Late last year, former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University athletic doctor Larry Nassar plead guilty to several counts of sexual misconduct, essentially sealing a life behind bars. Nassar had also plead guilty of child pronography charges in July of 2017. Overall, over 140 female gymnasts either outright accused Nassar of criminal sexual misconduct or sought a civil case against him. Toward the end of 2017, and prior to his sentencing, Nassar and his attorneys agreed to a plea deal that carried a 25 year minimum sentence with the possibility of parole.

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Nassar claimed to the victims, at the times the assaults took place, that these acts of sexual assault were a part of the “medical treatment” of the athletes. Evidently, no one around Nassar sought to question whether this was a legitimate treatment. Nassar had gained a reputation among his colleagues for being a reliable doctor and one of the best in his industry, so it makes sense that this was the case. Commenting on this, Assistant Attorney General Angela Poviliatis stated “Why would they question him? Why would they question this gymnastics god?” to a judge during last year’s sentencing hearings.

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Many also blamed the culture and support system within USA Gymnastics and Michigan State during Nassar’s time at these institutions. Rachael Denhollander, one of the first to speak up about the abuse she suffered at the hands of Nassar, stated in November after Nassar’s guilty pleas "You don't get someone like Larry Nassar, you don't get a pedophile who is able to abuse without there being a culture surrounding him putting him in that place. Until we deal with the enablers this is going to continue to happen." Representatives from both USA Gymnastics and Michigan State initially denied having knowledge of Nassar’s actions, leading some of the victims to seek out civil negligence cases against the institutions.

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More recent happenings on this case have entailed the revelation of the environment Michigan State and USA Gymnastics established to enable Nassar to commit the crimes he has been accused of. Michigan State reportedly received reports from eight women that Nassar had sexually assaulted them in the nearly 20 years before Nassar was found guilty of any wrongdoing. A total of 14 university representatives were notified of Nassar’s actions and chose to ignore the situation, this according to The Detroit News.

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A problem also existed in the lack of reporting, especially in the early years of these assaults. It is believed that Nassar assaulted his first victim in 1992 during his graduate school tenure at Michigan State. The victim, who was a young teenager at the time, did not notify anyone that she had been abused. It took until 1997, five whole years later for someone to speak up. When Larissa Boyce, an MSU gymnast at the time, told her coach about Nassar “fingering” her vagina during doctor visits, her coach (a female) responded in saying Boyce was “...misunderstanding what was going on,” according to Boyce.  

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Another example of negligence in this case occurred when MSU athletic trainer Destiny Teachnor-Hauk outright denied that she had heard reports of sexual abuse, stating that she “...never had an athlete tell her that Nassar made them uncomfortable.” during a Title IX investigation on Michigan State. This was after a few athletes, namely Thomas Lopez, who would refuse treatment from Nassar despite nagging back injuries, who had told Teachnor-Hauk of the issue. Whether Teachnor-Hauk was outright lying or whether she did not believe the claims, she did not ever file a report or contribute to finding out the truth behind what Nassar did.

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While there is no solid evidence that suggests this, several athletes have also accused USA Gymnastics for enabling Nassar’s actions. Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman called USA Gymnastics “100 percent responsible” for Nassar’s continuous abuse, and even called for the institution to be investigated. USA Gymnastics of course denies anyone in their organization covered up the issue, and have stated that one of the accusations they had been aware of “...did not provide reasonable suspicion that sexual abuse had occurred.” And so, they did not act on this accusation and applauded the victims for stepping forward after the fact. USA Gymnastics has also been accused by many athletes of “victim shaming” and keeping the victims quiet during the assaults.

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Now, the victims are stepping forward and telling Nassar in his sentencing hearings how they feel. Tuesday marks the sixth day that Nassar faced his victims. All of his accusers will have a chance to project their grievances to the man that left severe emotional, cognitive and physical scars. The aforementioned Raisman, who has really been a leader in speaking out against Nassar and the institutions that enabled his actions, stated during the victim’s impact statements last Friday “All these brave women have power, and we will use our voices to make sure you get what you deserve: A life of suffering spent replaying the words delivered by this powerful army of survivors.” Among the additional victims speaking out are Olympians Gabby Douglas, McKayla Maroney, Jordyn Wieber, Simone Biles and USA gymnast Jamie Dantzscher, whose abuse allegedly started when she was 13 years old.

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Especially in this day and age in which many are keeping a watchful eye for this kind of behavior, this case is still a reminder that anyone can be a predator and anyone can be a victim, and that people must be unafraid to speak out against the injustice they feel has wronged them. The victims in this case may serve as an inspiration for many to do just that.