[ARETE] Sport and Society /712/20 "Athlete A"
richard crepeau
crepeau1 at msn.com
Mon Jul 13 14:37:13 CDT 2020
SPORT AND SOCIETY FOR ARETE
JULY 12, 2020
For those who have access to Netflix, I would recommend you take two hours out of your schedule and watch the newly released “Athlete A” directed by Booni Cohen and Jon Shenk. The film examines the sexual abuse of young gymnasts by Dr. Larry Nasser and many others at USA Gymnastics (USAG) and at Michigan State University. “Athlete A” brings together a number of the cases pertinent to the sexual abuse of young girls under the less than watchful eye of those in charge of USAG. It is as ugly a sports story as there has been in recent memory.
The documentary has several threads. First, it is the dramatic story of how the Indy Star newspaper uncovered the multiple layers of sexual abuse of young girls who were pursuing the sport of gymnastics. Second, it is the story of the corruption within the governing body and administrative staff of USAG, and the systematic cover-up of the charges of abuse, sexual and otherwise. Third, it is the story of Dr. Larry Nasser, the USA Gymnastics team doctor, and his predatory activities within the national team and as team doctor at Michigan State University. Fourth, it is the story of the psychological damage and the anguish of the survivors of the abuse by Larry Nasser and by the coaches and administrators of USAG.
It is also a cautionary tale for young athletes pursuing the Olympic dream and for the parents of those athletes who turn their children over to athletic authorities in pursuit of athletic glory.
For the Indy Star investigative reporting team, the story began in 2016 as they were investigating cases of sexual abuse of young girls by their gymnastics coaches. This led the reporters to a case in Georgia in which multiple warnings about a coach were ignored, thus allowing the coach to continue to abuse young girls over a seven year period. What the Indy Star reporters found was that USA Gymnastics, as a matter of policy, ignored charges of abuse unless they came directly from the gymnast or a parent.
The Indy Star found that USAG had a file of complaints involving over fifty coaches with four cases going back into the 1990’s. When the first story appeared it was read on Facebook by Rachael Denhollander, a former gymnast, a lawyer, and mother of three. She immediately sent an email to one of the reporters that included the following: “I was not molested by my coach, but I was molested by Dr. Larry Nassar, the team doctor for USAG. I was fifteen years old, and it was under the guise of medical treatment for my back."
Within a few days two other former gymnasts contacted the Indy Star, and, in each instance, the name of Larry Nasser was mentioned as an abuser. These three women did not know one another and had no contact with one another.
>From this point on, the investigation snowballed as woman after woman came forward with charges of abuse by Nasser. By the time of Nasser’s trial, over 150 women had come forward with charges against him.
The story of the cover-up at USAG and at Michigan State University is appalling. Institutional protection clearly took precedent over protection of the athletes. In addition, the national training facility in Texas, run by Bella and Martha Karolyi, was a place of intimidation and fear. The young gymnasts were isolated from all contact with the world outside the Karolyi Ranch. The harsh training methods and humiliation of the athletes were nothing short of child abuse. Larry Nasser was the doctor for the gymnasts at the ranch.
All of this receives the attention of the filmmakers. Woven through the story is the testimony of the athletes. There were many horror stories to report, and “Athlete A” chose a few to treat in detail. All of them left me with a sickening feeling as tales of sexual abuse, physical abuse, and psychological damage rolled across the screen.
One of the most striking cases was that of Maggie Nichols, a top gymnasts and a teammate of Simone Biles. Nichols was the first one, along with her parents, to lodge a complaint of sexual abuse by Larry Nasser to the USAG authorities. When the complaint was filed, Steve Penney, then the President of the USAG, did not report it to the police as required by Texas law. Penny continually reassured the Nichols family that the matter was being handled by USAG. It was not. As the Rio Olympics neared, it was clear on several fronts that Maggie Nichols’ talent was being minimized by the USAG. When the Olympic team was announced, Nichols was neither a member nor an alternate.
It was a shocking development to the Nichols family and for many of the other gymnasts and fans. It was clear in hindsight that Maggie Nichols’ complaint against Larry Nasser played a major role in the decision to leave her off the team.
One of the interesting facets of this whole story of abuse is that the Indy Star series was not the first warning about these abuses. In 1995, Joan Ryan’s book, Pretty Girls in Little Boxes described the abuse of young girls in gymnastics and figure skating. In 2008, Jennifer Sey, seven time member of the U.S. Gymnastics Team and 1986 National Champion, published Chalked Up exposing the culture of abuse in gymnastics. Sey was also a producer for “Athlete A.”
In 2017, in a New York Times Op-Ed piece, Jennifer Sey offered this summary: "Women’s gymnastics is a sport in which the athletes are very young and barely clothed, and many of the coaches are male. It is a sport in which screaming insults at children is considered an accepted motivational technique, in which competing with severe injuries is the norm, in which discouraging athletes from eating is common practice and in which abuse, broadly defined, is standard."
For anyone who teaches courses on Women and Sport or on the Culture of Sport, or for those simply interested in sport in all of its pain and glory, “Athlete A” would make a great contribution to the curriculum, as well as, a cautionary tale about power and its consequences.
>From nearly every angle, “Athlete A” leaves you with a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach. This story is a disgusting example of massive sexual abuse carried out by a predator under cover provided by those who were charged with the responsibility to care for the child athletes. It is also a horrible example of power that lost its way. This is a story that cannot be told often enough, and therefore a film worth watching.
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you that you don’t have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.
Copyright 2020 by Richard C. Crepeau
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