Category: safety

Amanda Thomashow accused Nassar 2014

He was interviewed by police for two and a half hours. And talked his way out of it.

Amanda’s complaint also triggered a Title IX investigation.

After less than three months on leave from his job at Michigan State University, Larry was allowed back to work. With conditions. He’d have to follow basic medical guidelines: wear gloves, get consent, have a chaperone in the room. In other words, really basic things that any doctor working with minors in their private areas should do.

But nobody at MSU ever actually checked to see if Larry’s doing any of those things.

That means young girls and women kept streaming into Larry’s treatment rooms…not just at MSU, but at USA Gymnastics and local gyms, and a nearby high school. Even at his home, where Larry “treated” patients on a massage table in his basement.

Some 70 survivors say they were abused by Larry after MSU cleared him to go back to work.

NPR BELIEVED – Gaslighting Season 1, Episode 4

The criminal doctor did not contradict what Amanda said. Rather he stuck to the story that it was valid medical treatment.

related – Everyone Believed Larry Nassar The predatory trainer may have just taken down USA Gymnastics. How did he deceive so many for so long?

via GymCastic

should FIG have hosted in Qatar?

Each nation needs make a post-competition review. 

It turned out to be an excellent competition overall. Better than I expected.

One problem was poor attendance.

A bigger concern in advance of the meet was safety of participants.

Since 2014 the International Olympic Committee has listed sexual orientation as a protected category in the Olympic charter.

The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play .

Yet FIG hosted in a nation where homosexuality is illegal. It’s also illegal to campaign for LGBT rights in Qatar. That should be corrected before the World Cup of Football.

I was relieved that both Israel and the women from Egypt were able to compete in Qatar without a major incident. Pingpong diplomacy. Sometimes sport leads to greater international peace.

The World Athletics championships are scheduled for 2019. There’s concern that Saudi Arabia and its allies including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt might boycott.

Personally I’ve been focused on the upsides of a Muslim nation hosting a sport where female participation worldwide  is greater than male participation. I’m hopeful small steps like this will help Islamic girls and women gain more access to fitness and sport.

At a time when the American President demonized Muslims, it was an eye-opener  for gymnasts from around the world to actually visit a Muslim nation. To learn something about Arab culture.

Museum of Islamic Arts, Doha

I’d say the positives outweighed the negatives.

related – Highs And Lows Of The 2018 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships

 

 

USAG expects to pay out $75 – $150 million

USA Gymnastics expects to pay between $75 million and $150 million to victims of Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse, according to financial statements it released Thursday. …

USA Today 

Anything could happen. Insurance might refuse to cover USA Gymnastics. Awards to victims might be much higher.

FIG’s Athletes’ input to FIG in Doha

It appears the world’s best Artistic gymnasts made great choices when electing former world champion Aljaz Pegan (SLO) and two-time Olympic medallist Oksana Chusovitina (UZB) to the FIG’s Athletes’ Commission to respectively be their men’s and women’s representatives. The pair exuded passion and commitment as they revealed the key issues at the forefront of their gymnasts’ minds during the Doha 2018 World Championships. …

… biggest issue they had was about the equipment …

… second issue was the colour of the equipment …

One area the male gymnasts were immediately vocal on was judging. The desire for as much consistency as possible …

“I explained about the Fujitsu project,” the 44 year old (Pegan) said, referencing an on-going FIG-led concept, looking into building a high-end data support system for judges. “Then we took them into a Fujitsu meeting.”

The project received universally positive feedback from the gymnasts …

Gymnasts plotting way forward for the sport

Mattie Larson gets settlement from her Gym Club

All Olympia Gymnastics Center … recently finalized a $1 million settlement with World Championships silver medalist Mattie Larson, her attorney confirmed to the Southern County News Group.

The settlement stems from Larson’s lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against AOGC and its directors Artur Akopya and Galina Marinova that alleged their treatment of Larson led to her being sexually abused by former U.S. Olympic and USA Gymnastics national team physician Larry Nassar. …

AOGC is shutting down its Hawthorne location according to a Nov. 3 letter from Akopya and Marinova to AOGC gymnasts, parents and coaches. …

OC Register

will USOC end USAG?

I thought USAG would be forced to declare bankruptcy after the first lawsuit found them guilty of being complicit in the crimes of their team Doctor.

That could still happen. But they may lose status as the National Governing Body for gymnastics in the United States first.

US Olympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland:

“Today the United States Olympic Committee has filed a complaint initiating a Section 8 proceeding against USA Gymnastics, seeking to revoke USAG’s recognition as a member National Governing Body of the USOC. This is a situation in which there are no perfect solutions. Seeking to revoke recognition is not a conclusion that we have come to easily. …

USOC Statement Regarding Action To Revoke USA Gymnastics’ Recognition As Member National Governing Body

USAG responded:

USA Gymnastics Board of Directors message to the USA Gymnastics membership

I need Spencer to tell me what to think. Jessica to tell me what to feel.

This is the burn it all down scenario.

On the up side, it would be a completely fresh start.

On the down side, gymnasts and coaches may be hurt due to unintended consequences in the transition to an ALL NEW organization.

The USOC’s action Monday triggers a process that includes a hearing before a three-person panel. …

The USOC is known to have revoked the recognition or cut off the funding of an NGB only three times — with taekwondo, team handball and modern pentathlon.

USA Today

It will be difficult to defend the actions of the current Board of Directors. Their decision to hire a former politician as CEO was the last straw for me. I can hardly imagine a worse hire.

Syria competes at Worlds

In a hopeful sign for eventual stability of the war torn nation, Syrian gymnast Areej Alkhayat did compete at World Championships 2018.

 

 

World championships format

“Changes to the world championships format are needed to reduce the size and length of the competition, which is taking place over 10 days in Doha,” Watanabe said.

“It is a heavy burden on gymnasts physically and mentally, and in some cases it leads to injuries,” he said. “We have difficulties to find organisers due to huge expenses.”

… the Competition Commission in consultation with the Technical Committees is exploring the idea of using continental championships as a qualifier to compete at the world championships. …

“I understand there may be objections from the developing countries, but we must go the right way,” he said. “The world championships must be the competition for the most experienced athletes and the showcase for the Gymnastics family.”

FIG President holds roundtable with federations in Doha

I’d agree that something should be done. I’m leaving before apparatus finals myself to save on cost. 

Nush’s Beam dismount

FIG won’t allow her to slide mats further to the dismount side.

Click PLAY or watch it on Twitter.

Recall Alan Nolet and Davide Bardana competing Flyaway double back off the side of P Bars. We were allowed to move the mats.