read...

http://www.cnn.com/2018/01/16/us/larry-nassar-sentencing-gymnastics/index.html
"Little girls don't stay little forever," [Kyle] Stephens said. "They grow into strong women that return to destroy your world."
Stephens was the first victim to speak in what is expected to be days of victim impact testimony as part of Nassar's criminal sentencing.
Given the remarkable scope of the years of abuse, several days of court have been set aside for victims or their parents to speak out about Nassar -- and the systems of power that protected him. Prosecutors in court said that 98 victim statements are expected in all, though that number could change.
 
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misskarne

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98 victim statements. 98.

This evil thing should have "never to be released" stamped on his file. And then throw him in with general population in prison and tell all the other prisoners what he's done. I'm sure it'll go down a treat.
 

ilovepaydays

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Have there been any allegations on the men's side?

Not that I’m aware of - but the men’s program has never come across as anywhere near unhealthy to me. You could be skeptical about whether the resident training environment at the USOC in Colorado Springs is really effective given their results, but that’s another issue.

98 victim statements. 98.

This evil thing should have "never to be released" stamped on his file. And then throw him in with general population in prison and tell all the other prisoners what he's done. I'm sure it'll go down a treat.

For a frame of reference (remember - each U.S. state can have different sentence lengths for different crimes - but child molestation is universally one of the worst crimes), former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 40+ counts involving about 10 survivors. He was given 30 to 60 years, which given that he was in his late 60s, was effectively a life sentence. Pennsylvania Corrections had such concerns about Sandusky's safety that he was sent to the maximum security prison - where the death row inmates are located.

Nassar will rot in prison - and will probably have to be in seclusion most of the time.
 
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Erin

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Not for Nassar but the former head of the men's program, Vitaly Marinitch, had to resign in late 2016 because he sexually assaulted Legendre's wife.

For anyone not familiar with this who wants to understand more about how Steve Penny operated, the GymCastic interview with Steven and Alaina Legendre gives a pretty good illustration:
https://gymcastic.com/241-the-pittsburgh-incident/

The way he dealt with them is very similar to the stories that Aly Raisman and Gina Nichols tell where his primary goal (or perhaps only goal) is to hush things up.

Model Christine Teigen has offered to pay the McKayla Maroney’s 100K fine from USAGym if she speaks at the Nassar sentencing.

I’m not a legal expert, but I know there are several FSUers who are attorneys in the U.S. who may give better guidance. I can’t believe that a NDA can be enforceable when it involves a criminal act - especially with a conviction.

USAG has issued a statement indicating they have not and will not ask for money from McKayla. So that's something at least. Kerry Perry was in the courtroom today to listen to the victim statements today, which is also a positive step and more than either MSU or Geddert did. I'm still skeptical as to whether there will be any changes from USAG until they happen but I guess I should recognize when they do something right, even if it is the bare minimum at this point.
 

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