This morning Netflix suggested I watch Athlete A, the new documentary which explores the crimes of Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastic. I had heard about the trial and his incarceration but the full extent of the situation hadn’t reached me yet. The two most important factors I was not aware of were the number of victims and their age. More than 300 women have come forward with their experience being sexually assaulted by Nassar and 156 of them gave statements to the court at his hearing. Most, if not all, of his victims were under the age of consent with a lot of them being younger than 15. The abuse happened, in almost all of the cases, at USA Gymnastic facilities where prospective Olympic medalists were trained, facilities where parents were not allowed and where young women were abused in so many ways. Athletes were pushed into unhealthy eating habits and were forced to train and to compete through serious injuries, all because they might make the Olympic team. Inside the facility, Nassar was, ironically, a familiar face as he would sneak food to his victims and offer emotional support, something that helped him groom these children into silence and submission. The most shocking aspect of the story was, for me personally, the lengths to which USAG went to cover up these crimes. Nassar had already been reported to Michigan State University (where he worked) in the late ’90s and, as it often happens, nothing was done to prevent him from abusing other children. Fast forward 20 years and Athlete A, Maggie Nichols, came forward to USAG to report Nassar as a sexual predator. The organisation led her and her parents to believe that the allegation had been reported to the FBI and that the matter could not be publicly discussed in order to preserve the integrity of the investigation. Said investigation never happened and Maggie, instead of being praised for her courage at such a young age, was stripped of her possibility to compete at the 2016 Olympics (she was 6th in line but didn’t even make the reserve team).
I had got to the point where I get upset but am in no way surprised every time I hear of organisations covering up rape because let’s be honest, rape has sadly become a very normalised thing, however, I had always understood child abuse as something that was universally condemned (you know the popular idea that child molesters have to be protected in prison or they’ll be killed by other inmates?). Knowing that today even the most disgusting of crimes is covered up by associations for money and because it can be an inconvenience is beyond disgusting. Take Jeffree Epstein for example and all those years he spent abusing minors. In 2005 Epstein was accused of paying a 14 year old $300 to strip and massage him (which is bad enough). After a long investigation, during which 5 victims and 17 witnesses were interviewed (40 victims were later found), Epstein was brought in front of a Grand Jury, only evidence from two victims was presented and he was charged with one count of soliciting prostitution to which he pleaded not guilty. Bear in mind that the person who failed to present evidence from all Epstein’s victims was Palm Beach County state prosecutor Barry Krischer, who’s job description is literally putting criminals away. In 2006 the FBI conducted their own investigation which resulted on a 53 pages indictment, despite the overwhelming evidence (Epstein ended up paying reparation to three dozen victims so clearly they were aware of the extent of his crimes) the US attorney for the southern district of Florida Alexander Acosta (who by the way served as Secretary of Labor under Trump from 2017 to 2019), decided to offer a plea deal which granted immunity from federal crimes for Epstein, four named co-conspirators (four pedophiles) and possible co-conspirators. This deal basically shut down the ongoing FBI investigation and was sealed preventing the public, and victims, to read about the full extent of Epstein’s crimes. As we all know, after serving his 13-month sentence (after 3 months Epstein was allowed outside of the prison for 12 hours a day, 6 times a week) he went back to his old habits and was finally arrested again in 2019 and proceeded to commit suicide. If you think about the clear obstruction of justice committed by the justice system in Florida, it’s not hard to see how, years later, USAG would cover up Nassar’s crimes till the end. I ask myself this: where have people’s morals gone? In the past people have died for their country, for their rights, at the time of writing the BLM protests in the US have been going on for almost a month and yet pedophiles are allowed to walk free and their crimes are constantly covered up by institutions and the justice system. We know the law is different for the rich and the poor and for white and people of colour but how did we get to the point where we don’t even defend children? How did not one person in USAG decide to come forward when they were made aware of Nassar’s past, how did an organisation whose entire income depends on teenagers not value their mental and physical health? How are we still allowing the president of the United States to be the president when he has lied about his involvement with Epstein, among other things, and has been accused of sexually assaulting more than 25 women? These people were brave enough to speak out about their experiences, how can we let them down?
