By Julia Rist

265. The number of gymnasts that Larry Nassar sexually abused has risen to 265 young women. Nassar’s abuse has gone unchecked for more than 30 years. That’s simply unacceptable. It’s time for the governing organizations to take some responsibility for the culture they’ve created within the gymnastics community.

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC), USA Gymnastics (USAG) and even the FBI had all received reports of Nassar’s abuse, some as early as 1997. They all bear some responsibility for enabling Nassar to continue working as a licensed physician for as long as he did.

A serious reckoning is on the horizon. After Márta Károlyi retired following the 2016 Olympics, the president of a USAG and the entire executive board tenured their resignation. Both Béla and Márta Károlyi had overseen the U.S. women’s gymnastics program for 19 years. At this point, no one can argue the fact that the Károlyis didn’t know exactly what was going on. Nassar had been a USAG approved doctor since 1996. The Károlyis were either complicit or stupid. Knowing that they had the knowledge and the acumen to navigate the politics of the sport and turn the United States into a powerhouse country for gymnastics, my vote rests firmly for the former.

The president of Michigan State and several gymnastic coaches at the university resigned after mounting pressure to do so from the university. Michigan State was where Nassar started his career.

There is no question as to whether or not USOC knew that Nassar was a problem. They enabled him. There are several reports that show that USOC had dismissed several gymnasts who came forward to report Nassar. USOC did what is, in my mind, the worst thing that you can possibly do to a victim of abuse. They protected the girls’ abuser.

This speaks to the culture of fear that seems to permeate U.S. women’s gymnastics. Gymnastics, as a sport, is inherently competitive. Girls are constantly trying to get to the top of the podium. This time, it turned out that this competitive mindset came at the expense of their well-being. In this sport, girls usually peak at the age of 17; therefore, the most basic of choices aren’t left to them.

Gymnasts’ careers are relatively short; most gymnasts retire in their early twenties. The sport rewards difficulty; so, it follows that the more difficult the skill, the greater your chances of getting injured. Longevity in this sport isn’t something that’s expected, especially when younger gymnasts who are coming into the senior ranks can jump higher and tumble faster. A gymnast’s career is completely dependent on her health. That’s another reason why what Larry Nassar did was so despicable. He held a gymnast’s career in his hands. Nassar chose to take advantage of his position of authority and the implicit trust that all doctors are given. He abused gymnasts when they were at their most vulnerable.

USOC has no excuses. If winning is that important that they felt justified in sacrificing the health and well-being of the athlete, why even pretend to care about anything else? Nassar isn’t the only one that’s gotten through the system.

Nassar’s abuse isn’t the only type of abuse that’s present in gymnastics. The Károlyis were known for putting extreme demands and pressures on their gymnasts. It certainly isn’t a coincidence that gymnastics has one of the highest number of athletes with eating disorders. This type of disorder isn’t developed just because there’s pressure to stay small. It’s also about the psychological repercussions of being abused, whether that be physically or sexually, and having to see your abuser; sometimes on a daily basis.

Márta Károlyi gave Nassar unlimited access to the girls. These are the same girls who were brought up in the culture of gymnastics, in which there is another girl to replace you if you step out of line. They were conditioned to listen. To follow. They were taught not to question adults because, if you did, the repercussions would be severe. In the end, this type of culture played a large part in why it took so long to bring Nassar to justice.

Larry Nassar has been sentenced three separate times now for charges of child pornography and molestation. He will be spending 40 to 175 years in prison. Each judge made it very clear that his or her verdict is essentially a life sentence for Nassar. No one thinks he can be reformed.

The USOC needs to clean house. This is the same organization that played a major role in enabling Nassar to continue to abuse gymnasts. USOC is fundamentally flawed, and the only way to change it is to rebuild it from the ground up.

Julia Rist, FCRH ’20, is a political science major from Danbury, Connecticut.