Abandoned work-up in the US abuse scandal: let down

The best gymnast in the world Simone Biles sits in front of a bunch of journalists training for the US National Championships. In a video, she explains how she explains with tears in her eyes how difficult it is for her to start for associations that the athletes have so often abandoned.

"We did everything that they asked us to do, even if we did not want to do it," said the four-time Olympic champion and practically exclaimed in the direction of all associations responsible for her welfare: "You had only one task - and you have us not protected. "

Emotional @Simone_Biles expresses frustration towards USA gymnastics at the 2019 US Championships. pic.twitter.com/eM9ameQw6e

It's been two years since US gymnastics was shaken by a scandal. For decades, team doctor Larry Nassar had resorted to young athletes, mostly girls and young women, and was sentenced to between 60 and 175 years in prison for child pornography and sexual abuse of at least 250 people in three trials.

He had not flown because of a system's protective mechanisms, but because Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney, Gabrielle Douglas, Jamie Dantzscher, Simone Biles and many others made their ordeals public.

At this point, just one of many descriptions is repeated, which then caused disbelief about how a supposed confidant could exploit the ignorance of teenagers for decades. Maroney, who had first turned to the FBI two years earlier, said Nassar gave her a sleeping pill on the 2011 World Cup flight: "The first thing I remembered was that I was with was alone in the hotel room and received a 'treatment' I thought that night I'm dying. " Maroney was 15 years old at the time.

Covered, abducted, veiled

And how did the people responsible for the protection of the children in their care react?

USA Gymnastics (USAG) dismissed Nassar despite clear evidence until 2015, the investigation authorities reported the case only five weeks later. Steve Penny, president of USAG from 2005 to 2017, is not only accused of having known about the allegations against Nassar long before the public charges. He is also alleged to have ordered documents to disappear after hearing of Nassar's investigation. Penny pleaded not guilty.

Penny's successor, Kerry Perry, was forced to resign after nine months, after she was repeatedly criticized for laxly handling the affair and then recruited Mary Lee Tracy as the new Development Coordinator. A trainer Nassar had described as "great" even after the allegations.

Perry's successor was appointed to Mary Bono, who had worked before her engagement for the law firm that Nassar had served in court. She held a full four days in mid-October 2018 after being accused by others of three-time Olympic champion Raisman's cover-up in the Nassar case. Bono himself complained in the communication about her resignation "personal attacks", which would have become a burden for the association.

The US Olympic Committee (USOC) announced a few weeks later that it had taken the necessary steps to deny the gymnastics association the status of a national umbrella organization. One month later, in December 2018, the Gymnastics Federation declared bankruptcy.

THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP

Simone Biles during the training before the World Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart

Meanwhile, many athletes continue to gymnastics and Olympic medals for these organizations, in which they have long since lost all confidence. Even superstar Biles continues to radiate, makes amazing, sometimes historical. This is also expected at the World Cup in Stuttgart from Friday. But is that all right?

Biles, like all "survivors", as many sufferers in contrast to their often assigned victim role, must live with the wounds. Every time she goes to the doctor, she's frightened: "We're trying to process it, but it will take time," the 22-year-old said, adding, "I'm strong, I can do it, but it's tough. "

All the more frightening is what has happened in the past few years, or better said, has not happened. The Gymnastics Federation and the Olympic Committee, Michigan State University, which had been keeping Nassar occupied for too long, as well as the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have "fundamentally failed" those affected. This was the conclusion of a congressional report following an 18-month investigation into the Nassar case. "Terrible things have happened," Senator Jerry Moran told TV broadcaster NBC: "In many cases, these have been reported, and almost invariably, the people they've been reported to have not responded." Sports Federations, Authority, University - they all had "the opportunity to stop Nassar, but they did not".

The more I learn, the more I hurt. USAG failed us. USOC failed us. Many failed us. And they continue to fail us. Real and actual change is not easy but it's clear there's a lot more work that needs to be done.https: //t.co/owRBFtacfn

And the scandal in gymnastics was far from the only one, nor the first in the US Olympic organizations. Sports such as swimming, taekwondo, speed skating and judo were called to account even before the Nassar scandal for abusing the athletes entrusted to them. According to media reports, the US Department of Justice is now investigating sexual abuse in the Olympic sport. The agency is investigating "major flaws in the Olympic system to respond to signs of widespread child abuse," it said.

It is a miracle that the "survivors" are still shining.