Dismissive and unconcerned: That’s the way U.S.A. Gymnastics responded to allegations of sexual misconduct against its team physician, Larry Nassar.
The renowned doctor was found to have been sexually abusing gymnasts from 1999 to September, 2016 under the supervision (or lack thereof) of USA Gymnastics. Now, more than eighteen years later, he has pled guilty to seven accounts of sexual assault and is sentenced 40 to 175 years or imprisonment. U.S.A. Gymnastics, which represents our Olympic gymnasts and our country, is being held responsible for not acting against Larry Nassar sooner. When the first stories of molestations surfaced, the association failed to act. The victim’s allegations were largely ignored by the organization for years.
According to CNN, before his recent sentencing, coaches and workers like Nassar, who had been taking advantage of the gymnasts, suffered no major repercussions. Any noise which was made remained unheard and the people in power put victims and their loved ones on mute.
The lawsuit following the case of Nassar’s abuse notes how the U.S gymnastic organization was not only unsuccessful in supervising Nassar’s care routine, but also failed to stop other abuse from happening. For this reason, the remaining board members all resigned from the Olympic committee. An abuse of this size and of this longevity should never happen again – and the legal ramifications surrounding the case promise it won’t. Now, any further reports of sexual misconduct will be reported to child welfare authorities and law enforcement agencies.
Even with oversight being implemented, however, the repercussions U.S. Gymnastics Organization face cannot be compared to the magnitude of pain which they caused their gymnasts in the first place.
Medals were put first before children. Scoreboards were listened to, not the cries from the girls scoring points. An organization that was held at such high standards has let its team, and women everywhere, down.
What holds the most power, on the other hand, throughout this case, is the sight of a band composed of strong women who were brave enough to stand in front of a courtroom and testify about their sexual assaults.
Former gymnast Rachael Denhollander, the last to testify, unites the women, and the New York Times perfectly describes the magnitude of her resilience in that moment. They report that she, “had the first word and the last one,” and commented on how her “single voice eventually raised an army.”
It was that instance itself which holds more effect than any sizable repercussion put into place from a third party. Denhollander, like the other women, got to finally bring a final voice to their assaults.