Category: sport medicine

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 

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

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.

John Geddert faces abuse allegations

Unrelated to the Nassar case.

Lindsey Lemke is among many women and girls who started training at Twistars when she was 7-years-old. She’s currently a senior at Michigan State University. She competes on the university’s gymnastics team.

“When I was younger, I thought I was lucky to be coached by  Geddert,” she said. “He was very well known and without a doubt had the best gymnastics club in Michigan.” …

… Geddert  threw things at gymnasts during practice, including water bottles, blocks and pens.

Lemke also said  Geddert would tell girls straight to their face that they were fat, “some who weighed only 100 – 110  pounds,” she added. …

Christy Lemke, Lindsey’s mother, said  Geddert  is “known” for the physical and emotional stress he puts on athletes he trains. …

Owner of popular Twistars Gymnastics Club faces abuse allegations

Related to the Nassar case …

Twistars Gymnastics and its owner files motion to dismiss in Nassar lawsuits

Is Michigan State University liable?

Courts will decide.

What MSU knew: 14 warned of Nassar abuse

8 WOMEN REPORTED ABUSE CLAIMS, AT LEAST ONE OF WHICH REACHED PRESIDENT

coach Thomas Brennan speaks out

A former Gymnastics coach who sent more than 100 girls to be treated by Nassar was unexpectedly allow to speak on the the second day of Nassar’s sentencing in Lansing, Michigan.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Nassar victim impact statements

She watched him the whole time. Kyle Stephens stood in Courtroom 5 of the Veterans Memorial Courthouse, steps away from the man who molested her throughout her childhood, and she looked right at him.

Stephens decided two weeks ago to go public—to let the world know her name and see her face. But Larry Nassar needed no introduction. He has known Stephens since she was six years old …

Sports Illustrated

Kyle Stephens

Statements will continue all week.

To catch up on the issues I’d recommend listening to GymCastic 287: Simone and Maggie Too.