Case Study: The Untouchable Pedophile

As you read this, Dr. Lawrence G. Nassar, former physician for the American gymnastics team and member of the Michigan State University staff for many years, sits alone in a prison cell, serving a sentence, handed down in 2018, of 40 to 175 years for committing sex crimes.

Specifically, over a period of decades and under the guise of medical treatment, Dr. Nassar molested hundreds of young women and teenagersall aspiring athletesat gymnastics camps, gyms, his home, and his MSU clinic.

The horrifying story of how Dr. Nassar was able to act with impunity, while those who presided over his activities were either oblivious or looked the other way, created a profound, long-term crisis for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State, and serves as a cautionary tale for any organization that enables a bad actor to go not only unpunished but also untouched.

A Respected Physicians Dark Secret

For two decades, Larry Nassar served as a respected osteopathic sports doctor at MSU and USA Gymnastics, prominent for treating some of the nations finest Olympic athletes. Coaches from throughout the nation referred their athletes to him for pain relief that many understood to involve osteopathic manipulation near the breasts and vagina.

Nassar was a beloved figure in his East Lansing suburb, where he regularly played with his three children, helped neighbors with their aches and pains, and was a leader in the community. He regularly participated in neighborhood events, served as sports-team doctor for local public schools, and even taught Sunday school at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. The father of a daughter with autism, he started a foundation to introduce children with special needs to gymnastics.

Neighbors marveled at how Dr. Nassar could be so renowned for treating elite athletes but still have time for the community. Said one neighbor, I really cannot say enough good about Larry because he is just a wonderful man. He will do anything in the world for anybody. We all love Larry. We really, really love Larry.

In sum, Nassar was well-known, admired, and trusted as he built a reputation as one of the most sought-after physicians in the gymnastics world.

But there was another, darker side that his neighbors didnt see.

For the better part of two decades at Michigan State, at least 14 peopleathletic trainers, coaches, university police officers, and MSU officialswere made aware by at least eight women, who alleged abuse as Nassars patients.

As early as 1997, MSU officials began to receive disturbing calls about Nassars conduct. One track athlete told her coach that when she visited Dr. Nassar to repair her hamstring he explained his new procedure of going internally and manipulating the pelvic floor in order to help with any problem a female might have. The girl said that after Nassar had rubbed her and inserted his fingers inside her, she called her parents and her coach. But nothing was done to reprimand the doctor.

Three years later, a California softball player referred to Nassar told her team trainer how the Michigan doctor had put his fingers inside her and moved them around, sometimes for 15 minutes. The trainer gasped. She said, No way, thats not right. Once again, nothing further was done.

And so the pattern of Nassars abuse continued unchecked for decades.

Delayed Day of Reckoning

Larry Nassars life began to unravel in the fall of 2016some 20 years after the first accusations of sexual abusewhen Rachael Denhollander, a 32-year-old woman from Louisville, filed a police report and told the Indianapolis Star that Nassar sexually assaulted her during treatment for a gymnastics injury when she was 15 (Figure 17-9). She spoke of Nassar fondling her during multiple treatments. Denhollander said her mother was present during Nassars treatments, but that he positioned himself and her in such a way that only her head and back were visible.

As to why she decided after 15 years to come forward, Denhollander said, Over the last 16 years, Ive realized I have a responsibility, and the question about whether or not to speak publicly cannot center around whats easy for me. This isnt something I want to do.

Dr. Nassars attorney vehemently denied the accusations against his client, but the two-decade ruse was over.

While earlier allegations had gone nowhere, the horrific charges in the Star quickly gained traction. Within days, dozens of other womenincluding some of the most elite U.S. female Olympic gymnastscame forward with similar accusations.

Soon, the dozens of accusers became hundreds, and the floodgates opened.

Michigans Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs suspended Dr. Nassars medical license. Nassar was charged in multiple lawsuits for numerous charges of sexual crimes. In one courtroom in Ingham County, Michigan, 165 womenmothers, sisters, daughters, Olympianscame forward to recount their personal stories of horror at the hands of the doctor they trusted.

One woman, whose family was friendly with Nassars, stated that the doctor first abused her when she was six, when I still had not lost all my baby teeth.

Olympic gold medalists Aly Raisman and Jordyn Wieber described what Nassar had done to them during the 2012 Olympic games in London. Four-time Olympic champion Simone Biles said she, too, had been abused by the doctor.

The final one to testify was Rachael Denhollander who observed, When you have a predator who is manipulative, gregarious and as engaging as Larry is, you have to be willing to meet him where he is the most comfortableon very public ground. And never flinch.

The trial was fraught with emotion as parents and friends observed the testimonies in horror. At one point, the father of three gymnasts, all molested by Nassar, charged the handcuffed defendant and had to be restrained by court officers.

The Nassar case shocked a nation that had already been subject to scores of #MeToo testimonies from across America. Nassar pleaded guilty to 10 molestation charges in the Ingham County case and several others in additional jurisdictions, including a case were 37,000 images and videos of child pornography were found on his computer.

At trials end, a weary Nassar faced his accusers and said, There are no words that can describe the depth and breadth of how sorry I am for what has occurred. I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days.

It is likely the disgraced physician would never again see the light of freedom

Dealing with the Enablers

What made the Nassar case even worse than its raw facts was the way the pedophile doctor was shielded and enabled by powerful organizations. As Rachael Denhollander testified, When you have a predator who is surrounded by two very powerful institutions, one anonymous voice is never going to be enough.

Soon enough, Nassars powerful enablers would also be called to judgment.

First came Michigan State, which continued to employ Nassar despite multiple reports of sexual abuse by him.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association opened a formal investigation into how the university handled the case, and Michigan State and federal agencies also opened inquiries. MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon resigned before being fired. So, too, did the universitys athletic director, on whose watch Nassar committed his crimes.

In May 2018, MSU agreed to pay $500 million to settle claims from more than 300 women and girls who claimed they were assaulted by Nassar. The deal surpassed the previous record payment for settling sexual abuse claims; the $100 million paid by Penn State University to settle claims by people who accused assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky of sexual abuse.

Public relations even took a hit when Weber Shandwick was criticized for charging MSU $500,000 for one months worth of client counseling related to the Nassar scandal.

Next was the USA Gymnastics Federation, which announced that several of its board members would step down, including its chairman.

That wasnt sufficient for the head of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), who threatened to decertify the federation if the entire board didnt resign. USA Gymnastics confirmed it would comply. Nonetheless, the USOC, itself, was excoriated at a Congressional hearing in May 2018 for its failure to ensure the safety of gymnasts and other athletes under its watch. One congressman shouted at the USOCs acting chairwoman, You are not fit to serve in this job.

USA Gymnastics also cut ties with a private training center in Texas, owned by gymnastics icons Bela and Martha Karolyi, where some of Nassars abuse occurred. At the same time, the governor of Texas asked the Texas Rangers to investigate allegations of sexual assault at the center.

Meanwhile corporate sponsors AT&T, Procter & Gamble, Hersheys, Under Armour, and Kelloggs also all declined to renew or ended their sponsorship of USA Gymnastics.

As the Nassar crisis faded slowly from the news, one disturbing question lingered, Why, if the doctors behavior was as well known as apparently it was, didnt anyone come forward to curtail his abuse of innocent victims?

Please use the information above to answer the following questions in paragraph form

- Had you been public relations director at Michigan State or USA Gymnastics what would you have done had you heard reports about Dr. Nassars treatment of athletes?

- What fate would you have prescribed for the public relations directors who held the positions during Nassars time at both institutions?

- In the aftermath of the Nassar crisis, what actions would you recommend be taken at MSU and USA Gymnastics in order to begin to restore credibility?