‘Doctor fostered trustworthy image’

US gymnastics team recounts how accused gained trust to sexually assault athletes

CHICAGO: Three years before dozens of women accused former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar (pic) of sexual assault, a podcast interview with him captured his views on treating athletes.

“We protect our athletes... not just physically but mentally,” Nassar said. “You have to let them know that you care... Let them feel it.”

The more than one-hour interview appeared on a December 2013 episode of GymCastic, a podcast popular in the US gymnastics world. Founder and host Jessica O’Beirne now listens to those words in horror.

“You can hear how we’re all manipulated,” O’Beirne said in an interview. “I think it’s super important to serve as an example of how predators work.”

Law enforcement officials have accused Nassar of using his position with the governing body that sets rules and selects US Olympic gymnasts to sexually assault dozens of athletes and other patients over decades.

The 53-year-old doctor has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, including child pornography, and is in jail awaiting trial.

Nassar served as the US gymnastics team’s doctor from 1996 to 2015, through four Olympic Games.

“He was very eager to teach, as he was going about treating coaches and athletes,” O’Beirne remembered. “He did not have the aloofness that you get with a lot of MDs. He was open, caring, thoughtful.”

Nassar honed an image as a sports medicine specialist and a doctor of osteopathic medicine, which specialises in using hand manipulation of muscles and joints to help in healing.

Former athletes who accuse Nassar of assaulting them say he was empowered by an environment in elite gymnastics where complaints or signs of injury could jeopardise Olympic dreams.

Jamie Dantzscher, one of three US national team gymnasts interviewed on CBS television’s “60 Minutes” news programme last month, said Nassar built trust to become a confidant when the stress of Olympic training wore them down.

“He was like my buddy. He was on my side. I felt like we weren’t allowed to even smile in the gym, so getting treatment, him just joking around and talking about how horrible they (coaches) were, it was kind of like a bright light,” Dantzscher said.

The former member of the 2000 Sydney Olympic US bronze medal squad accused Nassar of assaulting her from the age of 13 until 18.

“He would put his fingers inside of me and move my leg around,” Dantzscher told CBS.

“He would tell me I was going to feel a pop and that that would put my hips back and help my back pain,” she said. — AFP