PREDATOR IN THEIR MIDST
Monster’s abuse a dark cloud over USA Gymnastics
When I first met Dr. Larry Nassar, he was as accessible as anyone I’ve ever seen at a major gymnastics event.
He was willing to speak on and off the record on athlete injuries as he buzzed around the USA Gymnastics national championships in Hartford five years ago.
But it was all smoke and mirrors.
This disgraced doctor — who preyed on scores of innocent girls dreaming of Olympic glory — was just drawing attention away from invasive treatments he derived sick satisfaction from.
So his abuse continued until 2015, when gymnast Maggie Nichols and her coach stepped forward and reported it to USA Gymnastics. The organization finally took some action, but it was more about covering up the crime and less about reporting it to authorities.
A Michigan judge sentenced him yesterday to 40 to 175 years in prison for molestation.
But the sad truth still remains — both Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics allowed a man they employed to not just abuse young athletes for years, but to do so as a substitute for actual medical treatment.
Take the case of 2012 Olympian Jordyn Wieber.
After winning two World Championships, Wieber entered the London Games injured. Nassar and Wieber’s coach, John Geddert, were best buddies for decades. Geddert provided Nassar a secluded treatment room in his gym and a stream of young gymnasts to treat, including Wieber.
Wieber spoke about her abuse for the first time in these victim impact statements, raising the question of if she had ever received proper medical treatment heading into the Olympics.
“Was I getting the proper medical care, or was he only focused on which one of us he was going to prey on next?” Wieber said in court a week ago.
Wieber and her teammates, including Needham’s Aly Raisman, were consistently told that Nassar was their only option for treatment at the national team training camps run by gymnastics savants Bela and Marta Karolyi.
It has become clear that the leadership of USA Gymnastics may have brought the U.S. to the gold-medal promised land, but it allowed hundreds of women to be physically and mentally abused along the way.
And, in another overdue move, the United States Olympic Committee said it would decertify USA Gymnastics if the entire board and directors were not replaced. As of this week, only three members of the board had resigned.
If that happens, the national gymnastics championships, scheduled for the TD Garden in August, could be canceled.
Nassar will never see the light of day again, but those who love gymnastics as athletes, coaches, fans and journalists hope that a bright light remains on the horrors that occurred and the changes that must be made.