Destructive Legal Mechanisms Within USA Gymnastics Policy and Their

Loss of Balance: Destructive Legal Larry Nassar’s systemic abuse on Mechanisms Within USA gymnasts and other athletes dates back to the 1990’s, when he was first reported to Gymnastics Policy and their have assaulted a twelve year old gymnast in Contributions to a Toxic and Michigan. Nassar was working on obtaining Abusive Environment his medical education from Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Katherine Weaver Medicine at the time. In addition, he was Junior, Political Science & Global Studies working both on the USA Gymnastics Less than a month after the 2016 medical staff and at several gyms in the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in greater Michigan area- thus, his access to which the USA women’s gymnastics team patients and potential victims of abuse at took home a total of nine medals, news this time was unknowable (“Why does abuse broke that an anonymous Olympian had continue to plague USA Gymnastics?”). filed a sexual assault lawsuit against former Many women have come forward to say that team physician Larry Nassar. In the months they were abused during this time, and some that followed, hundreds of other gymnasts, even made reports to law enforcement including all but one member of the 2016 during that time, which they claimed were team, came forwards as victims of Nassar’s ignored or mishandled and dismissed as a systemic assault. Almost all of these result. In 2016, however, two events gymnasts confessed to a culture of fear and launched Nassar’s abuses into the spotlight: organizational silencing that characterized former Michigan club gymnast Rachael governing body USA Gymnastics (USAG) Denhollander came forward about her and prevented them from coming forward experiences being abused by Nassar in an Indianapolis Star article, and 2000 Olympic about their abuse and maltreatment, but what exactly about these policies were so gymnast Jamie Dantzscher filed a civil harmful? Lack of awareness as to this matter lawsuit in California court alleging that could potentially provoke future instances of Nassar had inflicted the same abuse on her abuse, or even allow for the continuation of while she was a gymnast (Armour & Axon such mistreatment that could still be going 2018). These athletes would be the first in a on today. The policies put in place by USA long line of accusers, and their testimonies Gymnastics were designed in a way that would launch a sort of reckoning in the sport discriminated against athletes by making it of gymnastics and, most importantly, the difficult or unworthwhile for them to come USAG organization as a whole. forward about abuse, and those same Since the 1980s, USA Gymnastics policies governed the culture that made USA has been the national governing body for Gymnastics a breeding ground for abuse in the sport of gymnastics in the United States. the first place. In the wake of the Nassar scandal and the impending amount of damning testimonies, reference to the group that he or she aims to more and more gymnasts began to come disadvantage. Instead, the policy employs forward about their experiences of abuse. In some facially-neutral surrogate that, when late 2016, USAG hired legal consultant and applied, accomplishes the discriminator’s former federal prosecutor Deborah Daniels hidden aim” (Altman 2015). In the case of to create a report that outlined any changes USA Gymnastics, its hierarchy, though not she felt should be made for the betterment of explicitly placing gymnasts at the bottom, the organization. Daniels did so through a was designed and supported by policies that thorough analysis of USAG policies and were in favor of the organization and not bylaws, as well as other relevant documents, those gymnasts who did its greatest bidding. and by conducting over 160 interviews with Though the gymnasts were essentially the various coaches, athletes, staff members, basis of the USA Gymnastics organization, and other individuals involved in the sport without whom it would have no purpose, of gymnastics in the United States (Daniels they were consistently held to have less 2018). The report, known as the Daniels value and were often taken less seriously. report, outlined instances in which USAG Subsequently, though gymnasts competed policies had directly or indirectly influenced for the organization and represented the gymnasts wishing to come forward about United States at its bidding on the any instance of abuse, and showed that the international stage, the policies put in place policies in place were discriminatory in that by the organization were wholly stacked they were clearly ineffective at preventing against them, particularly in instances of abuse, or at ensuring that those actors who abuse and other mistreatment. Though the were the most abusive were removed from gymnasts were carrying out important any gymnastics-related work. athletic work, they were still treated in a way that held them above their years. “The The discrimination against gymnasts athletes, who were mostly under the age of is a form of organizational discrimination. 18...were treated like adults when it came to These gymnasts were discriminated against competing and children without agency based on their place in the power structure when it came to virtually every other aspect of the USA Gymnastics hierarchy. of their lives. They bore all the Anti-abuse and other organizational policies responsibility, and enjoyed none of the did not specifically target gymnasts in a freedom” (“Faehn’s Olympic Experience”). negative manner, but the consequences of One must question how a gymnast would their implementation were wholly malicious have felt confident in reporting abuse in nature. According to the Stanford knowing that this was the way they were Encyclopedia of Philosophy, such indirect treated on a regular basis within the discrimination can be just as harmful: “In organization. some cases, a discriminator will adopt a policy that, on its face, makes no explicit The environment within USA reporting system existed, however, there Gymnastics, though productive of incredible was almost no incentive to take advantage of success on many levels, was incredibly it, and that showed during the Nassar destructive mentally to gymnasts and wholly investigations. Moreover, the reporting conducive to abuse on widespread levels. A systems put in place by USA Gymnastics sobering exhibit of just how low gymnasts were ineffective and a form of ranked among the priorities of USAG discrimination in that they were designed officials can be seen in a 2000 issue of the knowing that people would be afraid to use now defunct USA Gymnastics magazine. In them. If anyone wished to report an his magazine-opening letter, former USAG allegation of abuse, their report had to fall in president Bob Colarossi informed readers line with general misconduct guidelines; that the organization had undergone a sort of there was no separate reporting procedure policy shift: for something as serious as sexual abuse. The complaint had to be “submitted in We have worked hard to ensure that writing to the President [of USAG] at the all of our resources and programs Corporation’s principal place of business” have been better aligned to achieve and “be signed by the complainant” (Daniels our three major objectives: medals, 2018). This process had the potential to growth, and visibility. This means cause undue stress; it is hard to imagine an that, when our teams don’t perform athlete wanting to come forward in such a in the manner which we expect, they way, and that the only acceptable complaint are held to a higher standard and was in such a strict and rigid format. changes are made to ensure that standard will be met in the future. (5) This process was also highly problematic, as can be seen in the instance This damning statement establishes a culture that resulted in the first official report to a in which medals and success on the USAG official. In June of 2015, Sarah international stage were prioritized over the Jantzi, coach of national team member well-being of the athletes themselves, and Maggie Nichols, reported to Rhonda Faehn, this mentality, alongside the destructive senior vice president of the women’s policies put in place by USAG, were the program at the time, that she (Jantzi) had ingredients needed for a toxic and abusive overheard Nichols having a conversation environment in which abuse by actors like with two other gymnasts regarding Nassar could easily thrive. Nichols’s discomfort with treatment Throughout the history of the techniques being used on her by Nassar. organization, USA Gymnastics consistently After Jantzi reported her athlete’s comments advocated its reporting system for sexual to Faehn, USAG did not immediately abuse, which they felt was adequate for contact law enforcement. Rather, they opted reporting and preventing abuse. Though this to hire an investigator (who had no affiliation with law enforcement, instead of the fifteen upper-level members of the representing a private practice) to interview USA Gymnastics hierarchy who were the athlete and the two others Jantzi reported seemingly aware of Nassar’s misconduct, as having made similar comments about not a single one (Faehn included) submitted Nassar’s treatment. USAG reported that the any sort of independent report to law purpose of this was to determine if it “would enforcement regarding Nassar. This is in be appropriate to notify law enforcement.” part due to the minimum requirement of As a result, five weeks passed between gymnastics staff being to report to their Jantzi’s call to Faehn and any contact with supervisor when they came across any law enforcement regarding Nassar (“Why knowledge of sexual assault. Such was not Does Abuse Continue”). Steve Penny’s only the legal policy of USAG, but it also discussion of such an investigator, here had grounding in Indiana’s family and taken from an email to Faehn, is a clear juvenile law.

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