If Simone Biles, the great world star, had a daughter who wanted to train in the artistic gymnastics team of the United States, I would prohibit it. The most awarded gymnast in history argued two weeks ago on the 60 Minutes (CBS) program that she does not feel comfortable enough with her country’s federation “because they have not taken responsibility for her actions.” “And they have not assured us that it will never happen again,” added the Olympic champion and five-time world champion in relation to the biggest scandal in American sports, that of the sexual abuse of doctor Larry Nassar. That hostile climate deepened this week when John Geddert, the coach of the London 2012 Olympic team, was charged with human trafficking and sexually assaulting a teenage girl, then killed himself a few hours later.
To determine when the debacle of the United States Gymnastics Federation (USAG) begins, you have to go back to the end of 2016, when the Indianapolis Star newspaper dropped the bomb that at least 368 girl gymnasts suffered sexual abuse in the last two decades by of coaches and that the federation had ignored dozens of complaints. Or the day after the publication, when Rachael Denhollander called a reporter to tell him that she was not the victim of a coach when she was a minor, but of the doctor of the federation’s Olympic team, Larry Nassar.
The former doctor is serving a de facto life sentence after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography and sexually abusing at least 265 minors and young women. Among his victims is Biles, but also Jordyn Wieber (Geddert’s best gymnast, world champion in 2011 and team gold in London 2012), Aly Raisman (member of that Olympic squad and Olympic runner-up four years later in Rio 2016) and so many others.
The American federation has had four presidents in less than four years. The last long-winded was Steve Penny, accused in October 2018 of falsifying and destroying evidence in the Nassar case. As soon as the scandal was uncovered with the Star report, the then executive director stated: “As a father, there is nothing that matters more to me than the health and protection of little girls.” In June 2015, Maggie Nichols, one of the best gymnasts in the country, had told her coach that Nassar had abused her. She this she took the complaint to Penny, who instead of immediately alerting the authorities, as required by law, took five weeks to report it to the FBI. John Manly, attorney for several victims, argued that more than 50 girls were abused by Nassar during that time,
Penny was replaced by Kerry Pery; She also had to resign, accused by Nassar’s victims of little commitment when it came to cleaning up the federation. His successor, former Republican congresswoman Mary Bono, lasted four days in office: she was criticized by gymnasts such as Simone Biles and Aly Raissman for her involvement with a law firm that advised USA Gymnastics [the federation] to try to limit the scope of the abuse scandal made by the doctor.
Almost two and a half years have passed since the scandal broke and the responsibilities of those who allowed a culture of abuse to be established are limited to a shower of resignations from high-ranking officials and the conviction of Nassar. The Justice Department has not yet released any findings from the investigation into the Gymnastics Federation’s and FBI’s handling of the case. The researchers interviewed the athletes and their parents between August and October 2018. Merrick Garland, appointed by President Joe Biden as attorney general, assured this Monday in the Senate that, if confirmed, he will advocate for the result of the trial to be made public. the investigation. Meanwhile, in August 2019, Maggie Haney, coach of the Olympic team, was investigated for alleged verbal and emotional abuse of her athletes.
A 2019 congressional report concluded that the USAG, the University of Michigan, the US Olympic Committee and the FBI were slow to react, allowing Nassar to continue seeing patients while they investigated. In May 2018, the university reached a €414 million settlement to compensate 332 Nassar victims. For its part, the federation faces lawsuits filed by more than 300 women who accuse it of failing to protect them from Nassar, including Olympians, who last year rejected a $178 million settlement. “It’s not just unfeasible, it’s inconceivable,” attorney John Manly said at the time. USAG filed for bankruptcy in 2018.
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The case, and the documentaries that were inspired by it, have encouraged gymnasts from other countries to denounce physical and mental abuse and an unhealthy and harmful work culture for athletes who in many cases are minors. In the United Kingdom, a group of retired gymnasts has announced that it is considering suing the federation of their country.
Geddert had been charged by the Michigan District Attorney with 24 crimes related to human trafficking, forced labor and sexual assault. The 63-year-old former coach was scheduled to surrender at 2:15 p.m. last Thursday to the Eaton County (Michigan) authorities to be processed that same afternoon in court. However, at 3:24 p.m., police found his lifeless body at a Clinton County interstate highway rest area.
“Without Geddert there would have been no Nassar,” said attorney Sarah Klein, a survivor of both. “John was a horrible verbal and physical abuser, he would break our spirit, our mind, and Larry would put us back together. It was the perfect combination,” she told Mid Michigan-NOW after hearing the news of the suicide.
“The bravery of Geddert’s many victims will forever stand out against their cowardice,” Klein said. Geddert’s death left an army of women thirsty for justice that continues to fight against the ghosts of abuse. Meanwhile, the authorities, once again, are late. And they no longer dream of being gymnasts, but that their daughters do not want to be.
