Critical voice finally heard
USA Gymnastics last week released a 100-page report compiled by former federal prosecutor Deborah Daniels in the wake of a wave of allegations by former gymnasts who have said they were sexually abused by coaches and medical personnel over a period of several years. • Daniels’ report included 70 recommendations for changes in the federation’s policies and procedures to ensure that allegations of abuse are reported promptly and directly to law enforcement. • The report did not address criminal charges against Dr. Larry Nassar, a former national team doctor accused of abusing dozens of young female athletes, or civil litigation against USA Gymnastics and against Bela and Martha Karolyi, who were national team coordinators and who own the Sam Houston National Forest ranch that houses the national team training center. • 1996 gold medalist Dominique Moceanu, who trained in Houston with the Karolyis during the 1990s but over the past decade has been a vocal critic of the couple and of USA Gymnastics’ policies on team selection and athletes’ rights, discussed the report and its recommendations last week with Chronicle staff writer David Barron.
Q: What are your thoughts on the 70 recommended changes in USA Gymnastics policies and procedures?
A: The recommendations are nobrainers, things that my husband (former gymnast Dr. Mike Canales) and I have talked to people about for years. They are common-sense approaches to child safety at the forefront of any decision-making operation. Some of these things could have been put in place 10 years ago if people had been willing to listen.
It may be years late, but it’s a start. And they had to do it, because (USA Gymnastics) had been backed into a corner to do some self-reflection of what happened and how did we get here.
We shouldn’t be jumping up and down that this is an amazing list of recommendations. Deborah Daniels did her job. She was supposed to look forward and make recommendations, and that is what she did.
Q: USA Gymnastics has canceled plans to purchase the Karolyi Ranch, which has been the national team training center since the early 2000s, and will move the training center to another location. What are your thoughts on that decision?
A: This should have been done years ago. We need to make sure that all the athletes feel welcome, especially those who were abused. Some were abused (at the ranch). How can we ask them, if they have children, to bring their children to a place where they were harmed?
I think the Karolyis and USA Gymnastics are in a big battle as to who is to blame for the child safety issue, so there is a big battle as to who is going to have legal responsibility. In Texas and Indiana, it is illegal not to report abuse if it involves children.
So I think the people who knew that this had happened need to be careful how they sleep at night, because it all comes out, there will be people in cuffs. People will have to be held accountable. This is far from over.
Q: One of the recommendations is to remove the men’s and women’s athlete representative from the Olympic selection process, which in recent years has been dominated by the women’s national team coordinator, Martha Karolyi. What are your thoughts on that recommendation?
A: The athlete representative had a strong role and can provide good insight, but it was trumped by the national team coordinator, so they never felt they could speak their mind and if they did, nobody took their thoughts into consideration. They were scared to speak up because they didn’t want to go against the grain.
Based on the history of the athlete rep not speaking up, which is their job, not to go into alliance with what the national team coordinator wanted, they have to eliminate it now to see if it will help future selection procedures.
You have to defend the athlete first. And, much of the time, they have gone into protect themselves mode. You can’t just put on girls that you like. They have to have earned it.
Q: What are your expectations for the future?
A: There is pending litigation, and there will be a lot of depositions, so you see the board members distancing themselves from Dr. Nassar. There is no mention of him (in the Daniels report). This was done strategically because they want to distance themselves from it.
This is far from over. The board has to implement these recommendations, but we have lost a lot of trust in the governing body’s ability to govern. It will take years to gain that trust back.
Q: Your son is a gymnast. Do you feel better about him competing in the sport as a result of these recommendations?
A: I will feel better if they are implemented for the future of the sport for all children. I know my son will be protected. My husband and I will be involved because we know the sport so well. For all children, I want all parents to have peace of mind that when they leave their child in a gym, they will be safe and that if anything happens, it will be reported.
Q: You have been a longtime critic of the manner in which Bela and Martha Karolyi administered the team selection process. Do you feel any sense of vindication?
A: I always knew what I said was factual and the truth. The fact that Deborah Daniels also recognized what a massive cultural overhaul and change we needed is rewarding.
She has seen everything that I knew and talked about, and I feel good about that. It was my duty to speak out, even though it came at a cost.
This was a mandatory self-evaluation that had to be done. And now, it is important that the recommendations are implemented with certainty and truthfulness and we absolutely see a cultural change.
You can’t tell me that overnight, some of the board members will change their mentality. That takes time. Q: What are your thoughts on Bela and Martha Karolyi? A: Time will tell their story and their tale and their ending.