Karolyis deny knowing about doctor’s behavior

Former USA Gymnastics women’s national team coordinator Martha Karolyi and husband Bela told NBC they were unaware of the abusive behavior by a former national team doctor now serving decades in prison.

Martha Karolyi led the national team for 15 years before retiring after the 2016 Rio Olympics. She told Savannah Guthrie in “no way” did she suspect Larry Nassar was sexually abusing athletes under the guise of treatment.

“The whole gymnastics community couldn’t recognize this,” Martha Karolyi said in an excerpt provided to the Associated Press on Friday by NBC. “Everybody said, ‘Larry Nassar is a good doctor. Larry Nassar is a good guy.’ ”

The Karolyis spoke as part of a Dateline NBC special titled “Silent No More” scheduled to air Sunday. The one-hour special takes a look at the fallout from revelations about years of abuse by Nassar involving hundreds of athletes.

“The whole thing is just like an explosion, a bomb exploding,” Bela Karolyi said. “Boom.”

The Karolyis have been named as co-defendants in several civil lawsuits filed against Nassar and USA Gymnastics.