Judge sentences Larry Nassar to 40-175 years
More than 150 women and girls testified against the former sports doctor who admitted molesting some of the country's top gymnasts; Matt Finn reports.
The prison sentence of up to 175 years given to former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar on Wednesday for sexually assaulting girls and young women over more than 20 years – after more than 150 victims testified at his sentencing hearing – should be only the first step in assigning responsibility for his horrific crimes.
The organizations and individuals that employed and did nothing to stop Nassar from attacking his victims while he pretended to give them medical exams must be held accountable as well.
How is it possible that USA Gymnastics, the United States Olympic Committee and Michigan State University failed to place a nurse in the room while a male physician was supposedly providing medical care – but in fact sexually molesting his victims?
How is it possible that three large, world-renowned organizations could fail to protect vulnerable children – some in elementary school and one only 6-years-old?
The teenagers and women preyed up by Nassar are glad that he will be locked up for the rest of his life, but tomorrow they will continue a lifelong journey of replaying the assaults they endured. Events of this emotional magnitude rarely go away.
Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon resigned Wednesday night after leading the school for 13 years, saying that “I am so sorry that a trusted, renowned physician was really such an evil, evil person who inflicted such harm under the guise of medical treatment.” But that is not enough.
Simon still refuses to accept responsibility for what occurred under her watch. In her resignation letter she wrote: “As tragedies are politicized, blame is inevitable. As President, it is only natural that I am the focus of this anger.”
Four members of the USA Gymnastics board have resigned. But that is not enough. It’s time for the rest of them to follow suit. The same goes for the directors of the USOC. In addition, new safeguards – such as requiring a nurse to be present during all physical examinations – need to be put in place immediately.
Nassar should have never been allowed to molest his innocent victims. Part of the reason he got away with his monstrous assaults over so many years was due to the negligence of his employers.
Everyone who works with children knows that ultimately, your greatest responsibility is to protect them. Parents trust teachers, coaches, doctors, clergy and other adults with access to their children. When you’re entrusted with a child’s well-being, you must be willing to shelter him or her from harm, and if necessary, guard the child with your life.
Any responsible teacher, coach, pastor, or doctor will tell you this. They know because they accept this responsibility every day and they take it very seriously. Unfortunately, three goliath organizations were unable to fulfill this most sacred of duties.
It’s neglect. Plain and simple. Remember, we’re not talking about 20 months of child molestation. We’re talking about over 20 years.
Are we to believe that no one in any of these three organizations bothered to oversee Nassar as he attacked his victims? And how about the complaints from the victims, dating back to 1997? These complaints were ignored, and the anger redirected at the girls and young women.
In 1997, teenage gymnast Larissa Boyce told a Michigan State University coach that she was uncomfortable with the intravaginal “treatments” from Nassar. But instead of protecting her, she was humiliated by her coach and told she was “unfairly misaligning a well-respected doctor.”
Unfortunately, with all their money, power, and political capital, USA Gymnastics, the USOC and Michigan State University have ducked responsibility for their roles in this tragedy.
Nassar is never to be heard from again. He will die in prison. Yet the entities that employed him must be held responsible as well and ordered to do far more for the children and young adults they are entrusted to protect.
Meanwhile, over 200 girls and young women may be in and out of therapy for the rest of their lives. Demons of this nature die hard, and these victims may face a lifetime of psychological suffering.
The teenagers and women preyed up by Nassar are glad that he will be locked up for the rest of his life, but tomorrow they will continue a lifelong journey of replaying the assaults they endured. Events of this emotional magnitude rarely go away.
If America is the great society we always claim it is, we should stand up to all three of the powerful organizations that employed Nassar and demand that they be held accountable for failing the very children they are in business to educate, train and protect.
If we fail to do this, we need to stop bragging to the world regarding our moral and ethical superiority. For if we don’t care enough to punish those who fail to protect the most vulnerable among us, what kind of a country are we?
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