Sexual Abuse in USA Gymnastics

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The sexual abuse scandal at the USA Gymnastics refers to the sexual abuse of female, mostly underage athletes, triggered by the investigations against coach Larry Nassar , over a period of almost 20 years, beginning in the late 1990s.

background

In 2015, Maggie Nichols reported sexual abuse by Larry Nassar . As a result of the investigation, more than 368 people came forward and said they had been sexually, physically and mentally abused by gym owners, coaches and staff who work for gymnastics programs across the country. In particular, longtime USA Gymnastics ( USAG ) doctor Larry Nassar has been featured in hundreds of lawsuits filed by athletes alleging that Nassar sexually abused female athletes under the guise of medical treatment for at least 14 years. Since the scandal was revealed in September 2016 by the Indianapolis StarMore than 265 women signed up, including former USAG national team members Jessica Howard , Jamie Dantzscher , Morgan White , Jeanette Antolin , McKayla Maroney , Aly Raisman , Maggie Nichols, Gabby Douglas , Simone Biles , Jordyn Wieber , Sabrina Vega , Ashton Locklear , Kyla Ross , Madison Kocian , Amanda Jetter , Tasha Schwikert , Mattie Larson , Bailie Key , Kennedy Baker and Alyssa Baumann who accused Nassar of sexually abusing them. It is one of the largest sexual abuse scandals in the history of sport.

history

In 1992, the coach Robert Dean Head was convicted of sexual assault, he is considered the first case at USAG. Nassar has worked as a supervisor for Turner since 1978 during his school days and studies. In 1986 he joined USAG as a member of the medical team and trainer. Nassar first became conspicuous in 1992. USAG keeps files on suspicious coaches, but was only partially active or not at all. On July 11, 2017, Nassar was charged with the possession of child pornography at the federal level and sentenced to 60 years in prison on December 7, 2017. On November 22, 2017, he pleaded guilty to seven cases of first-degree sexual assault in a state court and pleaded guilty to three additional cases of sexual assault a week later. On January 24, 2018, Nassar was sentenced to an additional prison term of 40 to 175 years, which is to come into effect after serving the 60-year federal prison sentence for child pornography. On February 5, 2018, Nassar received another 40 to 125 years. Since 2018 he has been detained at the United States Penitentiary in Coleman , Florida.

examination

The Indianapolis Star conducted an investigation into the failure of school and day care workers to report suspected child abuse to authorities. It was against this background that the investigation came to USAG. In Georgia, the newspaper filed a lawsuit to gain access to the files on the USAG trainers who had become suspicious. The court ruled that the file was in the public interest and should be released. It turned out that there were 54 trainers listed in that file. Over a nine-month period of the investigation, it was found that the abuses were widespread because "predatory trainers were allowed to move from gym to gym, undetected by a lax system of supervision, or dangerously passed on from USA-Gymnastics-certified gyms" . That statement was made in the case of trainer Ray Adams . Ray Adams was repeatedly suspected, arrested and convicted, but was allowed to continue working as a trainer for 20 years. USAG and Michigan State University - where Nassar worked as an osteopathic doctor - have been accused of facilitating Nassar's abuse and are named as defendants in civil suits filed against Nassar by former gymnasts. In addition to Nassar, other coaches across the country were involved in the scandal, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, California, Rhode Island and Indiana.

As part of the investigation, then-CEO of USAG, Steve Penny, was arrested and charged with covering up and delaying federal investigations. The coach couple Bela and Martha Karolyi ran the national training center on their ranch in Texas from 2000 to 2018, and the contracts were terminated as part of the investigation.

Legal proceedings

In 2018, the victims in the case against Michigan State University agreed to pay $ 500 million. In another lawsuit against USAG and the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee , a court awarded the numerous plaintiffs, including the three Olympic champions Biles, Raisman and Maroney, $ 380 million in compensation on December 13, 2021. The agreement was reached before the United States bankruptcy court in Indiana , which is negotiating the bankruptcy of USAG.

reception

On May 16, 2018, it was announced that the victims would receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award . On December 13 of the same year, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) presented Nichols with the Inspiration Award for 2019.

A documentary titled Athlete A was released on Netflix in 2020 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Marisa Kwiatkowski: Maggie Nichols: Olympic dreams, Larry Nassar and falling back in love with gymnastics. Retrieved January 17, 2021 (American English).
  2. ^ Preventing Abuse in Olympic and Amateur Athletics: Ensuring a Safe and Secure Environment for Our Athletes. June 5, 2018, accessed January 17, 2021 .
  3. ↑ Maryann Hudson: COLUMN ONE: When a Coach Crosses the Line: America's gymnastics federation is leading a tough campaign to reduce the potential for sex abuse in a sport that often involves close contact. In: Los Angeles Times. May 20, 1995. Retrieved January 23, 2021 (American English).
  4. ↑ Michael Campbell /: Dr Larry Nassar timeline (LSJ). In: Indystar. USA Today Network, October 27, 2018, accessed January 19, 2021 .
  5. ↑ Kim Kozlowski: How MSU doc became suspect in dozens of rapes. Retrieved January 19, 2021 (American English).
  6. ^ Mark Alesia (The Indianapolis Star): 54-Files-Can-Be-Seen-by-Plaintiff. Retrieved January 19, 2021 .
  7. ^ A b Marisa Kwiatkowski, Tim Evans, and Mark Alesia: How the USA Gymnastics scandal unfolded. Retrieved January 23, 2021 (American English).
  8. ↑ Marisa Kwiatkowski, Tim Evans, and Mark Alesia: He could have been stopped: How one pedophile kept coaching gymnastics. Retrieved January 23, 2021 (American English).
  9. ^ David Woods: Four years later, how the Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics scandals continue. Retrieved January 17, 2021 (American English).
  10. ↑ David Jesse and Gina Kaufman: Michigan State to pay Larry Nassar victims $ 500 million in settlements. Retrieved December 11, 2021 (American English).
  11. ^ Nancy Armor: Nassar survivors overwhelmingly vote to accept settlement from USA Gymnastics. Retrieved December 11, 2021 (American English). Juliet Macur: Nassar Abuse Survivors Reach a $ 380 Million Settlement. In nytimes.com, December 13, 2021; accessed December 14, 2021.
  12. ↑ Bonni Cohen, Jon Shenk: Athlete A. Actual Films, Afterimage Public Media, Artemis Rising Foundation, June 24, 2020, accessed January 17, 2021 .