Admittedly as a teacher and a coach, I have very little sympathy, tolerance, or understanding for any individual who chooses to harm a child through sexual means of molestation or rape. I have friends who endured this for portions of their young lives, and the impact throughout the rest of their lives is obvious. Sexual abuse is damaging and can lead to a host of lifelong issues with abusive partners, trust and attachment issues, as well as severe emotional damage. According to the Victims of Crime organization, one in five females will experience sexual abuse. Children who experience sexual abuse at an early age are 10 times more likely to experience rape or attempted rape in their first year of college.
We all know sexual abuse happens, and like many of us, it makes me sick to my stomach. I imagine myself doing violent things to these abhorrent predators to make them pay for the lifetime of hurt they have inflicted. While recent years have seen an increase in organizations and groups aimed at encouraging victims to speak up, there are still those who seek to shove it under the rug. These people are part of the growing rape/sexual abuse culture in this nation. By refusing to acknowledge the abuse, acknowledge the victims, and issue punishment, they are indirectly allowing future children/students to endure rape and sexual abuse. Not talking about the problem only makes it worse. And the reasons they don’t talk about the problem trace back to superficial crap like reputation and the almighty dollar.
The most recent example is the case against former U.S. Olympic doctor and Michigan State University Athletics doctor, Larry Nassar. More than three former U.S. Olympic athletes and 60 female athletes from Michigan State have come forward against the doctor, citing multiple cases of sexual abuse. He was fired by the U.S. Olympic Organization in September of 2016 and was fired that fall by Michigan State. The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) opened its own investigation into the issue. Nassar pleaded not guilty to all counts though I don’t see how he thinks that will work. The FBI recovered disgusting amounts of child pornography, videos, and Go-Pro footage of his abuse from his house.
But what disgusts me most about this whole situation is how the institutions that employed this doctor handled the issue. Three former Olympians have come forward, citing inappropriate sexual abuse from Nassar during his three-decade tenure as a volunteer Olympic doctor. An article from NBC news said that USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny and others were named as co-defendants in the case. The suit says “the organization negligently suppressed, concealed, or failed to disclose knowledge that Nassar had engaged in sexual conduct with team members,” according to the report. USA Gymnastics responded by saying “we are appalled that anyone would exploit a child in this manner.”
Oh, really? I don’t buy it.
Let’s be clear here, U.S. Olympians are some of the hardest working and dedicated people. And after years of being around athletic trainers and doctors, they would likely know what was appropriate and inappropriate for physical examinations. That’s why I find it very hard to believe that USA Olympics had no idea that any of this was going on. You mean to tell me none of these athletes spoke up? None of them came forward to suggest something was wrong? Lies. I would bet my life on it that many of them did. But, it was probably easier for USA Olympics to “hush, hush” the situation rather than create a scandal that could damage its reputation. I guess it makes much more sense to let the life and trust of an athlete be destroyed.
But believe it or not, this story gets more sickening. Nassar spent most of his career as a doctor for Michigan State University Athletics, a well-known Division 1 university that has produced a number of successful athletes. Dozens upon dozens of current and former Michigan State athletes have come forward, revealing abuse they endured from Nassar. One of those people is former Michigan softball player, Tiffany Lopez. In an interview with USA Today, Lopez said Nassar assaulted her more than 10 times between 1998 and 2001 while she was receiving treatment for chronic back pain. When Lopez went to a supervisor at Michigan State to explain what was going on, the response was less than helpful. Essentially, this supervisor started reciting Nassar’s “impressive” credentials and that she should just be grateful for receiving treatment from this doctor.
In an attempt to fix the issue, Michigan State came up with an unbelievably stupid solution. They allowed the doctor to continue administering treatment, only with a witness present in the room. This is on top of the fact he remained at the university, even after he was fired by USA Olympics, and Michigan State was also aware that Nassar was being charged in court for a separate abuse issue (sexually abusing a family friend’s daughter for six years). Michigan State only fired him because he lied during an investigation and violated the university’s rule about being alone with an athlete during treatment.
I mean … where do I even begin? The issue here is not with the foul piece of slime that is Nassar. May he rot in prison forever. The issue lies in the institutions that are supposed to be responsible for protecting their athletes and students.
It’s disgusting and disheartening that both of these institutions would be aware of the problem and do nothing about it. They are supposed to support and protect young athletes. These athletes are sacrificing time, not to mention wear and tear on their bodies, to represent their school or our country, and this is how we repay them? You were sexually abused, but shush … if you come forward it will cause too much trouble and it will affect all the revenue that these places receive from athletes.
By these college officials, athletic directors, Olympic officials, and campus police ignoring and pushing aside these cases, they are basically saying it’s ok to sexually abuse and rape women. They are perpetuating this appalling culture and it will only get worse until these men in charge man up and start doing something about all these accusations. As institutions of education, it’s your job to set a better example and you are all failing terribly. You are failing the women and younger girls in this country every time you let someone get away with sexual assault.
However, I am sure if it was an issue with boys like what the world witnessed with Penn State and Jerry Sandusky, it would be all over the news and people would be beating down the doors of the abusers. But, rape culture says we women deserve it, so whatever, right?
Two things: when did financial gain become more important than the well being of all students? And have all of your colleges and institutions forgotten about an important piece of legislation called Title IX? Look it up, because you’re breaking federal law.
Let me leave y’all with this little tidbit: 88 percent of sexual assaults that take place on college campuses go unreported. That makes sense given the culture of acceptance that college administrators and officials have established by ignoring reports of sexual assault.
I hope that women and athletes continue to speak up. Don’t let anyone convince you that you’re crazy or shouldn’t say anything. No one has the right to sexually assault you. I hope the rest of my readers educate themselves on this issue so we can bring about change, because this problem is growing and the victims will be the ones who suffer the most.
But what do I know? I’m just a Benchwarmer, and I’m fed up with sexual assault.
Sports columnist Kristina Sewell wants everyone to speak up and fight back. Tell her your thoughts via Managing Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 23-30, 2017.