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

[judiz]

"A gym built on fear
Larry Nassar molested them. Now gymnasts describe a different kind of abuse by famed Olympic coach John Geddert"

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/03/investigates/john-geddert-abuse/

I’m sorry but part of the blame here also lies with the parents who in many cases turned a blind eye to the abuse. Your child misses 56 days of school due to mono but you allow the coach to bully her into coming to the gym every day? Your child attempts suicide and then you remain quiet when they write a letter of apology to the coach who drove them to the attempt? You witness the coach throwing your daughter into the bars hard enough to cause bruises yet you still allow them to continue??

 

[Sylvia]

Excerpt from the CNN article:

The sport is not for the faint of heart, gymnasts and their parents said, and they would often put up with abuse and hardship to reach their goals. The question, for many then, was a matter of degree.
“It’s a tough sport,” said Lisa Hutchins, a former Twistars mother and coach. “It takes tough parents and tough kids. The culture is toxic. To be the best, we believed kids need to be coached with a certain degree of threatening. John was really good at pitting parents against each other to keep it that way. He wanted control over what the parents and kids said or did. And if you stood up to him, your kid would pay.”
Geddert was known for getting his gymnasts college scholarships, another way they say he exerted power over them.
“It’s hard to explain the pressure that John puts on you,” said Bailey [Lorencen]. “That college scholarship is everything.”

 

[VGThuy]

As a gymnastics fan, I have to say I think I've been sort of guilty for letting this happen as well. We've all been enjoying the American women's dominance the past few years and felt good that Marta's camps have finally seemed to sort things out compared to what it was. I think I realized it didn't really sort itself out so much as there just being an incredible amount of depth and "chosen" ones who somehow managed to stay healthy and had a competitive mindset that were treated better than they would have been treated a few years prior. Also, we had someone like Simone who managed to somehow stay healthy and on top of her game for four seasons in a row thanks to her personal coach who managed to keep things in perspective and actually turned down an invite to camp when she felt something wasn't right before Simone became THE SIMONE so it made it seem like things were better with the system.

I remember during the early days of the Gymternet how abuse and overworked underaged athletes were so normalized that we fans seriously just joked about it and just accepted it as a normal course of a gymnast's life. If we fans who only have an outside interest in the sport did that, then it's very easy to understand how parents who are so deeply involved financially, mentally, and emotionally would also turn a blind eye and just fall into the trap of this toxic environment. The gymnasts end up thinking there's no other alternative and this is their life and we know it all comes out in different ways (sometimes having latent effects). I also believe casual watchers also knew deep down that this was a regime and results were the only thing that mattered and they, like all of us, fell for it too. I remember when Ivana Hong came out with Al Fong's treatment of her regarding suffering a fracture on her leg and people responding to her to "suck it up, buttercup" and used Kerri Strug as an example of a "tough athlete". It's sad to hear that Hong is now being investigated for her time as an assistant coach at Stanford. It is a cycle.

 

[Choupette]

The one thing that irked me the most coming from fans on the Internet: "She doesn't work hard enough."

As if you could do tricks like these and not be a hard worker.

 

[Choupette]

Washington Post article today: Larry Nassar's ex-boss at Michigan State charged with sexual assault, harassment of students

More information:

Ex-MSU dean’s review shows disturbing characterization

But in a review of his performance, evaluations from multiple faculty, staff and students also paint a disturbing portrait of a man who flaunted his sexuality and inappropriately commented about others: He had a tendency to put a sexual or crude spin on conversations, make comments about the appearance of women and look at their breasts while talking with them.

[...]

The charging documents suggest that Strampel, too, preyed on female students. His performance evaluations suggest Michigan State University officials knew or should have known that Strampel’s off-putting sexual comments made many students, faculty and staff uncomfortable.

The ranch, Twistars, MSU... No wonder Nassar must have felt he could go on forever.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

This is the first article of a two part series. This gymnast filed a complaint with Safe Sport twenty years after her original police report.

*** Gymnastics Coach (Jose Vilchis) Accused of Sexual Abuse Remained in Chicago-Area Gyms for Decades :
https://chicagotonight.wttw.com/201...xual-abuse-remained-chicago-area-gyms-decades

In 1992, Romagnoli moved on to another suburban gym in order to train with a larger team. She left her coach behind but took a troubling secret with her: Vilchis had sexually abused her for nearly two years, she says, starting when she was 12 years old.

That secret followed Romagnoli to the University of Illinois, where she won a full scholarship for gymnastics. But in 1996, during her freshman year, she was depressed and began seeing a therapist, staying out of the gym for four months.

On the advice of her therapist, Romagnoli went to the Wheeling Police Department in early 1997 and told them that Vilchis had sexually abused her from 1990 to 1992.

*** Larry Nassar's Google searches, and other new insights into 2016 investigation :
http://michiganradio.org/post/larry...hes-and-other-new-insights-2016-investigation

In mid-September of 2016, police got a heads up from a health administrator at MSU, Susan Dolby. Dolby wanted investigators to know one of Nassar's fellow MSU Sports Medicine doctors and close friends, Brooke Lemmen, had removed some of Nassar's medical files from the school at Nassar's request.

Dolby said Lemmen called her to tell her she was now having "second thoughts" about taking the records, and wanted to talk with Dolby before turning them over to Nassar. Dolby told Lemmen to return the records to MSU, where Dolby secured them in a locked cage.

Less than a week later, police interviewed Lemmen in her office. She said Nassar called her on September 12, asking if she could go pick up medical charts that might help him identify who the ‘Jane Doe’ was in a federal lawsuit recently filed against him. Lemmen told police she went to pick up the records, and almost immediately began having second thoughts. “He shouldn’t have those paper charts and if they are here anybody can get them,” Lemmen said she thought at the time. [/quote)

 

[Erin]

Lots of news articles on the topic in the past day or two.

The Michigan House had a really damning report on how MSU handled the Title IX investigation and basically is calling for MSU to admit they screwed up:
https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKCN1HC2TV?__twitter_impression=true

When something like this comes out, it makes me think there has to be pressure on MSU to settle the lawsuits. They may still have a legal argument that they didn't have a duty of care to some plaintiffs (key words being may and some), but I can't imagine they want to risk it with statements like that out there.

Unsurprisingly, McKayla Maroney was NOT the only non-disclosure agreement that USA Gymnastics signed. The situation described in this article breaks my heart:
https://www.ocregister.com/2018/04/...iated-promises/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

For something less depressing, here is a good piece on the police detective and prosecutor who ultimately put Nassar away:
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com...r-inside-prosecution-investigation/472506002/

 

[Artistic Skaters]

From the article about the NDAs:

USA Gymnastics also said in a statement: “USA Gymnastics answered specifically and truthfully in its response to (the senate subcommittee). USA Gymnastics does not use or require a non-disclosure agreement as part of an investigation. The Senators asked about investigations, not settlements.”

So much for USA Gymnastics wanting to bring real change to the organization.

 

[Twilight1]

This quote breaks my heart... "How many girls could we have saved? That weighs on my conscience.”

Hearing that internalized blame is probably the hardest part of my job. It twists your gut.

When someone is young and someone hurts them, it is never ever the fault of the youth if the abuse continues on to others Ever. The abusers are to blame.

 

[ilovepaydays]

Today, GymCastic and coach Aimee Borman (among other) tweeted this superb video demonstrating proper boundaries, appropriate vs. inappropriate touch, tattling vs. telling, getting help, etc.

It’s focused on gymnastics, but the principles are also very applicable to any activity where adults are interacting with children.

 

[Sylvia]

Houston selection camp a breath of fresh air for U.S. women’s gymnasts: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/ol...n-camp-a-breath-of-fresh-air-for-12816677.php

For one thing, the 22 athletes who traveled along with about 40 coaches and support staff gathered at World Champions Centre, the 61,000-square-foot Montgomery County gym owned by the parents of four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, a stone’s throw from the Grand Parkway, not the Karolyi Ranch deep in the Sam Houston National Forest.
For another, there were spectators on hand - not just spectators, either, but athletes’ parents, who under the regime of former national team coordinator Martha Karolyi were persona non grata at camp time.
Competition, of course, is competition. Six athletes were selected Sunday to represent the United States at the upcoming Pacific Rim Championships, just as they would have been picked at the secluded camps over which Karolyi presided for 15 years.

Good to read this part of the article!

 

[Artistic Skaters]

*** USA Gymnastics sues insurance carriers to compel coverage in Larry Nassar lawsuits :
https://www.indystar.com/story/news...pel-coverage-larry-nassar-lawsuits/501753002/

A fight between USA Gymnastics and insurance companies is not unexpected given the allegations against USA Gymnastics, said Pamela Foohey, a law professor at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.

It's common to see insurance companies refuse to cover actions they consider negligent, experts told Indystar. And at least one of the suits against USA Gymnastics said the organization either knew or should have known about Nassar's abuse but neglected to protect athletes.

Typically, an organization like USA Gymnastics might reach a settlement, with the insurance companies agreeing to cover some, but not all, expenses related to the lawsuits.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

*** Senate panel to hold hearing on sexual abuse of Olympic athletes :
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...exual-abuse-of-olympic-athletes-idUSKBN1HI36T

The U.S. Senate will hold a hearing next week into how the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Gymnastics and other sports organizations handled sexual misconduct allegations. A Senate Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing on April 18, with a number of athletes expected to testify.

In recent months, several congressional committees have asked the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and 48 national governing bodies of various sports and Michigan State University for answers to questions about sexual abuse within organized sports.

John Geddert's insurance claims regarding the lawsuits will also be denied--
*** State Farm says it's not obligated to cover gym owner in Nassar abuse case :
https://www.insurancebusinessmag.co...ver-gym-owner-in-nassar-abuse-case-97495.aspx

Lawsuits against Geddert also accuse him of failing to take action after being warned about Nassar’s conduct. State Farm claimed in its lawsuit that under the terms of its policies, that alleged failure to act excludes Geddert from coverage.

“Mr. Geddert and Twistars are also alleged to have committed fraud, to have misrepresented material facts, and to have intentionally inflicted emotional distress upon the plaintiffs in the underlying cases,” the suit said.

 

[barbk]

Raisman spoke at the University of Colorado's Conference on World Affairs yesterday -
http://www.dailycamera.com/cu-news/ci_31802086/aly-raisman-speaks-doing-right-thing-and-having

 

[Erin]

Aly's been doing a lot of speaking lately - I'm surprised this quote from a speech a couple days ago hasn't received more attention - that someone who still works at USA Gymnastics told her "winning makes a lot of bad things okay":
https://twitter.com/katie_gagliano/status/984235052690300930

I think there is a lot more still to come when Aly and Jordyn and others start naming names.

 

[Sylvia]

Q&A with Marisa Kwiatkowski, one of the 3 Indianapolis Star investigative reporters who "uncovered more than 368 allegations of sexual abuse by coaches and others at USA Gymnastics gyms over 20 years": https://www.indianapolismonthly.com/news-opinion/ask-me-anything-marisa-kwiatkowski-journalist/

 

[Artistic Skaters]

*** Nassar survivor: Engler offered $250,000 during meeting :
https://www.lansingstatejournal.com...g-meeting-board-lawsuit-settlement/513948002/

"Mr. Engler then looked directly at me and asked, 'Right now, if I wrote you a check for $250,000 would you take it?'" Lorincz said. "When I explained that it’s not about the money for me and that I just want to help, he said, 'Well give me a number.' He also said that he had met with Rachael Denhollander and that she gave him a number."

Denhollander said in a phone conversation Friday afternoon that she hasn't spoken about money to anybody and that she was "horrified, absolutely disgusted" that Engler would lie to Lorincz about meeting with her. "He lied to a sexual assault survivor to get what he wanted," she said. "That’s what Larry (Nassar) did."

Engler, speaking to a committee of the state legislature in March, said he hoped the lawsuits would be settled by the end of the semester. MSU's spring semester ends May 5.

"Enough is enough. I just want to see a just and equitable settlement where we do right by our courageous survivors," Trustee Brian Mosallam said in a statement sent out over Twitter on Friday morning. In a text message sent after the meeting, Mosallam wrote, "If Kaylee Lorincz story is correct, I am beyond disturbed. I’m disgusted."

In a press release, Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, the law firm representing Lorincz in a civil suit against MSU, noted that the $250,000 Lorincz said Engler offered her "was less than 10% of the average amount that Penn State University paid to the male victims of Jerry Sandusky."

 

[danafan]

Jordyn Wieber has launched a lawsuit.

http://www.wilx.com/content/news/Jordyn-Wieber-files-lawsuit-against-USAG-MSU-480034733.html

http://www.californiasexualabusefirm.com/documents/Complaint-Wieber-FINAL-FILED-4-17-18.pdf is a copy of the suit as linked in the article.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

An article regarding another recent case.

*** Marcia Frederick rejects confidentiality deal in USA Gymnastics sex abuse case :
https://www.ocregister.com/2018/04/...entiality-deal-usa-gymnastics-sex-abuse-case/

Frederick, who at 15 in 1978 became the first U.S. woman to win a World title gymnastics, told SCNG earlier this year that Carlson, her coach at a Connecticut gymnastics academy, had her perform sex acts on him for two years starting in 1979 and only weeks after she turned 16. Frederick also alleged that at the time Muriel Davis Grossfeld, a three-time Olympian and U.S. national team coach who ran the gymnastics academy and was Carlson’s boss, initially ignored the gymnast’s allegations against Carlson.

Carlson has denied having sex with Frederick.

But Frederick said approximately an hour into the March 19 hearing held via teleconference, Carlson’s attorney offered a proposal: Carlson would acknowledge having consensual sex with Frederick (the age of consent in Connecticut at the time was 16), and agree to a lifetime ban in return for Frederick signing a confidentiality agreement prohibiting her from commenting about Carlson and USA Gymnastics not making the ban public. USA Gymnastics currently lists banned members on its website.

“I rejected it immediately,” Frederick said Monday. “It made me sick. It was disgusting.

 

[ilovepaydays]

This Sunday, Dateline NBC will be have a Savannah Guthrie interview with McKayla Maroney. This will be heartbreaking and angering to watch.

 

[Sylvia]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...erations-failing-stop-sexual-abuse/529749002/
Excerpts:

For years, survivors of sexual abuse in Olympic sport have called for accountability for those who harmed them and officials who let it happen.
On Wednesday, four former athletes echoed those calls in a hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security.
Testifying before the subcommittee, former gymnasts Jordyn Wieber and Jamie Dantzscher, former speedskater Bridie Farrell and former figure skater Craig Maurizi criticized the national governing bodies for their sport as well as the U.S. Olympic Committee and others for failing to prevent and stop sexual abuse.
The hearing was the latest since the Olympic movement came under scrutiny for its handling of sexual abuse cases following revelations that longtime USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar abused hundreds of women, including Olympic champions Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Gabby Douglas and Wieber.

“To this day, I still don’t know how he could have been allowed to do this for so long,” Wieber said in her statement to the subcommittee. “We now know he abused my sister survivor and fellow Olympian Jamie Dantzscher twenty years ago. Women at Michigan State University reported his abuse even earlier and they were silenced and ignored. If these institutions had done their job, neither of us would be sitting here today.”
Dantzscher, an Olympic bronze medalist, previously testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in March 2017 and encouraged legislators to pass a law to protect child athletes.

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., chairman of the subcommittee, said it has targeted May 22 for another hearing and notified the USOC, USA Gymnastics and Michigan State that it would like them to participate.
The Senate subcommittee’s inquiry is only one of three Congressional investigations into the Olympic movement’s handling of abuse.
The bipartisan House Energy and Commerce Committee in January asked the USOC, USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming and USA Taekwondo, as well as Michigan State, to provide information on how they have handled complaints. It has since expanded its inquiry to include all national governing bodies.
In February, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced it had sent letters to the USOC, USA Gymnastics and Michigan State, among others, regarding sexual assault in gymnastics.

 

[missing]

This is a thorough and disturbing WSJ article about McKayla Marorney's years of abuse by Larry Nassar.

The Karolyis deny knowing about the abuse.

 

[overedge]

The Karolyis deny knowing about the abuse.

Of course they do

 

[ilovepaydays]

Dateline NBC is coming on right now. Savannah Guthrie is doing an exclusive interview with Marta and Bela Karolyi, as well as interviews with each of McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, and Maggie Nichols' mother.

 

[danafan]

So Bela said that hitting gymnasts was common place in Romania but denies every physically abusing a gymnast in the United States. And Marta basically said that maybe some gymnasts felt the methods were abusive but that there is no other way to prepare gymnasts to be successful. I'm just.....sick

 

[ChelleC]

Marta is heavily trying to pass the blame to USA Gymnastics, imo.

 

[ilovepaydays]

The Karolyis are so full of $%!@&. Among other things, Bela just said that gymnasts were spanked in Romania but that's things were done back then over there. Not here. Also, Bela said that he never liked Nassar. "He seemed like a snake."

Marta said she doesn't feel responsible because Nassar reported to USA Gymnastics, not her. Plus, at the time - the ranch area was leased to USA Gymnastics. Property ownership is pretty easy to understand in the United States. I can't even.

Does anyone else listen to the Gymcastic podcast? Now I'm wondering about the rage fest Jessica is going to give during this week's episode......

 

[once_upon]

Yeah, everything the Karolyis had to say was garbage. They knew, they enabled. They are part of the problem/abuse by not doing something, anything to help the girls.

 

[Willin]

The thing is I could totally see the Karolyis not knowing about Nassar's abuse - as long as he told them what they wanted to hear they probably didn't care, even if Bela claims he never liked Nassar (which I 100% don't buy).

In some ways he was covering for them as well: Nassar knew injured or tired athletes shouldn't be practicing but didn't stop the Karolyis from forcing them to practice anyways. Nassar likely saw signs of physical abuse (bruises) but he didn't report it. Nassar had to know the food/diet was not appropriate for athletes training at that level, but didn't say anything. So if he had to leave and a new doctor was brought in, the Karolyis might not be able to get away with what they did. In that way they had a lot of incentives not to report him even if they did know.

 

[Choupette]

The thing is I could totally see the Karolyis not knowing about Nassar's abuse - as long as he told them what they wanted to hear they probably didn't care, even if Bela claims he never liked Nassar (which I 100% don't buy).

I don't know, I wouldn't be surprised if a manipulator could actually sense another one, even if he didn't know what he was really doing.

But yeah, Marta sounded as fake and hypocritical as expected.