Former sports doctor sentenced to 40 to 125 years in prison
The former sports doctor whose serial sexual abuse of girls and young women has shaken the gymnastics world was sentenced Monday to a third prison term of 40 to 125 years behind bars for molesting young athletes at an elite Michigan training centre.
Larry Nassar, 54, listened to dozens of victims for two days last week and was almost attacked by a man whose three daughters said they were abused.
He pleaded guilty to penetrating girls with ungloved hands when they sought treatment for injuries at Twistars, a gymnastics club that was run by a 2012 U.S. Olympic coach. Nassar already has been sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison in another county and to a 60-year federal term for child pornography crimes. He worked for Michigan State and USA Gymnastics, which trains Olympians.
Randy Margraves was tackled by sheriff’s deputies Friday before he could pummel Nassar in court. He said he wanted just a minute in a locked room with the “demon.”
“This cannot be a lawless society. I know that,” Margraves, 58, told reporters during a public apology. “I lost control, but I gained control later in a holding cell.”
More than 260 women and girls say they were assaulted by Nassar, some as far back as the 1990s. Most victims who wanted to speak publicly or submit a statement did so earlier during Nassar’s seven-day court hearing in Ingham County, including 2012 Olympic teammates Aly Raisman, Jordyn Wieber and McKayla Maroney.
The scandal has rocked Michigan State, which has been accused of repeatedly missing opportunities to stop Nassar, who had a campus office and was a revered figure in sports medicine.
“Grid kids” are replacing “grid girls” in Formula One as the motorsport series makes changes ahead of the new season.
F1 says youngsters from motorsport clubs, who are already competing in karting, will stand alongside drivers on the grid before races this season.
The announcement Monday comes after the series last week ended the long-standing practice of using women on the grid, and on the podium with the top three drivers, because it no longer fits in with Formula One’s values and societal norms.
■
The latest initiative is a joint venture by the FIA - motorsport’s governing body - and F1’s owners.
FIA President Jean Todt says “Grid Kids” gives “future champions of our sport the opportunity to stand alongside their heroes.”
Sean Bratches, F1’s managing director of commercial operations, adds: “What better way to inspire the next generation of Formula 1 heroes.”
F1 is owned by Liberty Media, which has been changing how the sport is run since taking over from former commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone in January 2017. The season starts on March 25 at the Australian Grand Prix.