Times ‘harass’ reporter gets to keep his job
roney, now 22, said she was molested by Nassar on dozens of occasions across three continents.
“McKayla went from being a high-functioning gymnast, one of the best in the sport, to being alone, depressed and unable to leave her house. She’s still suffering, and they knew that, and instead of taking her under their wing and trying to help this person who’s a flag-bearer for their sport, they put a gag on her,” lawyer Vince Finaldi told the Daily News.
“They knew this kid was injured, they knew there were complaints by other kids, and instead of doing the right thing by contacting parents, contacting kids and contacting authorities, they chose to silence this Olympian,” he said.
When Maroney went public with a Twitter post in October, she did so knowing she might face financial consequences, Finaldi said.
“It still could trigger penalties, but in weighing those options, what was most important to her was doing the right thing so the public would know and kids could be protected,” Finaldi told The News. “It was a very brave thing she did.”
In her Twitter post, Maroney added her voice to the #MeToo movement and the more than 140 athletes accusing Nassar of misconduct.
“For me the scariest night of my life happened when I was 15 years old. I had flown all day and night with the team to get to Tokyo. He'd given me a sleeping pill for the flight, and the next thing I know, I was all alone with him in his hotel room getting a ‘treatment.’ I thought I was going to die that night,” she wrote.
The new lawsuit further describes the alleged assault in Japan, saying Nassar “proceeded to insert his hand into (her) vagina and anus.”
“He had her nude in a bed after giving her a sleeping pill, and he violated her. This is very, very egregious, very high-level abuse,” Finaldi said.
Maroney’s lawsuit names the U.S. Olympic Committee and Michigan State University, where Nassar had worked for decades, as codefendants.
Nassar was sentenced to 60 years in prison after he pleaded guilty last month to sexually assaulting numerous gymnasts and possessing child pornography.
Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman, both gold medal winners, are among the other famous athletes who have accused Nassar of sexual assault.
Though Nassar was not charged with sexually abusing Maroney, she provided a victim impact statement before his sentencing.
“He abused my trust, he abused my body and he left scars on my psyche that may never go away,” Maroney revealed. “He needs to be behind bars so he will never prey upon another child.”
Finaldi said USA Gymnastics has a history of working with a law firm that represented the Catholic Church over claims of clergy sex abuse.
“One of the things we thought was that people learned a lesson from the way the Catholic Church handled allegations, but this is a page taken right out of that same playbook. It's unfortunate,” he said. TOP NEW YORK TIMES political reporter Glenn Thrush will not lose his job over allegations of sexual harassment, the newspaper said Wednesday.
Thrush, 50, will remain on suspension until January and be pulled from the White House beat, according to the paper.
“While we believe that Glenn has acted offensively, we have decided that he does not deserve to be fired,” said Times Executive Editor Dean Baquet.
Thrush was attending counseling and rehab for substance abuse and will go through training to improve his conduct in the workplace, Baquet added.
The Times’ began an investigation into Thrush’s behavior after a Nov. 20 Vox article written by a former Politico editor who worked with the veteran newsman at the political website.
In her first-person account, Laura McGann detailed how Thrush made moves on her and three other women.
Thrush was hired as a White House correspondent for The Times in January to cover the Trump administration. It is not clear where he will be assigned.
He was also working on a book with fellow Times White House reporter Maggie Haberman.
Their publisher, Random House, announced Wednesday it is dropping Thrush from the project.