Larry Nassar is one of the biggest creeps we have ever covered—which is really saying something. There have been a few times in the last 20 years where the media has talked about sexual abuse against young athletes—specifically in gymnastics which has competitors who begin the sport in their elementary school years.
Most people first learned of Dr. Larry Nassar in 2016 when he was publicly charged for possessing child pornography & tampering with evidence. (Those are the formal charges.)
But the sport has several times in the past several decades was made aware of the problem of trainers, advisors, and doctors sexually assaulting participants as young as 6 years old. To say nothing was done would be an understatement.
Why did Larry Nassar finally come to justice? And who else was punished because of cruelty, abuse, and/or just turning a blind eye? That is our story today.
Our sources for this episode:
- NBC News
- John Geddert Wikipedia
- Netflix Athlete A
- HBO: At the Heart of Gold
- Larry Nassar Wikipedia
- Time magazine
- Indianapolis Star
- Esquire
- Sports Illustrated (SI.com)
- CNN: Letter from Larry Nassar to Judge Aquilina
- Bustle
- ESPN
- “The Girls” by Abigail Pesta
- “The Crimes of Lawrence Nassar, John Geddert” by Amber Drew
Trigger warnings: Sexual assault, grooming by predators, gaslighting, eating disorders, suicide, and physical assault.