A Culture on Trial: The Larry Nassar Trial and its Implications Beyond the Verdict
By Maddy Pritzl
The Progressive Teen Staff Writer
2017 was the year when society finally gave women a chance to speak out and share their stories of sexual harassment. Many were shocked to see just how many celebrities, CEO’s, politicians, and athletes were accused of abusing their power and forcing themselves onto women. The dialogue of rape culture across the country is finally changing from “boys will be boys” to “boys will be held accountable.”
On February 5, 2018, the trial of Larry Nassar came to a close as he was given his third and final sentencing of 40 to 125 years in prison. The Indianapolis Star was the first to reveal the scandal surrounding Nassar and his misconduct, publishing an exposé after a team of journalists began investigations in March of 2016. Nearly two years later, the victims of Nassar are finally provided with a sliver of peace that their attacker will be behind bars for the rest of his life. However, many questions and much controversy over Nassar’s actions and the lack of accountability from USA Gymnastics remain in the court of public opinion.
In 1986, Larry Nassar joined USA Gymnastics as an athletic trainer after being hired on to their national medical staff. As early as 1994, Nassar began to molest the athletes he would tend to. Although they were told to trust him and that working with him would lead them to greatness and success, many women began to experience something completely different with Nassar. In 1997, a gymnast complained to Michigan State University coach, Kathie Klages that she was beginning to get concerned with Nassar’s treatments on her. Klages persuaded the gymnast to not pursue further allegations, but the behavior of coaches and trusted adults getting the girls to not tell authorities or pursue further action against Nassar didn’t stop with Klages.
Multiple athletes have begun to question not only Nassar, but Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics, and the United States Olympic Committee. The abuse was not only exclusive to gymnasts, but other athletes at Michigan State as well. Tiffany Thomas Lopez played softball at the university and told “three coaches and a staff member” about abuse from Nassar. Instead of believing her, they convinced Lopez that she was misunderstanding something and that she should be thankful to receive medical care from a “world-renowned doctor.” In 2015, Maggie Nichols was the first athlete to report Nassar’s misconduct to USA Gymnastics, later becoming known as “Athlete A” when the pivotal trial began.
Society’s attitude towards sexual harassment and misconduct allegations has only begun shifting from doubting the victims to actually believing them. The actions of Nassar are despicable, but even more despicable are the lack of actions from Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics, and the U.S. Olympic Committee. It took 156 women to prove to the world that one man had abused them for years. While Nassar’s sentences are a small step towards reclaiming their strength for the victims, the fight for all involved parties to be held accountable the assault on female athletes across the country is far from over.
