At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019) - full transcript
-(CHEERING)
-ANNOUNCER: As she came here
to Boston to compete
in the Olympic Trials,
she did so on a bad right leg.
(AUDIENCE GASPS)
-GYMNAST: It's bad. (SOBS)
-TRAINER: Okay.
-(GYMNAST SOBS)
-TRAINER: All right.
(SOBS)
LARRY NASSAR: You okay?
It's that knee?
-TRAINER: That's okay.
-NASSAR: Um, no. Debbie--
We're gonna get her
into the back room.
-Okay?
-GYMNAST: No, no.
MAN: No, no, no.
GYMNAST: No.
NASSAR: Hold on.
They're going to start
-getting her to the--
-MAN 2: Stand up for us.
-GYMNAST: Yeah.
NASSAR: Yep. Okay.
Got here there? And up.
-MAN: Are you okay? Okay?
-(AUDIENCE CHEERS)
-ANNOUNCER: This is gutsy stuff.
-(AUDIENCE CHEERING FADES)
NASSAR: (VOICE RECORDING)
♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
USA Gymnastics,
the number one team
in the world.
(CROWD CHEERING)
LYNDSY GAMET: There's
a whole institution of people
who knew through these years.
ANNOUNCER:
Get the gold medals ready!
(CHEERING)
ISABELL HUTCHINS: I don't know
how anyone couldn't have known.
(CHEERING)
KYM WILLIAMS: Who goes
to their doctor's basement?
ANNOUNCER 2:
There's a lot on the line.
DOMINIQUE MOCEANU: Why on Earth
did they not report him then?
REBECCA DAVIS O'BRIEN:
You know, there are many
missed opportunities.
MARCI HAMILTON: They knew
they needed a better system,
and they sat on their hands.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN: This is
probably the darkest stain
in U.S. Olympic history.
-Wow.
-You're strong. You're strong.
What have you done?
♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪
(MOVIE PROJECTOR WHIRS)
TRINEA GONCZAR: Gymnastics is
kind of an interesting sport.
You either are
or you aren't one.
You know, they'll tell you
right away if you're--
if you're going to go
to the next level.
They can see it in you, the way
you jump, the way you move.
I just always was one.
KATHY JOHNSON: I was perfectly
suited for gymnastics.
I was tiny, strong, fearless,
loved flying,
loved-- little daredevil.
It's... the most amazing feeling
to be able to propel your body
through the air
and flip around and stick it.
It is flying.
The feeling of having power,
that's, like,
a lot of people don't talk about
is, like, the flying thing
comes after the power
and feeling that, like,
command over your body
and doing stuff
that regular people can't do.
ANNOUNCER 3: Now watch this.
Watch this.
Back sommy right
to the other bar.
ANNOUNCER 4: Has that
been done before by a girl?
ANNOUNCER 3: Never! Never, not
by any human that I know of.
MIKE JACKI: Olga in '72,
the American public,
they were flabbergasted
by what she was able to do.
They were enamored by it.
♪ (CLASSICAL MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
ANNOUNCER 3:
Isn't that something?
I think the American culture
is infatuated with gymnastics
because every four years,
you see these little, strong,
wonderful, talented,
amazing athletes pop out
on the big stage.
(CHEERING)
JULIET MACUR: I don't think
that any other Olympic sport
in the summertime really gets
as many viewers,
just because it has everything.
It has the beauty,
it has the power,
and the music,
and the drama of it.
-(CHEERING)
-ANNOUNCER 5:
And what a champion!
Absolutely superb performance.
ANNOUNCER 6: Faultless.
Absolutely faultless.
(CHEERING)
A 10 has gone on the board.
That's perfection,
and that is Olympic history
for Nadia Comaneci.
MOCEANU:
Wanting that Olympic dream,
wanting to be the best
in the world,
you go and you train so hard
day in and day out.
No matter how bad people
are treating you,
you go back for more. You know?
You go back for more
because you want that dream.
It's--
it's burning inside of you.
GONCZAR: Elite Olympic gymnasts
are typically, like, 15, 16,
seventeen years old,
the peak of their sport.
So, you have to start young
to get good
to be still young
and be the best.
MACUR: I think that
a lot of people think it's easy
because they're so cute
and they're so bouncy
and smiley.
But really, I don't think
there's a sport that's harder
in terms of the age
where they expect to excel
and the demands that
the coaches put on them.
I think it's mentally difficult
and one of the most
physically demanding sports.
DAWN HOMER:
You're going to get hurt,
and you're not going
to complain.
It did not matter what happened
to you. You were not to cry.
There were things like
when they would be racked.
Racking is just like a torture
to these girls.
It's trying to force them down
into splits,
and you've got such
adult pressure being put
on these little girls,
And they are not to cry.
They are not to yell out.
But yet, you know
they're in so much pain,
but they just do it
without complaint.
This is the tricky part
about our sport.
To be great...
takes so much energy, focus,
intense training...
training through fatigue,
sometimes injury,
as long as it's...
not an injury that's going to
be dangerous or debilitating.
But sometimes things are--
everything hurts.
That's-- that's the whole thing
about being a great gymnast.
It's almost like being
a wounded animal.
You don't show your weakness.
You don't show that you're hurt.
COACH: Same position.
Ah.
JESSICA O'BEIRNE: Gymnastics
is not a sport with a lot of...
back and forth communication.
It's a lot of... soldier,
learning how to be a soldier.
O'BRIEN: These women
have to perform
so that USA Gymnastics brings
in sponsorships
so that US Olympic Committee
can be proud of them
and trot them out
every four years for all of us
to watch
so that NBC viewers can--
you know it's a money machine.
And at the heart of it
are teenage girls
and their bodies.
It seems like a... arrangement
that's bound to create abuse.
The former team doctor
for USA Gymnastics
for twenty years
is facing dozens of accusations
of sexual abuse including one
from a former Olympian.
REPORTER: One of the women
has filed a criminal complaint
against Nassar
with Michigan police.
The other has filed a lawsuit
in California.
Former Michigan State University
and Team USA Gymnastics doctor,
Larry Nassar, has been arrested.
O'BEIRNE: When I first heard
about Nassar,
I was completely shocked,
and then I totally
wasn't shocked at all
because he's in exactly
the position
to get away with this.
Like, if you were
a child predator,
you would become him.
It's so perfect.
MACUR: Larry Nassar was a doctor
for USA Gymnastics
for more than twenty years.
He had worked
with Michigan State
for just as long.
SCOTT REID: He was a physician
at Michigan State University,
and then he would be called
into camps,
these periodic--
these monthly camps
for the women's national team.
And then World Championships,
major international
national team events,
he'd be right there.
MACUR: His contract
with Michigan State said
you have to also do outreach
in the community.
So, he also worked
with high schools
and local gyms.
So, literally, he had his hands
on hundreds of children
every year for many years.
HOMER: When Trinea
became a level five,
we were all invited
to a big meeting.
And in the meeting, they said,
"100 percent
of your children
will be injured."
And then I remember
being introduced
to Larry as a trainer.
And I thought, "Oh good,
there's a safety net.
If they get injured,
there's a trainer."
I felt we were lucky
to have Larry.
He was seen as...
like the guardian angel
of the gymnasts.
He was all about, you know,
protecting the athletes.
And that's not something we
often hear in the elite space.
NASSAR: (RECORDING)
Not just physically,
but mentally, you have
to protect your athletes.
You have to let them know
that we care. You have to--
not let them know,
but let them feel it,
let them understand it,
let them breathe it.
It's-- it's there. You know?
It's not just
a pat on the back.
You know what I mean? It has
to be sincere that we care.
Larry Nassar was the good guy
in this whole web of people
you have to deal with--
with gymnastics.
How could a gymnast not say,
"Wow, this guy's so nice to me?
Everybody else is so mean.
They want me to--
to do an extra routine,
or my leg hurts
and they want me
to keep running or something."
He was brilliant at fooling
these girls into trusting him.
And... and I don't know
how he got
the Károlyis
to turn their backs,
or maybe he did it
behind their back.
I'm not sure how much
the Károlyis knew.
I don't know for sure
if they knew about him.
Did they know that he was alone
with gymnasts? Yes.
Should they have known
that was against a policy,
that there were policies
and procedures in place
and he was violating them?
Yes.
Did they care?
No.
That gold medal
gymnastics coach, Béla Károlyi,
has yet another winner
on his hands.
REPORTER 2: Béla Károlyi
is the gymnastics coach
who brought Nadia Comaneci
and Mary Lou Retton
to Olympic fame.
I'm not concerning
about anything else
than to be the winner, to win.
And I love to win. (LAUGHS)
That's the truth.
Stronger, stronger, stronger,
stronger. Round it. In. There.
(BÉLA KÁROLYI
INSTRUCTING INDISTINCTLY)
Hit it. And up.
That's not good.
You're not doing
the right thing.
Hold that. (CONTINUES
INSTRUCTIONS IN ROMANIAN)
MACUR: Béla and Márta Károlyi
are the most famous coaches
in gymnastics history.
REID:
Béla Károlyi was the architect
of the Romanian dynasty.
In the late '70s,
Béla comes around
with Nadia Comaneci and others
and becomes
the premiere global superpower
in gymnastics.
At the time, the gymnasts were
mostly over 20 years old.
It was really a women's sport.
GEZA POZSAR: Béla and Márta
changed the concept
of gymnastics
to train very young children,
very intensive training
from six years old.
MOCEANU: He had this philosophy.
Do enough repetition,
and you stay prepubescent
and you don't gain weight,
you're going to get
those girls to hit.
♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
REID: These monthly camps
at the Károlyi Ranch in Texas
were a huge factor
in creating this culture
that created Larry Nassar.
So, the Károlyi Ranch
is located
near this little town called
New Waverly, Texas,
like a filling station,
as they call them in Texas,
and I think-- I don't even know
if they have a stoplight.
You get off the freeway
and then you-- you're actually
in the Sam Houston
National Forest,
and you're going down
this red dirt road
deeper and deeper
into this forest.
It's like straight out
of a movie.
And you finally come upon
this compound of a gym
and a couple-- a house,
and like a dorm.
There's snakes everywhere,
and bugs,
and it's hotter than hell.
And it's just
this Texan nightmare.
O'BEIRNE:
The way that the Károlyis
implemented the system was,
"We don't want you
to lose focus.
We want you 100 percent focused
on gymnastics.
Bond with your team.
That's it."
JACKI: No phones, no internet...
Very controlled.
They had things that
were written to the athletes
that said
while you were at the ranch,
you could not go
to your personal coach.
Or your parents.
Now, is that a little bit weird?
You say to somebody,
"You can't go to your parents?"
REID: One of the main themes
about the Károlyi philosophy
is athletic Darwinism.
There are so many kids
out there,
the U.S. is so deep now,
that if you can't hold up
physically,
or if you can't handle it
mentally,
well, there's somebody dying
to get in here
who will pay the price.
So, they knew they could push
these kids hard, hard, hard.
This kind of, like, brutal,
"Do a lot of numbers,
as many numbers as possible
till you do it,
doesn't matter if you're falling
flat on your back
five, ten, fifteen,
twenty times.
Doesn't matter
if you're injured.
You-- you better not speak up,"
was the whole mentality
in the environment.
You'd better not or else
we're going to take
your Olympic dream away.
REID: You're beat up. You have
coaches screaming at you,
bullying you into doing stuff
that you're not
either ready to do
or you're too tired to do.
So, you're put
in dangerous situations.
Nassar was the guy--
he was the positive guy.
He's the guy who snuck
them food, gave them candy,
let them borrow a cell phone.
I mean, you talk
to all these women
who were on the national team
who were abused by him,
they said, "You know,
he was our friend.
If Larry's doing this,
it must be okay because he--
he's our friend. He's, like,
the one guy we trusted.
INTERVIEWER: What was
your impression of Larry Nassar?
Well, was a great guy.
I mean,
I ask him to help my gymnasts
from my gym.
I called him at nighttime
and next day, he helped me,
uh, send me the X-ray. You know?
He didn't ask for any payment.
When you're around sports
for a long time,
you see team doctors, and...
Nassar always kinda struck me
as a little bit different
from guys in that position
in other sports.
He kinda seemed
not quite up to speed.
He's kind of a dopey guy
along for the ride.
The thing about USA Gymnastics,
for all their global success,
it's kind of
a small-time operation.
The people there are there
because the Károlyis' blessing
that they're not gonna
rock the boat.
MOCEANU:
Márta liked that Nassar
would toe the company line.
He would tell them exactly
what they want to hear.
There were girls
that got injured, and...
you wanna get a gymnast back?
Sure, we can get her back.
He would just kind of
play the game
because he wanted the access.
He had access to these kids
pretty much around the clock.
He was doing this all kinds
of places,
in dorm rooms
at the Károlyi Ranch,
in dorm rooms
at the Sydney Olympics,
you know, hotel rooms, wherever.
NASSAR:
The view from the hotel room
where we're staying at.
At nighttime, "the City
of Lights," they call this.
Just got back from training.
MACUR: It's hard for me
to even fathom the fact that,
you know, we'd see these
gymnasts at these Olympics,
and they're interviewing
with us, saying,
"Oh, well, I just came back
from treatment."
Looking back now, my gosh,
these girls were coming
to talk to us right after
they were abused by this doctor
who's, like, always smiley
and, you know, uh,
looked like, oh,
everybody's best friend,
giving people gifts.
He was so sweet.
I mean, it's--
it's, like, Sexual Abuse 101.
NASSAR: Grab that. Okay.
Come back with your back hand,
wrap it around. Got it.
Come around.
Pull down. There you go.
Grab with your other hand
and pull up.
So, the athlete
can do this themselves.
The athlete can learn to do
the Kinesio Tape themselves too.
Because
it's in a sensitive area--
GONCZAR: I find it hard
to look at him...
as, like, a criminal,
aside from all
of the things he did,
because that's no-- I mean,
and I, I don't know.
I don't really know
another criminal.
I don't know another serial
child molester.
He was so good at being
who he was
on the other side of that.
Like he was, I mean...
he was awesome. (CHUCKLES)
I hate even saying that
'cause it's, like,
counter-intuitive of, like,
what the heck's happening to us.
But...
he was awesome. (CHUCKLES)
That's why we all loved him.
I would have considered him
a friend.
Uh, it's very, like when I first
heard about it,
my immediate reaction
wasn't, "That's impossible."
My immediate reaction was,
"Please don't let it be true,"
because this is a man
that I trusted.
We would sit and talk
for hours, and he would tell me
about what a great philosophy
I had and how he loved
how I protected children and um,
you know, all of this stuff
that just makes me look back
and go,
"God, what a master manipulator
he was."
He was a typical
serial pedophile.
Charming, powerful...
He was able to pull the wool
over all of the adults' faces.
What do you look for
in a child sex abuser?
And the answer is,
the nice guy.
It's kind of easy for them
because they find places
where it is easy.
A priest,
an ultra-Orthodox rabbi,
a coach, a doctor
for the gymnastics team.
MICK GREWAL: These girls
adored him and trusted him,
and that's not just gymnasts.
Larry Nassar saw anybody
who had a complaint:
gymnasts, rowers,
cheerleaders, dancers.
He lived three miles from me
in Holt, Michigan.
It was just like a normal
suburb neighborhood.
He was a personable,
God-fearing Catholic man.
KRISTEN THELEN: He was
so involved in the community.
He volunteered at the church.
He volunteered
at the high schools.
He was almost everywhere
we went, always smiling,
charismatic...
overly involved in our lives.
GAMET: I was 14,
and I wanted to be a doctor,
so Larry brought me to
Take Your Daughter to Work Day.
We had each other's
phone numbers.
I would text him almost daily.
We were friends on Facebook.
He'd post on my wall.
MELODY POSTHUMA:
He shared his Instagram,
so I knew his children's names
and faces, and his wife.
He'd ask about
your personal life.
He knew about my friendships.
He knew what classes
I was taking,
where I wanted to go to college.
He was a friend, a confidant,
at one time.
Nassar was extremely well liked,
but he was also... admired
as someone who was doing
amazing things
for female gymnasts.
where you can see
over 400 educational videos
on how to rehabilitate
your gymnast.
So, with a weak
glute medius muscle,
this drops down,
the foot rolls,
and she's got the--
the weakness in the--
in the hip area here.
Come off your toes
and come back,
all in one motion.
Toes, arms, go.
THELEN:
Every appointment, he would
have his hands all over me,
adjusting me,
massaging my back.
And what some people
might not understand,
that this is a really big part
of gymnastics
that he took advantage of,
that we're used to having adults
spotting us, helping us stretch.
We're used to having
adults touch us.
But Larry took it
a step further.
He explained to my mom,
"I'm going to put my hands
near a very private place
on your daughter."
He didn't ask. He just said that
that's what he was going to do.
Larry Nassar pretty much had a--
a primary method.
You would come to him and,
"I have a backache.
I have a hip problem."
He would stick his ungloved...
unlubricated hand
in your vaginal cavity
and do what he called
"a vaginal adjustment."
And it was, like,
this catchall treatment.
You know, stuff that was
nowhere near your pelvic area,
this was like,
"This'll make it better."
JESSICA ANN SMITH:
He told me that
I would probably
be uncomfortable
and kind of explained
that in the vagina,
there's a trigger point,
or pressure point,
that would release to help him
work on my ankle
to be less painful.
In my case, I wasn't given
a heads up
or any kind of explanation
about the procedure.
I think he just said,
"Tell me if this hurts."
Like, which it did,
but everything
that he was doing hurt.
He was doing,
like, pressure points
and manipulations and, like,
pushing on my muscles
with his elbows.
Um. I was pretty used
to just, like...
buckling down
and taking whatever pain.
You're always told by coaches,
teachers, "No pain, no gain."
So, when something's painful,
you're thinking,
"This is helping me,
and I'm getting better
because of it."
I remember being like,
"Can I survive this
for another two minutes?"
Watching the clock on my phone,
waiting for five minutes
to go past,
ten minutes to go past,
up to 45 minutes or an hour.
So, his appointments
would be two hours long.
My analysis is, an hour
was medical, professional,
and then the second half
was sexual.
Trying to remember back,
you know, to these "treatments"
and thinking back, and I'm like,
"How the heck didn't any, like--
how did he do that?"
And then I'm like,
"I don't think
there was a silent moment."
I mean, I don't think
he ever stopped talking.
"What's happening today?
How's, you know, your family?
Oh Dawn, how's things going
with the kids?"
HOMER:
Mother of three daughters.
My goal was to keep them safe.
And then I became an accomplice
in such a crazy world.
I mean, he would talk
to the parents
while he was doing this.
And so, it--
it was confusing.
The first time, specifically?
Um, well, my dad was in the room
and I just...
like, first I was like, "What?"
Like, "Is this normal?
Like, "What is going on?"
And then... a f--
a little bit...
of thinking about it,
I was like...
"Okay, well, my dad's
on the other side of the room,
so maybe it's normal."
Then I'm like,
"But does he know
what's happening?
I don't know if he does.
Well, how do I ask about this?
I can't ask about this."
And then, then you think,
"Well, he's a doctor."
I didn't think that
it happened to her
because... I had no idea.
Like, I was there.
I thought I saw everything.
She was with me
at every single appointment.
INTERVIEWER:
Was your mom always with you?
Yeah, she was always in the room
with me.
Having your own parent there,
and...
he's still able to manage
to get away with what he did,
even with someone else
in the room,
that-- that's really scary.
This is a grooming behavior.
The parent's sitting there.
The child's watching the parent.
The child doesn't want to tell
the parent this is going on,
but believes the parent
must know
because it's happening
right in front of them,
so it's okay.
So, guess what happens later on?
Parent doesn't come
into the next session,
and instead of it
being a two-minute procedure,
it ends up being
a 45-minute procedure.
The young girl thinks it's okay
'cause Mom and Dad
were sitting in the room before.
I noticed that what he was doing
was getting more aggressive
as I got older,
and when I could drive myself,
then no parent was in the room,
so then it really amped up.
He would bring us to his house,
to the basement.
WILLIAMS:
When I heard two months ago
that Taylor was treated
in his basement,
I almost fell over.
Who goes
to their doctor's basement?
He offered free "treatments"
to women all the time
in his basement,
which I knew about.
So that's why I felt okay going
'cause I,
once again, minimized it.
"Everyone else goes there too."
You know,
he would get erections.
You know, it's just, something's
not right there. (CHUCKLES)
He would take his belt off.
He would make grunting noises.
And if we look at it as,
as adults, we're like,
"Oh my God, didn't you know?
Of course,
this is for a sexual purpose."
But you gotta put your mind--
a young girl
who has no sexual experience,
a young girl who's trusting,
a young girl who's told
repeatedly over,
"This is the Olympic doctor.
He's there to help."
So, these girls,
they had no clue.
And then I would feel better
after my appointments
'cause like I said,
he was doing medical things.
And no one else was helping me
get better, so I knew
I had to go back
because I needed
to be relieved of my pain.
So even if I hated
the treatment, I would go back.
And that's how so many girls
were abused for so many years.
INTERVIEWER: How often
was that vaginal treatment?
GONCZAR: Probably every time.
I don't remember not having it.
They estimate it happened
to me-- estimate--
like, eight--
maybe 846 times.
It's a lot.
The reason Larry was
such a good doctor
was because you didn't feel
anything afterward,
not just physically.
Emotionally, mentally.
You had to block it out.
You had to,
or...
you're going to fall apart.
GREWAL:
These young women didn't know.
Their bodies might have known.
Subconsciously,
they might have known.
They thought this was
a legitimate medical treatment.
They were told over and over
and over again,
"You can trust Larry. Larry says
you can trust Larry.
Kathie says you can trust Larry.
John Geddert says
you can trust Larry."
INTERVIEWER:
Who is John Geddert?
Satan.
He is, uh, the devil,
and he, uh,
is the head coach
and owner of Twistars.
JOHN GEDDERT: Open the hips.
That's better, feet.
Now up, up, up, up.
That's too much forward.
Straight. Squeeze it. Shape.
Hold the shape.
Press the landing.
Press the landing. Press.
No, stay there. Stay.
WILLIAMS: John Geddert,
former 2012 Olympic team coach.
When I came to Michigan,
very, very, very quickly,
I realized
that John was the force,
the name in, certainly,
Region 5 gymnastics.
MOCEANU: John Geddert coached
Olympic champion Jordyn Wieber,
and he had many other
national team members
throughout the years.
He housed Nassar
at his facility in Michigan,
Twistars,
where he had
unprecedented access
to his gymnasts in the gym.
INTERVIEWER:
Like at the Károlyi Ranch?
Very similar environment.
Actually, probably even
more access at Geddert's gym.
At the Ranch,
it was only whenever
he was able to come in
to the monthly camps.
But at Geddert's gym,
he could go in every day
if he wanted to.
TAYLOR LIVINGSTON:
John especially,
Twistars especially,
sent you to Larry.
He came in every Monday,
and he would stay
until everyone was seen.
He was very well known
at the gym, obviously,
because he was promoted
at the gym.
He was pretty much
like our go-to doctor.
HOMER: Larry knew how to
get them back in their sport.
He knew how to pick them up
psychologically,
because the last thing you want
to be if you are an athlete
is injured, especially
in John Geddert's gym.
WILLIAMS: John Geddert,
super intimidating man,
super intimidating.
Um, walks it, owns it, talks it.
How would I describe myself
as a coach?
I know how others describe me,
but I think they get
the wrong impression.
Um. I'm pretty intense,
very caring about my athletes.
Um, I'm not a warm and fuzzy...
um, blow smoke
when it's not needed.
I'll give kids their due
when they deserve it,
but I'm not gonna
unnecessarily tell them
how wonderful they are
if they're not being wonderful.
He would use more of a tactic
like beating you down.
So, he would belittle you.
He would insult you,
call you names,
and you would feel like
you weren't good enough.
It was your fault.
You were doing things wrong.
At gymnastics meets,
if a girl fell,
I would see him turn his back
on her
and he wouldn't watch her
compete,
or he would-- threw
a water bottle at somebody
because they made a mistake
on the bars.
And so, you would keep trying
harder and harder
to get his approval.
You always wanted
John's approval,
and when he gave it to you,
it was something special.
(CHEERING)
Kinda, like,
the wrong way to do it,
but as long as John got results,
he continued his technique,
just break
every single girl down
until they thought
they were nothing.
And then after practice,
you'd go and see Larry.
He'd be there for you,
be that person
that you know was going
to understand you, and...
for me, he was kind of like
a friend that I could go to.
Larry was good and John was bad.
(CHUCKLES)
You knew that
they were good friends
but I never-- it's weird
'cause like I don't--
they're so different.
Larry's super dorky,
and John was super, like, ego.
But it was almost like
the weird perfect fit.
I think that if we were injured,
John sent us to Larry
because he would give
the shortest amount of time
that could be necessary
to come back from our injury.
And there would be no mediator,
I guess, in the middle
to be like, "Well maybe she
needs this extra few weeks."
If Larry thought you were okay,
then you must not be hurting
anymore. You're okay.
INTERVIEWER:
That sounds dangerous.
Yeah. Um. I would say so.
HUTCHINS: I started having
some shin pain in my leg,
and it started getting worse
a couple weeks later.
And so then, I finally said
something to John,
and he said,
"Well, go see Larry."
So, I saw Larry. He poked
and prodded at it, and he says,
"I don't think anything's
seriously wrong with it."
Like, "I'll tape it up
a little bit,
but you're okay
to continue practicing."
I kept practicing
for weeks later.
The pain got worse.
It felt like I was stabbing it
every time I tumbled.
And it got to the point
where I was seeing Larry
every day at practice,
and then after practice,
I would go to his house
and be in his basement
at his house.
INTERVIEWER: How often
did he do the "treatment"?
Every time.
And I felt violated,
but he's a doctor.
It's got to be for some reason.
Um. So, I just
never said anything,
and I just kind of accepted it.
You would think that if your
leg wasn't getting better,
you might want to get X-rays
on it, but that didn't happen.
Doing all the gymnastics stuff
on it,
it was, um, excruciating,
but a prestigious
Olympic doctor
is telling you nothing's wrong,
so you kind of think
you're crazy.
I mean, it makes you wonder
what really is pain.
And the practice before we left
for nationals,
I was struggling so hard.
And so finally, I was like,
"John, like, I'm trying
my hardest
but my leg hurts so bad,
I can't make this."
And he told me to get my stuff
out of the fucking locker room
and get out of the fucking gym.
He means forever.
So, I go to the ER,
I get X-rays, and it's broken.
Like, splintered.
It looks like a nail
was hammering down on my leg
and it just kept
splintering off pieces
because I just kept tumbling
on it.
INTERVIEWER:
Do you think that you were
purposely mistreated by Nassar
in order to keep you
in his care?
HUTCHINS: I think
it's definitely a possibility.
Why else would I have competed
on a broken leg for a month?
Why else wouldn't X-rays
have been in the question
if it continued to get worse
and not better?
INTERVIEWER: Do you think
that John Geddert knew
about Nassar's
so called "treatments"...
and that
they were not appropriate?
Um... it's hard to say,
but I don't know how anyone
couldn't have known,
um, with be--
it being in a room right there
in your own gym. You know?
There's no way he didn't know
something about Larry.
And even if he thought
it was really a treatment
because this guy was supposed
to be his best friend
and was supposed to be a doctor,
it's such a bizarre thing
that you would hope that
he would at least look into it.
And there's no way
he didn't hear.
We talked about it openly
in the gym.
GAMET: There's a whole
institution of people who knew
through these years, and it--
it could have been stopped.
INTERVIEWER:
How do you think the abuse could
have stopped earlier?
Could have stopped
when Kathie was told.
GAMET: Kathie Klages,
another friend of John Geddert
and Larry Nassar.
She was told in-- in '97.
LARISSA BOYCE: I went to
Spartan Youth Gymnastics Club,
and one of the head coaches
was Kathie Klages,
MSU's head gymnastics coach.
I had been thinking about...
talking to an adult
about these "treatments"
'cause it did make me
uncomfortable.
So, Kathie Klages had me come
into her office,
and I did specifically tell her
that Larry was putting
his fingers inside of me.
And she just said
I must be misunderstanding.
He would never do anything
inappropriate.
She said she had known him
for years and years
and I just must be mistaken.
Kathie did not believe her.
So she marched other gymnasts in
to try to dissuade Larissa
that this wasn't happening.
She had teammates come in,
a couple at a time,
while I was sitting there
in her office, in front of me,
and she asked them if Larry had
ever done anything
to make them feel uncomfortable
during treatments.
And all of them said no,
except one other girl.
So, this other girl stayed
in the room,
and Kathie still just couldn't
wrap her head
around what we were saying.
So, she brought in a couple
college-aged gymnasts,
and they would explain,
"You know, his hands get close
to certain areas, but they
never are inappropriate."
And I again, I said,
"Well, that's not
what's happening to me.
His fingers are going inside."
Then at that point,
they left the room.
The other girl left the room.
GREWAL: Coach Klages told
the other gymnast,
"You're misinterpreting this.
I don't want to hear it,"
and basically, shut her up.
But Larissa still stood
her ground.
I again said what was happening,
and she said,
"Well, I could file this
but there's going to be
very serious consequences
for both you and Larry Nassar,
and you need to really think
about this."
And I just, I think I raised
my hands and said,
"I don't want to get anybody
in trouble.
That's not my intention."
And so, I went back out
and I think I ran
into the bathroom
and just cried
for the majority of practice.
GREWAL: She intimidated her,
and it shut her down.
Coach Klages
then didn't tell her parents,
but she did tell one person.
She told Larry Nassar.
BOYCE: So, my next appointment
with Larry, he walked in,
he closed the door,
he sat on his little stool,
and he said,
"So, I talked to Kathie."
And at that point my heart
just sank.
I felt so embarrassed.
I felt so humiliated.
He said, "Kathie told me
your concerns,
and you know I'm doing this
to help you."
And I remember saying,
"I'm so sorry.
This is all my fault.
It's all a big misunderstanding
and I'm sorry."
So, I just convinced myself
that I must be the problem
and I just better suck it up.
And then I hopped back up
on that table,
and he continued to abuse me
for the next four years.
HAMILTON: Adults prefer
and protect adults.
We say we protect children,
but children
are second-class citizens.
They don't vote,
they don't have power,
and it's so much easier
to let a child's needs go.
It's really denial,
but it's also...
they're protecting
the adult's livelihood.
No one wants to destroy
a successful adult's life.
And so, we put it off
and we put it off.
Larissa Boyce um, told people
who worked for MSU in 1997.
Uh. I was three in 1997.
You know, that's impactful.
It could have been stopped.
BOYCE: Kathie Klages knew that
there was a proper process
that she should have taken
when she told me
that she could file something,
but she chose not to.
And so, I absolutely believe
that's on MSU.
She was their employee.
And then all of the other girls
who came forward
and told trainers
or psychiatrists,
all of them were at MSU,
MSU employees.
GREWAL: They did not want
to believe a single girl.
From 1997 to 2015,
there were 17 incidents
of reporting,
just to Michigan State alone.
O'BRIEN:
In 2014, Amanda Thomashow,
who had attended
Michigan State University,
filed a Title IX complaint
against Larry Nassar,
alleging that he had molested
her during a treatment session.
AMANDA THOMASHOW: I told them
exactly what happened,
that Nassar started to insert
his fingers into me
and I pu-- stood up,
I pushed him off of me,
and he ran to the corner
of the room
to hide his erection.
GREWAL:
Michigan State University
investigated
through their OIE office,
Office of
Institutional Equities,
and they're supposed
to be impartial.
In that investigation,
they allowed Larry Nassar
to pick four, quote,
"independent
corroborating experts"
of his so-called "treatment."
Larry said that it was medical.
I said that
it was sexual assault.
And so, they asked some
of his friends
what they thought.
GREWAL: Three of the four were
his students or colleagues.
One was a trainer.
He knew all of them.
He hand-picked all of them
with the knowledge
of his supervisor,
Dean Strampel.
And what the report
finally said was that
the young lady
misunderstood the nuances,
and as a result,
they found no violation.
THOMASHOW: They left
the erection out of the report.
They also left out the fact
that I pushed him off of me.
I was 24. I knew what was
and was not appropriate.
They gaslighted me.
So,
this is the surprising thing.
Two reports were generated.
There was a report generated,
issued to Amanda Thomashow,
and in that report, they say
they find no violation of
the Sexual Harassment Policies.
The report ends on page 22.
Lo and behold,
here we are in civil litigation.
You know what we find?
(WHISPERS)
There's a page 23.
Page 23 goes into
all the problems
that potentially are there.
It is opening the university up
to a liability,
that they had better
have a chaperone in place,
he'd better wear gloves, he'd
better have informed consent.
And they never turned
that report out for anybody.
That report's internally kept
between Larry,
Strampel, and the OIE office.
The three years surrounding
my investigation,
my Title IX
was the only Title IX
that produced
two separate conclusions.
GREWAL: So, Larry Nassar
was put on leave 90 days.
That's how long
the OIE investigation was.
But in the end, Dean Strampel
put it in an email,
"glad to have you back."
"Please, Larry, just follow
these restrictions."
Dean Strampel put restrictions
on Larry Nassar.
THOMASHOW: Simple rules
like explain the procedure,
wear gloves, have somebody else
present in the room.
GREWAL: But Dean Strampel,
he never followed up.
We've spoken
to the support personnel
at the clinical center,
who were there after 2014,
who were never informed
of these procedures
that Dean Strampel was supposed
to inform everybody.
And at the same time, we have a
criminal investigation going on
by the Ingham County
prosecutor's office.
NASSAR:
The patient was concerned
that I was inappropriately
touching her
-and didn't understand why.
-OFFICER: Okay.
Like, you know, "He was,
you know, touching me
in my private areas," you know,
and she didn't understand why.
And that's--
those are two things
that confused me because I-- I--
I do this on a regular basis.
-OFFICER: Okay.
-This is, this a treatment
that I-- that I lecture on.
I lecture on, not only here
at Michigan State
to the fellows and residents
and medical students,
but to, um, uh,
national organizations.
GREWAL: Shouldn't
a prosecuting attorney office
bring in outside experts?
You know whose experts
they used?
Michigan State University's,
experts that Larry Nassar
hand-picked.
They believed the status
of Larry Nassar.
And once again, they also found
there was no sexual assault.
And they sent one
of the detectives over there
to tell Larry,
"Make sure, in the future,
you have somebody in the room,
and you wear gloves,
and you explain
what's going on."
So, 2014,
you have all these restrictions
were put in place.
The assaults
should have stopped.
They didn't.
I was a patient of his
before, during, and after
that Title IX investigation,
where protocol was put
into place,
that I wasn't made aware of,
and then not followed.
Nothing changed.
You know, ex-- what happened
during the visits
was exactly the same
from when she started seeing him
in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015.
INTERVIEWER:
When did the incidents happen
-with Larry Nassar?
-Um, in 2014.
They didn't have him
follow the guidelines,
and they didn't really put
a stop to it
until so many people
came forward.
GREWAL: Out of 90 of our
survivors that we represent,
28 of them were assaulted
during or after 2014,
Title IX investigation
of Amanda Thomashow.
But this is not just
Michigan State University.
It goes to organization
that span this country,
USOC, USAG.
INTERVIEWER:
Do we know when USAG
knew about
Larry Nassar's predilections?
Well, we know for a fact
it was 2015.
O'BRIEN: Spring 2015,
Maggie Nichols, gymnast
on the U.S. National Team
was at the Károlyi Ranch for one
of the monthly training camps.
And she was with Aly Raisman.
And Maggie said out loud,
"What's with this technique
he does?
Like why does he put his finger
inside me?
I'm not sure it's helping."
And Maggie Nichols's coach
happened to be within earshot
and was alarmed by this.
There was a report made
to USA Gymnastics.
Steve Penny sat on it
for a few weeks.
MOCEANU: USA Gymnastics
former president, Steve Penny,
was notified
that a gymnast was assaulted
at the national team camp.
Why on Earth
did they not report him then?
O'BRIEN: Maggie Nichols's
mother was told by Steve Penny,
"Don't do anything.
Don't report it.
We're going to handle this
internally.
We don't know yet
if we need to report this."
They waited for five weeks
before they went to the FBI.
Five weeks.
When you have gymnasts
telling you that Larry's doing
these manipulations every day,
sometimes twice a day,
five weeks is a long time
to be sitting on the knowledge
that Larry Nassar is--
is a sexual predator.
O'BEIRNE: They waited five week
because they did their own
internal investigation
as to whether or not
this was sexual abuse or not.
O'BRIEN:
After an internal investigator
told Steve Penny, "You really
have a problem here.
You have to go to the FBI,"
Steve Penny
called Scott Blackmun,
the chief executive
of the US Olympic Committee.
The Olympic Committee legally is
responsible for the safety
of the athletes at the Olympics.
And Steve Penny said
to Scott Blackman
something to the effect of,
"We have a member
of our medical staff
who's been accused
of improper contact.
I'm going to report it
to the FBI."
Scott Blackmun has said to us
that he told Steve Penny,
"Definitely report this,"
-and Steve Penny did.
-INTERVIEWER: Is that enough?
I mean, that's a--
that's a question.
Of course, we want to say "no"
because of what happened
in the subsequent year.
N-- he-- nothing happened.
The USOC had tremendous
responsibility as the top
of all of Olympic sports
in the United States.
And the USOC has had
inadequate child protection
policies for years.
There's been a problem
in gymnastics with sexual abuse
and with physical abuse
for decades.
O'BRIEN: In 1999,
the then-president of
USA Gymnastics, Bob Colarossi,
wrote a letter to the USOC
raising concerns
about their method
of handling allegations
of abuses by coaches,
saying, the way
the system works
is going to get us in trouble.
Scott Blackmun
was on that letter.
HAMILTON: They knew it.
They knew they needed
a better system,
and they sat on their hands.
GREWAL: Nassar, he actually
was allowed to resign
from USA Gymnastics and said
he's taking his leave of absence
and thanked them
and left on his own terms.
O'BRIEN:
But Nassar is back in Michigan,
still treating patients.
He continued to do that
for more than a year
after that in Michigan.
Wouldn't USA Gymnastics
tell Michigan State University
there's an investigation on?
They didn't tell them.
You know, there are
many missed opportunities
for people to be informed
about this.
And what nobody knew
at USA Gymnastics
was that the FBI never inve--
even opened an investigation.
I mean, it went to the FBI
in Indianapolis.
The FBI in Indianapolis said,
"We're gonna kick this over
to the Detroit office,"
and then it died there.
The FBI in Indianapolis
doesn't seem to have taken
their allegations
very seriously.
We also don't know exactly
what Steve Penny told them.
GREWAL: MSU, USAG, USOC,
Twistars, and the FBI,
all these organizations,
they knew.
Every organization had a chance
to stop.
O'BEIRNE: All that time, Nassar
was still working at MSU.
He was still working for Holt,
the school district
that he was working for.
He was treating people nonstop
until Rachael Denhollander
came forward.
-NASSAR: Sorry.
-ANDREA MUNFORD:
NASSAR:
-MUNFORD:
-NASSAR: Yeah.
MUNFORD:
-NASSAR:
-MUNFORD:
NASSAR:
MUNFORD:
NASSAR:
MUNFORD: Okay.
MUNFORD: Mm-hmm.
MUNFORD:
NASSAR:
(CHUCKLES)
-MUNFORD: Okay.
-NASSAR:
MUNFORD: Right.
-NASSAR:
-MUNFORD:
NASSAR:
I was a patient
of Dr. Nassar in 2000,
and at age 15, was repeatedly
sexually assaulted by him
under the guise
of medical treatment
and medical examination.
Rachael Denhollander was not
an Olympian, but, um,
an advanced level gymnast,
who in the summer of 2016
became the first person
to openly name Larry Nassar
as an abuser.
She was inspired to do this
by a series that ran
in The Indianapolis Star.
There's a troubling report
in USA Today network
and The Indianapolis Star.
The governing body
for American gymnastics
is accused of routinely
protecting coaches
who are accused of sexually
abusing young athletes.
O'BRIEN: Rachael Denhollander
read this article,
and she had been,
over the years,
coming to terms
with this "treatment"
that she had been subjected to
by Larry Nassar
more than a decade earlier,
and she reached out
to a reporter.
REPORTER 3:
Rachael Denhollander
told The Indianapolis Star
newspaper
that Nassar
sexually assaulted her
when she was 15 years old,
taking part
in club gymnastics in Michigan.
O'BRIEN: Ultimately,
one other former Olympian spoke
anonymously
in the original article
and identified Larry
as an abuser.
When someone comes public
and puts it in a major newspaper
that this guy, who's employed
by your university,
um, sexually abused her,
and you have two people
talking about it,
that carries a lot of weight.
Two gymnasts
have accused Dr. Larry Nassar
of sexually abusing them
during treatment.
REPORTER: One of women
has filed a criminal complaint
against Nassar
with Michigan Police.
The other has filed
a lawsuit in California.
I read the headline,
and I laughed in disbelief.
I was like, "There is no way."
Like, "He is a saint."
'Cause at that point,
even though I didn't like
the treatments,
I really thought that he had
been helping me
this whole time.
I actually defended him at first
'cause I knew that--
well, I was told that this was
a valid medical procedure
and I was brainwashed
and conditioned into b--
to believing that
for the past 20 years,
I think, in order
to just survive through it.
And so, I defended him.
HOMER: Trinea came home,
and we both just said,
"This cannot be."
She's like, "There's no way."
It's Larry. It's Larry.
If you know Larry, there's
no way it can be Larry."
And it actually made me mad.
I was like,
"How dare you accuse
such a kind person
of doing such
an extremely awful thing?
Um. And I didn't read
the article
'cause I was
in a dance rehearsal at college.
But then when I was by myself
after that rehearsal,
I started reading
through the article,
and Rachael Denhollander
had it to a tee.
She described
my whole experience,
weird commentary, no gloves,
internal techniques,
followed by his response that
he never went internal, ever.
He would never do that.
And I was like,
"His story is very different
than my personal experience."
LIVINGSTON:
I was so embarrassed
when it first started
coming out.
I didn't want to say anything.
I was like,
"How did I let this happen?
How did I not know?"
The thing is, like,
my whole life, like,
I've trained to be
smart as I can,
as strong as I can,
and as fearless as I can.
And like, in moments like that,
where those things happen,
I was none of those things.
And to me,
that was, like, soul-crushing.
Over that night, my--
the gears started shifting
in my head,
realizing all this time
for seven years of my life
that I thought it was medical
and helping me--
and I literally walked around
praising his name,
referring people to him.
Now I've been referring people
to a monster.
GONCZAR: I started to have a
heavy guilt about other people
that had come to me
when I was younger and saying,
"You know, I'm confused.
Something happened to me,
but, you know, do you know
anything about this?"
I'm like, "Oh yeah,
it happens to me all the time.
He does it to me all the time.
You're good.
You don't have to worry.
It's not weird.
You're not the only one...
He does it to me all the time.
So, you're good."
And then thinking like,
"Oh my God,
like, did I just silence
these people?
Like, did I stop them
from stopping him?"
I did.
INTERVIEWER: That's because
you didn't know what it was.
I know. (SOBS) But I still did.
POSTHUMA: I called
IndyStar and reported my story.
And so obviously
they knew Rachael well,
and I got to talk with Rachael
that first day that I found out.
And she really spurred me on to
keep going to the next steps.
Things developed pretty quickly.
Rachael Denhollander filed
her complaint
at the end of August
and by the end of September,
Larry Nassar had been fired
from Michigan State.
REPORTER 4: Michigan State
University Police say
about 50 women have now
come forward
accusing the former
MSU associate professor
of criminal sexual conduct.
Michigan State University
Chief of Police, Jim Dunlap,
and I are announcing today
criminal charges.
O'BRIEN:
In November, he was charged
by the Attorney General
in Michigan
on state sex abuse charges
related to one victim,
who was not a gymnast
he treated.
♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
POSTHUMA: The first time
he got put in jail,
he bailed himself out
for a million dollars.
He was a free citizen.
He's walking around town,
still trying to be, um,
part of the council
for Holt High School.
It's dividing the whole town.
I had people I talked to
on the phone,
that couldn't even speak because
they were best friends
with Nassar's wife.
The Twistars community
is behind him 100 percent.
And I have known him
before he even went
to medical school.
And everything he's ever done
for gymnastics and everything
I've ever seen him do
has been nothing
but caring and sincere.
There are hundreds of people
that support him 100 percent.
We have received
countless emails
and communications
from other doctors, physicians,
physical therapists,
ex-patients,
ex-coworkers supporting him.
There's no doubt
he has a ton of support.
I couldn't even go on Facebook
because people from my childhood
were saying things
against me, essentially.
Just decided to click
on the comments.
"Oh, they're lying," or "They're
just in it for the money,"
or, "Oh, they should have known
that happened."
There's all these
weird emotions, you know,
at the beginning
of September 2016,
until the porn stuff came out
and then everyone silenced.
SIMON SHAYKHET:
...FBI agents saying they found
at least 37,000 thousand images
and videos of child pornography
on hard drives belonging
to Dr. Larry Nassar.
They were seized
during a recent search
of the former MSU doctor's home
in Holt.
I represented Dr. Nassar
in his criminal matters
in Michigan
and in federal court.
I believe law enforcement
said there were 37,000
or more than 37,000 images.
It sounds like a high volume
to people who are not familiar
with these cases,
but in all honestly,
it's not a high volume.
It makes me want to vomit.
Were some of those pictures
some of these gymnasts
and some of his patients,
some people that he saw
at his house?
Quite possibly so.
I mean, I cared that
that was found,
but what I mostly cared about,
that he was in prison
without bail.
Bond was revoked and Dr. Nassar
was, uh, locked up in jail.
And so, it became more difficult
in terms of,
you know, defending.
INTERVIEWER: There was
no real way to mount a defense
in the-- with the child porn.
I can't answer that.
♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
O'BRIEN: There was no more
reasonable doubt
about this anymore.
And USA Gymnastics
starts realizing this is not
going to get better quickly.
The US Olympic Committee's board
is recommending
that USA Gymnastics president,
Steve Penny, resign.
O'BRIEN:
Steve Penny lost his job,
but he got a roughly
one-million-dollar payout.
Then fall of 2017 was when
the Harvey Weinstein allegations
came out and we were
in the full throes
of the "Me Too" movement.
McKayla Maroney,
the gold medal Olympic gymnast.
Maroney is now coming forward
to say that she was abused
by the former doctor
for Team USA.
Olympic gymnast, Aly Raisman,
said she is among
the young women sexually abused
by a former physician
with USA Gymnastics.
Four-time Olympic gold medalist
Simone Biles
says she was sexually abused
by a former USA Gymnastics
team doctor.
She posted about it on Twitter
yesterday saying this,
"I am not afraid
to tell my story anymore."
These are some of the most
cherished, celebrated athletes
in America, in the world.
And they're coming forward
and saying,
"This also happened to me.
We were also abused,
and right under the noses
of the US Olympic Committee,
USA Gymnastics,
and the American public.
This was happening
while we were competing for you
in London and before then."
Their public coming forward,
I think,
the importance of that
can't be overstated.
♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
BAILIFF: All rise.
JUDGE ROSEMARIE AQUILINA:
Thank you. You may be seated.
The attorneys asked
if I would take a plea,
and I advised, "That's fine,
but I'm going to let
everybody talk.
Because he harmed
so many, not just the girls,
but everybody
who touches this case."
Victims will be allowed
to speak,
and we'll continue until all
victims have had an opportunity.
POSTHUMA: When the opportunity
posed for us
to do our impact statements,
I was thankfully at a place
where I knew that you don't need
to be shameful
'cause it wasn't your fault,
and you don't need to live
in that darkness anymore.
♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
SMITH: You know, the day
of court, my alarm went off,
and I have never been
in such a panic.
Like, I felt like I was falling
off a cliff when I woke up.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
There were so many people
in there
that were so heavily impacted
by what happened.
SMITH: Every time a door opened,
we were all-- (GASPS)
You know?
Like, I felt that tension
and I felt everyone's eyes go
to the door immediately.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
The first victim
will be publicly identified.
-Miss Kyle Stephens.
-(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
KYLE STEPHENS: Good morning.
Up until this point,
I've been known as Victim ZA,
or family friend.
I was the first to testify
in this case
and, wary of the attention
that could come with that,
I asked for complete anonymity.
I'm addressing you
publicly today
as a final step
and statement to myself
that I have nothing
to be ashamed of.
My parents had become
close friends with Larry
and his wife, Stephanie.
It was during this time--
I estimate I was approximately
six years old--
that Larry Nassar
began to sexually abuse me.
He first exposed his penis to me
in a dark boiler room
in the basement of his home.
He told me,
"If you ever want to see it,
all you have to do is ask."
Let me remind you
of the interests
of a six-year-old girl.
My favorite TV show was
Clifford The Big Red Dog
and my favorite book
was Junie B. Jones.
I could not do
a multiplication problem
and still had not lost
all my baby teeth.
Someone of this maturity level
should not be sexually active,
but I was.
Without my knowledge or consent,
I had engaged
in my first sexual experience
by kindergarten.
And it progressed from exposure
to masturbating in front of me
while playing hide-and-go-seek,
rubbing his bare penis
on my bare feet,
and penetrating my vagina
with his fingers.
It took a friend confiding
the details of her sexual abuse
for me to realize
that something was wrong.
I was 12 years old
when I told my parents,
"When Larry rubs my feet,
he uses his penis."
My parents confronted him,
and he denied any such action.
Due to complex details
that I won't get into here,
my parents chose
to believe Larry Nassar over me.
I spent the years
between 12 and 18
avoiding and detaching
from my family.
To my father, someone who makes
such heinous false accusations
is the worst type of person.
His belief that I had lied
seeped into the foundation
of our relationship. Every time
we got into a fight,
he would tell me, "You need
to apologize to Larry."
It wasn't until I was about
to leave for college
that I took another chance
at clearing my name.
Larry Nassar's actions
had already caused me
significant anguish, but I hurt
worse as I watched my father
realize what he had put me
through.
My father and I did our best
to patch up
our tattered relationship
before he committed suicide
in 2016.
AQUILINA:
It was very painful.
You could see it in their face.
People were shaking, crying...
just at the sight of Nassar.
JORDYN WIEBER: I thought
that training for the Olympics
would be the hardest thing
that I would ever have to do.
But in fact, the hardest thing
I've ever had to do
is process that I'm a victim
of Larry Nassar.
As I listened,
I started getting angry,
which I didn't want
to get angry.
When the proceedings started,
it was just like
any other court hearing.
And really what happened
is every day,
there were more and more girls
coming forward.
ANGELA POVILAITIS:
The next survivor you will hear
from is Amanda Thomashow.
-LINDSEY LEMKE: Lindsey Lemke.
-POVILAITIS: Jessica Smith,
and she has agreed
to be publicly identified.
Normally, there are not
people applauding.
(APPLAUSE)
People booing
the defense lawyers.
My office and my family
were getting death threats.
My co-counsel was getting
death threats on his children.
At times, I was very fearful
of just the vulnerability
coming out into fighting.
It felt like you were really
a part of a mob.
And it was just adding like
a constant fuel to a fire.
It's almost like that kind
of an explosion was inevitable.
REPORTER 5: Gymnastics doctor
who has admitted
to sexually assaulting
young girls,
claiming
it was medical treatment,
back in court today.
Judge, I would ask you to,
as part of the sentencing,
to grant me five minutes
in a locked room
with this demon.
-I have given--
-Would you do that?
JUDGE JANICE CUNNINGHAM:
-Yes or no?
-CUNNINGHAM:
-Would you give me one minute?
-(UNCOMFORTABLE CHUCKLES)
CUNNINGHAM:
-Well, I'm gonna have to just--
-(SURPRISED SHOUTS)
RANDALL MARGRAVES:
Let me at that son of a bitch.
OFFICER 2: I understand,
but stay down.
MARGRAVES: Give me one minute
with that bastard.
One minute.
OFFICER 2: Relax, sir. Relax.
Take it easy, buddy.
Just relax. 1, 2, 3.
What if this happened
to you guys' daughters?
-(WOMAN BREATHING HEAVILY)
-CUNNINGHAM: You can't do that.
You cannot behave like that.
"I'm very concerned...
about my ability to be able
to face witnesses
this next four days mentally."
The letter he wrote me
was all about him,
him wanting to be in control.
Sir, there's a few sentences
in here that concern me.
Your letter states,
"Now, Aquilina is having
a four-day...
sentencing media circus.
She wants me to sit
in the witness box next to her
for all four days
so the media cameras
-will be directed toward her."
-(CROWD CHUCKLES)
And the portions
I didn't want to read
is because he's actually listed
some names. Victim blaming.
I didn't want to read it
and then black out the names
because each girl is going
to put their name in there.
There's no good that's going
to come from reading
that whole letter,
which is why I sealed it.
INTERVIEWER: What was it like
for you to consider
if you wanted to read
a statement in court?
CHELSEA ZERFAS: Um.
At first, I was kind of unsure
just because of being
in that courtroom
and having to face the person
who did all that stuff to me.
But at the same time,
I wanted to have a voice.
You manipulated me so much
that I didn't know
what was going on. Larry acted
as if he was a friend.
He would greet me
with a sickening smile
every time I saw him.
I remember him liking my posts
on Instagram.
It's weird to think
that an older male doctor
was liking a little girl's posts
and commenting "Merry Christmas"
on Christmas morning.
I started to get anxiety
after seeing
all the news reports about him.
I felt like I couldn't breathe
and I would tremble in fear.
I have nightmares
about what happened
and have troubles with sleeping.
(VOICE SHAKING)
I've been put on anxiety pills
just so I can function
throughout the day.
It's hard for me to trust people
because of you.
I get scared and uncomfortable
when I have to go
to the doctor's.
I get scared that
I will be taken advantage of
once again by another doctor,
just like you did.
I've tried my best to gain back
the strength I once had.
I am a survivor. Here I am today
facing my abuser.
I'm finally being heard.
I'm no longer hiding my story.
When it first started,
there were only about six
who were actually going
to come public with their name.
One girl empowered the next,
empowered the next.
ALY RAISMAN:
Your honor, I didn't think
I would be here today.
I was scared and nervous.
It wasn't
until I started watching
the impact statements
from the other brave survivors
that I realized I too
needed to be here.
I am also here to tell you
to your face, Larry,
that you have not taken
gymnastics away from me.
I love this sport, and that love
is stronger than the evil
that resides in you
and those who enabled you
to hurt many people.
Larry, you do realize now
that we, this group of women
you so heartlessly abused
over such a long period of time,
are now a force
and you are nothing?
You hear these statements
and, you know, they're so brave.
So, I wanted them to know, one,
I wanted the
little ones to know
that I was there for them
'cause I was older
and I do know him very well
and I wanted them to know
that I'll stand,
I'll stand with them.
If you will allow it,
I would like to address him
directly.
AQUILINA: You may.
-(SOBS)
-AQUILINA: Take your time.
HOMER: It's all right, sweetie.
-Wow.
-You're strong. You're strong.
GONCZAR: What have you done?
I look at these young girls here
and I told my mom
the hardest part for me
was to see how little they were.
She said to me,
"You were that little too,
if not younger."
I had to make an extremely
hard choice this week, Larry.
I had to choose whether continue
supporting you through this
or to support them, the girls.
I choose them, Larry.
I've known you basically
all of my life.
In fact,
I've known you 31 of 37 years.
I remember your wedding,
thinking Stephanie was
the luckiest woman in the world.
My heart hurts for her
and the kids every single day.
Why lose everything
and everything that was good?
For what?
We literally loved you
like family
because we thought
you loved us back.
I choose to look you in the face
and tell you that you hurt us.
You hurt me,
as I've had to realize
I was abused
for many years of my life.
And this, my old friend,
is because of you.
I don't know who you are now.
Larry, I think you will be happy
to know
that I am
12 weeks pregnant today.
It's a little boy.
And I will do everything
for the rest of my life
to make sure that the yous
of this world
don't get to hurt
another one of us.
Goodbye, Larry.
It's time for me
to close the door.
May God bless
your dark, broken soul.
AQUILINA: Thank you.
We are on our final
victim impact statement.
I am so honored to let you know
that the next person
you will hear from
is Rachael Denhollander.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
How much is a little girl worth?
At 15, I believed
that the adults at MSU
surrounding Larry
would do the right thing,
and I was terribly wrong.
You play word games,
saying you didn't know
because no one believed
because these teenagers
didn't report it
to the right official.
And so, I am asking point-blank.
When Kathie Klages humiliated
Larissa Boyce
and waved the report form
in front of her, telling her
there would be consequences
if she reported,
is this the right way
or the wrong way?
When Amanda Thomashow reported
to the Title IX office
and Larry was allowed
to hand-pick the four colleagues
to determine whether
his treatment was legitimate,
was it the right way
or the wrong way
to handle a report of sexual
assault on MSU's campus?
No one wanted to listen.
I ask that you hand down
a sentence that tells us
that what was done to us
matters.
Larry said in court
that he hoped education
and learning would happen.
This is what we need to learn.
Look around the courtroom.
Remember what you have witnessed
these past seven days,
and let it be a warning
to us all.
When the adults in authority
do not respond properly
to disclosures
of sexual assault,
when institutions
create a culture
where a predator
can flourish unafraid.
This is what it looks like.
It looks like a courtroom
full of survivors
who carry deep wounds,
women and girls who carry scars
that will never fully heal,
but who have banded together
to fight for themselves
because no one
else would do it.
Women and girls who have made
the choice to place the guilt
and shame on the only person
to whom it belongs, the abuser.
But may the horror
expressed in this courtroom
over the last seven days
be motivation for anyone
and everyone,
no matter the context,
to take responsibility
if they have erred
in protecting a child.
To understand
the incredible failures
that led to this week,
and to do it better
the next time.
Because everything is what
these survivors are worth.
-Thank you.
-AQUILINA: Thank you.
You built an army of survivors
and you are a five-star general.
(LAUGHTER)
You made all of this happen.
You made
all these voices matter.
Thank you.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
MAN: Larry wants to address
the court as well.
AQUILINA: What would you
like me to know?
It's just a short statement.
Um. Your words
these past several days,
your words, your words,
have had a significant
emotional effect on myself
and have shaken me to my core.
I also recognize
that what I am feeling
pales in comparison
to the pain, trauma,
and emotional destruction
that all of you are feeling.
There are no words
that can describe
the depth and breadth
of how sorry I am
for what has occurred.
BOYCE: He heard all the cries,
so he turned around again
and more and more girls
started crying.
And then the judge realized
what he was doing.
An acceptable apology...
AQUILINA: Sir, you need to stay
at the microphone
or they can't hear you.
An acceptable apology
to all of you
is impossible
to write and convey.
I will carry your words with me
for the rest of my days.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
"The media convinced them
that everything I did
was wrong and bad.
They feel I broke their trust.
Hell hath no fury
like a woman scorned."
(CROWD GROANS)
His letter fired me up so much.
"Hell hath no fury
like a woman scorned."
I mean, he's not comprehending
the damage that he has done.
That line really says it all.
He has no respect for women.
BOYCE: I think it helped
hearing that, actually,
because I-- there's been
many times where I felt bad
for him because we had
this relationship with him.
We, like, we really loved him,
and looked up to him,
and cared about him.
And so, it was good to hear
those words that he wrote
because it made me f--
not feel bad for him anymore.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICKING)
Would you like to withdraw
your plea?
NASSAR: No, your honor.
AQUILINA: Because
you are guilty, aren't you?
Are you guilty, sir?
If I thought he was worthy
of being rehabilitated,
I would have sentenced him
to the 25 years.
Based on his comments
to the girls,
he was not remorseful.
He is a true predator.
That's all for the record.
BAILIFF: All rise.
(APPLAUSE)
SMITH: You know,
I really expected
to feel a lot better,
if I'm being honest.
Felt like I was going
to walk out and be like,
"Great, things are better now."
You know, and people are like
"It's over!" It's not over.
♪ (SOFT MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
MORGAN MCCAUL:
While it was very empowering
to watch these women,
they're taking back their voice
but they shouldn't
have ever had
to use it to say, "Me too."
Disclosing your name
and your face
along with your story
in this volume
to be believed is a travesty.
HAMILTON: We need to deliver
on the promise to these victims
that the world will be better
because you came forward.
The "Me Too" movement
will be a success
if it turns
into social and legal change.
REPORTER 6: Is there any truth
that there's money
been put aside for counseling
-for these girls?
-Yes.
REPORTER 6: Have any
of the girls been contacted yet?
They were supposed to be--
What about for those of us
who have already had counseling
but this is now a year
and a half later
that you're doing this?
The counseling fund,
if you read the--
the material
that was released publicly--
LEMKE: I would like
to hear it from you, personally.
Okay. Includes past expenses.
♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
Another former Michigan State
employee
is facing criminal charges
tonight.
The State Attorney General's
Office is charging
former MSU Gymnastics coach,
Kathie Klages,
with two counts of lying
to investigators.
REPORTER 7:
As of today, there have been
three former MSU employees
charged
during MSU's investigation.
♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪
REPORTER 8: Young gymnasts
who say they were victimized
by Larry Nassar
are now advocating for changes
to Michigan laws
to make it easier
to hold abuse enablers
accountable.
INTERVIEWER: What can be done
so this does not happen?
You have to start from scratch.
You have to create
a whole new governing body,
new USA Gymnastics.
You need to move it out
of Indianapolis.
You need to bring people in that
know all sides of the sport,
and including, you know,
treating people right.
There is a sense that slowly
but surely,
progress is being made
and people in positions
of authority
are having to answer
for what happened.
More fallout
from the Larry Nassar scandal.
USA Gymnastics has suspended
the owner of Twistars,
John Geddert.
We demonize the Nassars
and the Sanduskys,
uh, and they've done
horrible things.
But it's the ones
who covered it up
who made it worse
and created more victims.
SEN. JERRY MORAN: Mr. Penny.
Uh, let me ask you this.
Uh, after being informed
about the abuse,
my understanding is that, uh,
you waited 41 days
to contact law enforcement.
Is that correct?
I would like
to answer your question.
However, I've been instructed
by my attorney
to assert my rights
under the 5th Amendment.
You were part
of an organization,
United States Gymnastics.
Don't you feel you have
a responsibility to the athletes
who are here today and to others
around the country?
Respectfully, Senator,
I've been instructed
by my attorney
to assert my rights
under the 5th Amendment
and decline
to answer your question.
♪ (MUSIC CONTINUES) ♪
What we really have to do
is we have to start listening
to our kids.
If a child says to you
they don't like
how someone touched them,
you don't say,
"But that's one of the nicest
people I ever met."
You sit down and you say,
"Why? What was wrong?"
INTERVIEWER: Would you let
your daughter do gymnastics?
BOYCE: I have mixed emotions.
I feel hopeful that...
changes, positive changes,
are being made
so it will be a better sport
for her... eventually.
MOCEANU: The sport is beautiful
It's a wonderful sport.
My child does it.
I didn't yank him out
just because of this.
No. I felt empowered that, hey,
the sport's going to be better
for a future generation
of children, right,
because we stood up
and we did something about it
and we're actually
being heard now.
(CHILDREN CHATTER)
ZERFAS: I would see,
like, my old teammates posting,
and I'd see all these things
about gymnastics
and I really missed it,
and one day I told my mom
that I really wanted
to do it again.
So, it's where I'm at now.
How does that look?
That looks good.
COACH: Okay. I mean, why don't
you try it? You try a couple.
-and then if it needs to be
moved, I'm happy to move it.
-ZERFAS: Okay.
-COACH: Does that work?
-ZERFAS: Yeah.
ZERFAS: I did feel
that I'm finally able
to start my life again
and not have to worry about him
ever doing anything
wrong again.
And being back, I...
I was able to build up
that confidence I once had,
and I'm just able
to do what I love.
♪ ("I'M STILL HERE"
BY SIA PLAYS) ♪
♪ I'm winning the war now ♪
♪ I'm winning it all now ♪
♪ Watch tears
While they fall down ♪
♪ I'm winning the war now ♪
♪ I win against ego ♪
♪ Cast light
On the shadow's long ♪
♪ I'm winning from ego ♪
♪ I'm lighting
The long way home ♪
♪ Oh, the past, it haunted me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past tormented me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past, it haunted me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past tormented me ♪
♪ But the battle was lost ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm still here ♪
♪ It's haunted me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It's haunted me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It's haunted me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past tormented me ♪
♪ But the battle was lost ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm still here ♪
♪ I'm fighting my ego ♪
♪ Lost youth,
Where did we go wrong? ♪
♪ I'm winning for me, though ♪
♪ I'm lighting
The long way home ♪
♪ Oh, the past, it haunted me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past tormented me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past, it haunted me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past tormented me ♪
♪ But the battle was lost ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm still here ♪
♪ It's haunted me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It's haunted me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It's haunted me ♪
♪ Oh, the past
It wanted me dead ♪
♪ Oh, the past tormented me ♪
♪ But the battle was lost ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm still here ♪
♪ (MUSIC PLAYS) ♪