Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor, has been charged with multiple counts of child sex assault and rape in what is described as the biggest sexual abuse scandal in sports history. Nassar's victims include some of the most famous female athletes, such as Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney, and outnumber the alleged victims of Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby combined.
Nassar abused girls at the 2012 London Olympics, at the Károlyi Ranch training centre in Texas, and at gymnastics meets in Rotterdam. Over the course of his week-long sentencing hearing, more than 150 women gave impact statements describing lives crushed by trauma and shame. Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced Nassar to up to 175 years in prison, telling him, 'You are not a doctor.'
The scandal has raised questions about how the abuse was allowed to continue for so long. Complaints were made to Michigan State University as far back as 1998, but were ignored. An investigation by the Indy Star revealed a pattern in USA Gymnastics of hushing up or downplaying complaints about sexual abuse. Gold medallist Aly Raisman testified that despite statements about athlete care being the highest priority, 'this nightmare was happening.'
Experts say the culture of gymnastics, which grooms girls from a young age to deny their own feelings, enabled the abuse. Former US national champion Jennifer Sey noted that sexual abuse was known in the sport in the 1980s, but abusers were protected due to their reputations and fear of ostracism. Joan Ryan, author of 'Little Girls in Pretty Boxes,' said, 'There is no other sport in which this could have happened but gymnastics.'
