Plenty of Blame to Go Around

Last week, as the victims read their statements and Larry Nassar's disgusting behavior became more and more clear, it also became clear that there were people who turned a blind eye to Nassar.  And, now that Nassar will never see the light of day again, those ripple effects are finally being felt.  While we still don't know who knew how much and when, it's pretty obvious that there were those that did.  And they deserve to be held accountable.

The one person who clearly was Nassar's biggest enabler was John Geddert, his friend and colleague at Twistars USA Gymnastics Club.  In my eyes, Geddert is just as guilty as Nassar.  There's no question that Geddert knew exactly what Nassar was doing.  And he probably knew for quite some time.  Yet he chose to do nothing.  Making matters worse, Geddert's relationship with his gymnasts, according to the ESPN article, wasn't exactly one where they would've felt comfortable coming to him in the first place.

Even if the gymnasts did bring their concerns to Geddert, it seems pretty obvious that he didn't care.  All he knew is that he and Nassar were both going places, and these gymnasts were going to be the ones to get them there.  They couldn't let those pesky sexual assault allegations (of minors) get in the way of that.

As Nassar and Geddert rose up the ranks at USA Gymnastics, the abuse spread beyond just their gym in Michigan.  According to Aly Raisman and Jamie Dantzscher and dozens of other gymnasts who achieved their dream of making the U.S. National Team, Nassar's "treatments" continued in all corners of the globe...while on U.S. National Team trips!  So, clearly, somebody at USA Gymnastics had to at least have suspicions.

That's why USA Gymnastics needs to be held accountable.  And it is.  The USOC issued an ultimatum, ordering the entire board to resign or the organization could face decertification.  It's an important step.  And one that needed to be taken.  Although, it's something that should've been done years ago.  By not doing anything, USA Gymnastics was, at best, complicit.  Who knows the degree to which it was worse?

I think Aly Raisman was right.  USA Gymnastics put winning medals above the welfare of its athletes.  The USA has become the premier women's gymnastics team in the world over the past 10 years.  Even though the warning signs were there, USA Gymnastics continued its relationship with Larry Nassar.  All because the formula was working.

Nassar's abuse even extended to the Karolyi Ranch, the base of operations for the USA Gymnastics women's program.  Well, not anymore.  It wasn't part of their ultimatum from the USOC, but USA Gymnastics did the only thing it could do.  They cut ties with the Karolyi Ranch.  That relationship simply couldn't continue.  Not with the amount of pain that place has caused for so many.  Not for an organization desperate for a clean start.  Not for an organization with a reputation that badly needs to be rebuilt.

There are plenty of people out there who want the USOC to be held accountable, too.  But I'm not sure how much blame can be directly thrown in that direction.  Sure, the USOC definitely took some missteps here.  They could've taken these claims more seriously or been more thorough in its investigation or been more forceful in their response.  But the USOC is not responsible for the day-to-day operations of USA Gymnastics.  

Yes, some of Nassar's abuse took place at the Olympic Games, which ultimately falls on the USOC.  But it never should've gotten to that point.  Larry Nassar never should've been allowed to travel to the Olympics in the first place.  And that decision falls on USA Gymnastics.

USA Gymnastics doesn't deserve all of the blame for enabling Nassar, though.  A great deal of it also falls on Michigan State.  As we've since found out, the problems at Michigan State extend far beyond Larry Nassar and far beyond the gymnastics program.  There's a culture of misconduct and cover-ups involving a number of sports in East Lansing.  It's led to the forced resignations of the University President and Athletic Director, with more likely to come.

Nothing about this situation is easy.  These gymnasts were victimized by this horrible man for far too long, and the fact that they've finally been able to break their silence is little consolation.  Just like the fact that Nassar is behind bars where he belongs won't give them back everything he took from them.

And that I think is the saddest part.  There were way too many victims.  But Larry Nassar isn't the only villain in the story.  Aly Raisman called Nassar a "monster," and he is.  But too many people let that monster run wild.  For far too long.  Now that he's in a cage, it's time to hold them accountable, too.