A legal dispute between USA Gymnastics and former national team team physician Larry Nassar, a victim of sexual abuse, ended. The victims reached a $380 million settlement with USA Gymnastics, the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee and its insurance companies. The settlement was confirmed Monday at a hearing at a federal bankruptcy court in Indianapolis. And within the sport's national governing body, the struggle for substantive change has only just begun.
In 2016, Larry Nassar, a former team doctor on the U.S. gymnastics team, was accused by multiple female gymnasts of sexually assaulting hundreds of people over more than 20 years under the guise of "treatment." Hundreds of girls and women said Nassar sexually assaulted them under medical pretexts while working at Michigan State University, the American Gymnastics Association, which trains Olympians, and michigan Gymnasium, a member of the American Gymnastics Association. He pleaded guilty to child pornography in federal court, sexually assaulted female gymnasts in state courts, and was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison in 2018.
Larry Nassar
A federal bankruptcy court in Indianapolis confirmed Monday that USA Gymnastics has reached a $380 million settlement with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and hundreds of victims, ending one aspect of the biggest sexual assault scandal in the history of the U.S. Olympic movement.
More than 90 percent of the victims (more than 500 people) voted for the tentative agreement reached in September. The agreement demanded $425 million in damages, but the court conditionally approved a $380 million modified settlement. More than 300 victims were abused by Nassar, and the remaining victims were abused by individuals with some kind of relationship with usa gymnastics.
However, the financial implications are only part of the equation. A series of non-monetary terms will move USA Gymnastics' victim stakeholders forward. The provisions include a dedicated seat on the organization's Safe Sport Committee, Athlete Health and Wellness Council and board of directors, as well as a thorough review of the culture and practices of USA Gymnastics that allow abusers like Nassar to commit crimes unchecked for years.
In a statement after the settlement was passed, USA Gymnastics President Li Li Leung said, "Survivors, both individually and collectively, have bravely stepped forward to advocate for lasting change in the sport." We are committed to working with them and the gymnastics community as a whole to ensure that we continue to put the safety, health and well-being of athletes and the gymnastics community above all else. ”
Rachael Denhollander, a former women's gymnast who became the first woman to come forward in the fall of 2016 to detail Nassar's sexual abuse, said the terms currently agreed are a key part of the mediation process. Dan Holland told the outside world in a phone interview on Monday, "It's not a question of money, it's a matter of change, it's about accurately assessing what went wrong so that the next generation is safer." ”
From the beginning of the scandal, Dan Holland was one of the most outspoken Nassar victims. She said it was important to go through the legal process so that women could move on with their lives and get the help they needed, "And frankly, the longer this situation goes on, the harder it is for survivors, many of these women, who don't have access to health care without a settlement agreement." We must balance reality with the length of time. We believe that it is in everyone's best interest to accept this settlement agreement. That way survivors can get some superficial justice." Dan Holland also noted that certain types of insurance do not cover certain required medical care and that the settlement will ease some of the financial burden.
Nearly four years ago, Michigan held an exciting sentencing hearing where hundreds of women spoke in detail about their experiences with Nassar and the impact it had on their lives.
Sarah Hershland, chief executive of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), said the organization recognizes that it "failed to protect these athletes and we are sorry for the serious harm they have suffered." It is reported that the USOPC will pay $34 million out of its own pocket and $73 million from the insurance company.
Victim Dan Holland said that from her first interview with the Indianapolis Star until Monday, the more than 5 years had been "hellish" and "it was hellish for all of us, and I had to work so long to get the right thing to happen, for justice to happen, for justice to happen... It shouldn't have taken five years at all. ”