Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

Im surprised no one posted about this yet. I was so proud of the courageous women who had to confront him. That judge was amazing. My only question is HOW could no one else have known something was off/wrong (including parents)?

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The judge who essentially threw his statement away??? She’s awesome. I love her.

Someone had to have known. I don’t believe that no one did.

Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

I read that one of the victims told her mom in the car on the way home from her appointment that the Dr. put his fingers inside her vagina. Like WTF is wrong with that parent?

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The whole thing is disgusting. The entire US gymnastic organization needs to be overhauled. BS nobody knew about this. Not only did they know, they enabled it. Disgusting people.

But you know who else is at fault? The parents. They had one of the girls on GMA this morning and she was saying how she faked an injury - she smashed her own head in the bathroom- just to get out of going. She said she had been crying to her parents that she didn't want to go and that was the only way out for her. Are you kidding? Of the 156 victims, NONE of these parents knew what was going down? Your daughter is pleading not to go and you still send her? For what? The possibility of Olympic glory? Please. Its sick. All these girls are mentally battered now (an not just from Larry Nassar).

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I follow gymnastics very closely. I'm sure there are many other people that knew. I'm praying they de-certify USA Gymnastics and start all over. Everyone needs to go.

As far as the parents, it's hard to judge people involved in elite sports. They put so much into their child's career and so many people get blinded by that and think that they need to keep going for it all to be "worth it." Obviously this doesn't make it right or excuse them, but people get so caught up in it I don't even think they can see straight.

But let's not forget this happens in many, if not all, youth sports. Insane coaches, pushy parents, poor training methods, it's everywhere. Hopefully this will help shed a light on abuse in all youth sports.

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Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

Message edited 1/25/2018 2:19:30 PM.

Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

It's so crazy to me. But, the parents did not have access to their children when they were traveling for competitions. They have to stay in a separate hotel from them. And I think many of the kids were afraid to speak up, because they thought this was just part of living their dream. Speaking up might mean they don't get to go to the Olympics. It's sad and sick all around

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i feel so much disgust about this case. my heart breaks for those victims.

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I read one of the victims statements and other info on cnn


Many did tell their parents. He claimed it was medical pelvic floor procedures. One girls mom was in the room ??!!!!

When it was reported, girls were told they didn’t understand the difference between medical and sexual abuse. Reports were handled in house and not with authorities.

So sad. There needs to be charges against these adults who heard complaint after complaint and buried it.

That’s what I don’t get. There has to be so many other doctors out there. Why was he so protected?

If I was a coach and heard this from multiple girls, how can you shrug it off and blame it on girls confusion ?! Insane to me.

Parents may only have their one child. I’m not excusing them. But there were people/coaches/mgmt that heard multiple multiple complaints and did nothing. They are just as guilty.

Michigan state equally as guilty

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Disgusting. Of course people knew they just chose to sweep it under the rug.

Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

Just listened to 3 of the victims on the Megan Kelly show. One of the girls started being abused at the age of 6! Nassar was a family friend and they spent a lot of time together. At about 11 she told her family and they basically didn't believe her. Her father wound up committing suicide.

Another woman discussed how a complaint was made to the MSU gymnastics coach in 1997 (!) by a 16 yr old and the coach shamed the girl - even though a 14 yr old also made a complaint at the same time. And then completely swept it under the rug. The coach was allowed to retire with her full pension

The doctor is the most disgusting human being I could imagine, but there are a whole lot of enablers out there that should face serious consequences as well

Message edited 1/25/2018 5:50:27 PM.

Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

It’s disgusting and the freaking parents should get locked up to. Assholes.. I’m sorry I do not feel one bit of empathy for any of those adults.

It’s like the entertainment industry, parents let their kids run wild and unprotected so they can get the next big check and live through their kids. Sick sick industries.

ETA: there is no way someone is sticking their fingers in my daughters vagina for a pelvic exam and I’m in the room oblivious. Your pants shouldn’t be off.. it’s not the GYN.

Message edited 1/25/2018 7:15:36 PM.

Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

I listened to two full days of victim impact statements. I've also read a lot about this because I follow gymnastics (although not as closely as I did 10 years ago).

First - pelvic floor techniques are legitimate medical procedures. Nassar claimed that was what he was doing. However, as Rachel Denhollander was able to show, Nassar's "treatment" although labeled as pelvic floor therapy, was not the actual legitimate therapy.

Second - the girls reported to the coaches and other athletic trainers, who in turn went to Nassar, who claimed it was legitimate medical therapy. I have yet to find one instance where the person told of the abuse was a mandated reporter. This is one of the first changes that needs to be made - all athletic coaches and trainers should be mandated reporters. Then, they would all have personal liability for failing to com forward.

Third - to whoever made the comment about the child having her pants off - that is one of the horrible things about this case - the girls (except for McKayla Maroney - my understanding of what happened to her is that she was raped after being drugged) had their pants on. They were all wearing "loose" shorts, which enable Nassar to slip his hands under them.

Fourth - if your parent was in the room while you were being treated, wouldn't you think everything the doctor was doing was the right thing? These girls were very young with no frame of reference. For many of them the abuse started before puberty.

These girls were groomed, and groomed well. Bela Karolyi, for all of his success, has been called a tyrant. Read some of Nadia's claims. Elite level gymnasts suffer a tremendous amount of verbal abuse that has been well documented. Nassar provided them with a shoulder to cry on. He gave them gifts, and food when they were alone and away from home. Much the way kidnapping victims "fall in love" with their captor, these girls looked at Nassar as their protector from the coaches. All of these girls adored him at one point, even worshiped him.

I'm not a doctor. If my daughter came to me and said the doctor did something that made her uncomfortable and I went to him, and he gave me some well thought out and detailed explanation of a medical therapy - who would I be to question it? In the year 2017 we have internet to look it up and see what it is, but in 1994 there was no such ability. Prior to late 1998 there was no google. It wasn't even really mainstream until 2004 or so.

Let's face it - this guy had serious street cred. He was the guy for USA gymnastics. Who remembers Kerri Strug and her vault on one foot in Atlanta that won the US team the gold medal?? Nassar is the doctor who treated her. He's in several pictures from those games. Most notably this one:



That's him with his hand out to take her from Marta Karolyi and Mary Lee Tracey.

Who was anyone to question this guy??? That's why he got away with it as long as he did.

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Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

The US olympic committee just demanded that the entire USA Gymnastics board resign or they will lose their status as the governing body of the sport.

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I will tell you, I know that USAG sweeps things under the rug. My daughter is a gymnast, and I was made aware of some ongoing incidents from her former female coach which involved the the male owner of our former gym, who also coaches the older girls. Incidents that did not involve my child, but involved the girls that this man coaches. She said she made some complaints to USAG, and they pretty much brushed it off. The organization as a whole needs an overhaul.

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Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

Message edited 1/26/2018 9:19:10 AM.

Re: Larry Nassar and USA gymnastics team

Message edited 1/26/2018 9:27:01 AM.