Culture of silence endangering
Editorial: Young athletes suffer
Knowing that an adult has been accused of molesting minors — and allowing him to have continued access to them — is as incomprehensible as it is shameful.
Yet that’s what two top executives of the U.S. Olympic movement did for almost a year after being warned that Larry Nassar, a well-known physician to elite athletes, was suspected of molesting young gymnasts.
The delay enabled Nassar, who has since been imprisoned after 350 women and girls accused him of molesting them, to continue his abuse for another 14 months. All told, Nasser’s abuse under the guise of medical treatment went on for 25 years.
The details of the leadership failure were revealed last week in an independent report commissioned by the U.S. Olympic Committee. One of the executives, U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun, resigned in February; the other, chief of sport performance Alan Ashley, was fired as soon as the committee’s new leader became aware of the report’s contents.
But the wider lesson that should have been learned from the Nassar scandal, and sexual abuse that also involved numerous gymnastic coaches, has yet to sink in.
A half-dozen coaches banned by Olympic governing bodies for sexual misconduct were still active in their sports, some coaching young people, according to a report last week by USA TODAY. The coaches — including one who served time in prison for the lewd and lascivious assault of a child — were working in sports ranging from tae kwon do in Florida to equestrian sports in Oklahoma.
The system that is supposed to protect young people from assault is also in disarray, reporters found. About half of the 40 sports governing bodies that responded to a USA TODAY survey maintain a public list of banned coaches. Some are so short on detail, they are worthless.
USA Gymnastics, the governing body that oversees the sport, finally reported Nassar to the FBI in September 2015. But, apart from that action, it and the Olympic Committee “took no meaningful steps to protect athletes from the danger presented by Nassar,” the report by the Ropes & Gray law firm found.
Silence is not simply inaction. It turns institutions into enablers.
So, what can be done?
Under pressure, the Olympic Committee has made a start. Last year, it created the Center for SafeSport, tasked with ensuring children are protected across all Olympic sports. Since June, the committee has been working to help SafeSport create a national database of all banned coaches. In this digital age, it’s shocking that one doesn’t already exist.
The key ingredient, however, is a change in culture, which starts at the top. Olympic Committee leaders will need to convincingly demonstrate that they care more about children’s welfare than about avoiding negative publicity.