Sports & Politics Intersect: MSU, USA Gymnastics under fire as Nassar trial ends

Resignations were bound to come as more details about the case continued to surface, not only form the myriad testimonies from the over 160 accusers, but from a laundry list of missteps from the university in working with authorities investigating the case. In 2014, Federal investigators were not told about MSU campus police and Title IX investigations into a report that Nassar assaulted a recent graduate despite those very investigators being on campus during that time. Since then, Michigan State still has not provided all the documents related to the Nassar allegations. 

Among the documents not shared with federal investigators was the conclusion MSU’s Title IX office came to in the investigation. In the conclusion sent to Nassar, there was a passage that read, “We find that whether medically sound or not, the failure to adequately explain procedures such as these invasive, sensitive procedures, is opening the practice up to liability and is exposing patients to unnecessary trauma based on the possibility of perceived inappropriate sexual misconduct.”

Amanda Thomashow, who accused Nassar of sexual abuse the time that led to this investigation, only received a fraction of the conclusion that led with, “We cannot find that the conduct was of a sexual nature.”

Furthermore, there were at least 14 MSU staff members and high-ranking officials who knew about Nassar’s wrong doings, including that very Title IX investigation, which reached President Simon. 

Mark Hollis announced his resignation in a press conference on Friday morning. On Thursday, MSU’s faculty athletic rep Sue Carter resigned from her position. In a letter to both Hollis and Simon, Carter said, “I no longer have the desire or the heart to support this administration going forward. As both professor and priest, I am profoundly saddened by Michigan State University’s public posture and seemingly callous regard for these girls and women.”

As of Friday afternoon, reports have surfaced that Michigan State’s issues are, shockingly, much larger than the Larry Nassar case. An in-depth Outside The Lines report shows that sexual abuse and rape culture is all but institutionalized, with alleged suppression of information and allegations by campus police to the MSU athletic department with incidents stemming from both of their high-profile football and men’s basketball programs.

Sanctions and more resignations are likely to come from MSU will come as the NCAA begins its investigation into the Nassar case and how the university handled it. 

For many of the victims, the case goes beyond Michigan State University as both the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics have proven to be as complicit in their oversight as MSU.

“I just signed your death warrant,” Judge Aquilina said in the final moments of what had been a heart wrenching week where more than 160 victims and their families provided statements about the abuse they endured. Aquilina has become somewhat of a national hero for her advocacy of the victims, many of which included Olympic athletes like Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, and Jordyn Wieber – all three profusely thanked her in statements they released after Nassar's sentencing.

Moments after Nassar's sentencing, U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun, issued a statement that doubled as an apology for failing the victims, as well as a promise to undertake radical change that would ostensibly prevent something like this from ever happening again. That effort appears to be sincere; USOC has demanded that the entire USA Gymnastics board resign, taking it a step further on Thursday by threatening to decertify USAG in six days if they didn't do so.

As per USAG, the Nassar case has resulted in the loss of sponsors, and at least one gym affiliated with them has ended their relationship with the organization because of it. Texas officials have also stated that they are conducting an investigation of Karolyi Ranch, the longtime USAG training facility where a lot of Nassar's abuse took place. USAG also suspended John Geddert, coach of the gold medal-winning "Fierce Five" at the 2012 Olympics, after former gymnast Lindsey Lemke personally mentioned him in her testimony.

"He was abusive," Lemke said. "He deserves to be in jail with Larry."

It's unclear what, if any, consequences there'll be for Geddert; he announced his retirement shortly after he was suspended, claiming it was already in the works.

At the legislative level, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California) has introduced a bill that would federally require sports organizations to report abuse. The legislation appears to have overwhelming bipartisan support. Michigan politicians have also said that they would launch a congressional investigation on why Michigan State University failed to react to complaints about Nassar from athletes across multiple sports. 

Many questions remain, and as the days and probes go on, some of those answers will certainly emerge. What's 100 percent clear, however, is the bravery displayed by the more than 160 victims who stepped forward and publicly relived their trauma – their accounts were brutal but necessary – in order to bring their abuser to justice. This is especially true of Rachael Denhollander, the first women to come forward publicly in what was soon revealed to be an endemic level of sexual abuse. Fitting then, that the first victim to step forward was the last to give her testimony. 

As of today, we know of at least eight different times Nassar could have been stopped over the past twenty years as the adults and institutions entrusted with protecting young, amateur athletes failed. 

- Phillip Barnett, Fidel Martinez

Update: After publication of this piece new allegations have surfaced alleging NCAA president Mark Emmert was alerted to systemic problems within the Michigan State athletic department in 2010.  

Of Note:  

• Tennys Sandgren, the American who made a surprising run in the Australian Open, came under scrutiny for tweets that seemed to suggest sympathies for the alt-right movement in the United States. Sandgren also came under fire for a tweet about Serena Williams , who issued her own response to his controversial social media activity.

• After the controversy surrounding the Oakland Raiders’ process behind the re-hiring of Jon Gruden , the Fritz Pollard Alliance is pushing for stricter reinforcement of the Rooney Rule to ensure that minority candidates get full consideration for NFL coaching positions.

• Speaking of the Raiders, two fan-backed organizations announced that several prominent law firms offered to seek legal options that would keep the team in Oakland, as opposed to the planned move to Las Vegas.

• During the recent government shutdown that almost kept the conference championships off of the Armed Forces Network, former wide receiver Donte Stallworth asked why would military members still watch games if they felt that players were disrespectful towards them.

• The Ottawa Senators could stay in the Canadian capital thanks to a new deal to develop a new arena in the LeBreton Flats section of the city, with construction potentially starting in 2019.

• An upcoming book explores the long-standing relationship between President Donald Trump and WWE chairman Vince McMahon (in addition to his wife, Linda McMahon, who is the Administrator of the Small Business Administration).

• The PGA recently issued its first ever ‘social responsibility’ report, which was developed to emphasize attempts made to diversify its audience while also improving its environmental footprint.

• The major sneaker brands – Nike, Adidas, Reebok, Puma and others – are starting to make concerted efforts to bring female designers on board to craft some of their products.

• Observing the demographics and political leanings of players and fans, The Morning Consult looked at how the NBA and NASCAR are equally as divisive as the NFL.

• The NBA wants to touch another divisive issue as it supports the movement towards legalized gambling, confirming its stance when a league attorney testified to a New York State Senate committee on sports betting.

• In its new ‘Same City, Same Passion’ campaign, Manchester City merged the social media accounts of both its famed men’s team and lesser known women’s squad for not only equal footing in terms of marketing, but to change the perception of the women’s game as poor quality among FIFA member associations. 

• The IOC says that North Korea will bring 22 athletes (mostly from the women’s ice hockey team) to play with South Korea under a unified Korean flag in the upcoming Winter Olympics.

• The $100 million, 35,000-seat Olympic Stadium in PyeongChang will be used four times – the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for both the Olympics and Paralympics – and then it will be torn down.

 - Jason Clinkscales