Category: ethics

North Carolina celebrates diversity

North Carolina gymnastics head coach Derek Galvin sat down with his gymnasts prior to their meet against Temple on Friday night, holding a … Maya Angelou poem.

He handed out copies to both teams and read it aloud to his own:

“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” …

UNC gymnastics reflects on Nassar after team’s Equality Night

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

U.S. Declaration of Independence

new film – teen molested by a coach

… Writer-director Jennifer Fox dives into the sexual abuse she suffered as a teenager, and proceeds to interrogate her own memories with unflinching clarity. …

In the age of #MeToo, The Tale shows how every story of sexual abuse is unique …

The Tale, about a teen molested by a coach, is Sundance’s most unexpectedly vital film

Laura Dern plays the victim as an adult, Isabel Nelisse the teen.

The teen comes to terms with sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her running coach. At the time — age 13 — she believed it was a romantic relationship.

By coincidence Isabel Nelisse was a gymnast at Gymnix, as was her sister Sophie.

Thanks GML.

Doc Ali apologizes for briefly supporting Nassar

The day the Jane Doe lawsuit was filed, I talked to a very distraught Larry Nassar. He told me that he was so sad that the two athletes that had filed suit has mistaken the “procedure” he had done to them as a abuse. He claimed that it was a justified medical procedure by the National Osteopathic Association and he had lectured about it many times. He was crying on the phone.

I felt sad for a colleague I had worked with for 20 years and later that day I posted, “Sending love and support” on his Facebook page. I now know that Larry was a master manipulator but at the time I felt compassion towards him. …

Ali Arnold 

No doubt many of his past colleagues are feeling the same way right now.

John Geddert suspended – unofficial

John Geddert, U.S. women’s gymnastics coach for the gold-medal-winning 2012 Olympic team in London, has been suspended by USA Gymnastics until it completes an investigation, sources have told Outside the Lines.

Geddert, the most decorated women’s gymnastics coach in Michigan history, has operated two gyms that employed Larry Nassar, …

USA Gymnastics is the sport’s governing body, and under its policies, Geddert can request a review of his suspension; he did not respond to requests for comment. USA Gymnastics declined immediate comment. …

ESPN 

Parilla, Binder, Bitsy Kelley resign

USA Gymnastics:

USA Gymnastics Board of Directors executive leadership – Chairman Paul Parilla, Vice Chairman Jay Binder and Treasurer Bitsy Kelley – tendered their resignations, effective January 21, 2018. The Board of Directors will identify an interim chairperson until a permanent selection is named.

Kerry Perry, President and CEO, USA Gymnastics:

“USA Gymnastics thanks Paul Parilla, Jay Binder and Bitsy Kelley for their many years of service to this organization. We support their decisions to resign at this time. We believe this step will allow us to more effectively move forward in implementing change within our organization.

“As the board identifies its next chair and fills the vacant board positions, we remain focused on working every day to ensure that our culture, policies and actions reflect our commitment to those we serve.”

NY Times:

Mark Jones, a spokesman for the U.S.O.C., said that top Olympic committee officials met with Parilla on Jan. 11 to ask him to resign.

The Olympic committee has decertified other federations in the past for mismanagement, stripping them of their authority as the national governing bodies. Mr. Blackmun’s statement did not indicate that the committee deemed that necessary in this case. …

Three U.S.A. Gymnastics Board Members Resign

MUST read – Miss Val on the USAG

Since 1982 I have coached 46 former U.S. National team members, and have garnered the trust of countless more. I have witnessed the physical and emotional pain these athletes have struggled with after their elite careers ended and they became collegiate athletes. …

The names of the coaches/abusers changed a little over the decades, but the stories were identical. Stories of verbal, emotional and physical abuse that were simply the way of life for an aspiring elite gymnast.

How has this perverse culture of abusive power festered for so many decades?

In listening to all of the brave women who have come forward in the courtroom to confront Nassar, I can’t escape the thought that while he is a mentally deranged pedophile, he is not the head of the monster. The monster is the Culture of USA Gymnastics. Abusive behavior is the example the Karolyis cultivated. …

Time’s Up USAG

Nastia apologizes for late support of teammates

This is an apology to anyone who had the perception I was not in complete support of my teammates and the women who have suffered at the hands of Larry Nassar.

When I first found out about Larry’s disgusting crimes, I was completely shocked. I couldn’t believe the man I trusted and had even publicly thanked for helping to heal my injuries was a monster to so many people I care so much about.

One of the first times I was asked about this was on national television and I was completely caught off guard.  I realized I gave the impression I was not fully supportive of my teammates. I stumbled through my words because I couldn’t even begin to process my thoughts, let alone my words, about his abhorrent and criminal actions.

This letter is also a commitment from me, to help create positive change and a brighter future. As a small first step, I have requested that all proceeds (ticket sales, merchandise sales, and any and all other revenue) from the Nastia Liukin Cup this March will be donated to an organization which supports victims of sexual abuse. I am currently doing my due diligence to find the right organization. …

To The Gymnastics Community…

Larissa Boyce told Kathie Klages in 1997

In 1997, teenage gymnast Larissa Boyce told a Michigan State University coach that she was uncomfortable with the intravaginal treatments she was getting from Larry Nassar, a MSU sports medicine doctor.

Her concerns were not only ignored, Boyce said. She was humiliated into thinking that she had unfairly maligned a well-respected doctor. …

… She is the first person known to have complained to MSU officials about Nassar, yet it took another two decades for Nassar to stop abusing patients …

In fact, Boyce said, Klages told Nassar about Boyce’s concerns, and at Boyce’s next appointment with Nassar, “pulled up a stool and said, ‘so, I talked to Kathie …”

Nassar victim describes telling MSU coach in 1997 about abuse

The MSU Board of Trustees just reaffirmed their support of President Lou Ann K. Simon.

Nassar’s YouTube channel finally suspended

It took many complaints.

Some of those complaints from the parents of gymnasts featured in the videos, but Google finally shut down Nassar’s “Gymnastics Doctor” channel the afternoon of Jan. 19th.

https://twitter.com/dishwashingg/status/954608338267860992

His two websites were still online in November. Both are gone now.

Jordyn Wieber #MeToo

“I thought that training for the Olympics would be hardest thing I would ever have to do,” Wieber said. “But the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do is process that I’m a victim of Larry Nassar. It has caused me to feel shame and confusion and I have spent months trying to look back and wonder how I didn’t even know this was happening to me, how I became so brainwashed by Larry and everyone at USA Gymnastics, both whom I thought were on my side. He became a safe person, and was the ‘good guy’ in an intense, restricting environment.”

IG

Jordyn trained at Geddert’s Twistars, Nassar’s home Gym.

Wieber told an Ingham County Michigan judge Friday that she too was sexually assaulted by Nassar, the first time she’s publicly revealed the abuse. …

Wieber and Raisman, along with their Olympic teammates Gabby Douglas and McKayla Maroney, have all publicly accused Nassar. The four women were part of the “Fierce Five” who won gold at the 2012 London Olympics. …

ESPN

Click PLAY or watch her impact statement on YouTube.