Larry Nassar victims reach $380 million deal – Liberation

After five years of legal battle, the victims of the former doctor of the American women’s gymnastics team will receive money after an agreement reached with the Federation, the American Olympic and Paralympic Committee and their insurers, reported Monday evening the Wall Street Journal.

The financial leg of the biggest sexual abuse scandal in the history of the American Olympic movement closed on Monday. And the agreement reached between the victims of Larry Nassar, USA Gymnastics, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and their insurers, confirmed during a hearing in federal bankruptcy court in Indianapolis, gave birth to financial compensation ($380 million) among the largest ever awarded to victims of sexual assault.

More than 90% of them (nearly 300 victims were abused by Nassar, the rest were abused by people affiliated with USA Gymnastics) had voted in favor of the tentative settlement reached in September. This agreement provided for 425 million dollars in damages. But a modified $380 million payout was conditionally approved by the court.

It puts an end to a five-year-long legal battle, which began with the testimony of Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar in 2016. The latter, 58, is serving a life sentence after being heavily sentenced in 2017 and 2018 for sexual assaults on more than 250 gymnasts, mostly minors, committed over more than two decades while working for USA Gymnastics, but also in a Michigan gym attached to USA Gymnastics, as well as at Michigan State University, which already committed in 2018 to settle the record sum of $ 500 million after reaching a compensation agreement with more than 300 victims.

Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and McKayla Maroney testified at a Senate hearing in September. They not only described the abuses suffered, but also criticized officials from the American Gymnastics Federation, the USOPC and the federal police (FBI) for their inaction to prevent the sexual assaults committed by the ex-doctor.

“Failure to protect these athletes”

The United States Gymnastics Federation filed for bankruptcy in 2018, awash in a massive number of lawsuits filed by Nassar’s victims. According to Wall Street JournalMonday’s deal was reached after insurance company TIG agreed to pay a “substantial part” of compensation. The deal includes a $34 million payment directly from the USOPC, as well as a $6 million loan from the USOPC to USA Gymnastics. USOPC boss Sarah Hirshland further said the organization recognizes her role in “the failure to protect these athletes, and we are sorry for the profound harm they have suffered”.

“This historic agreement ends another chapter in the Larry Nassar scandal. Survivors have now received a total of $880 million in compensation for their pain and suffering at the hands of this monster, with institutions letting it gosummarized John C. Manly, lead lawyer representing the victims. There is still a chapter to be written, that of the criminal prosecution of the FBI agents who failed to investigate and arrest Nassar, as well as the members of USA Gymnastics and the USOPC who conspired with them to obstruct the investigation.”

Financial compensation is only part of the deal. A series of other provisions, focusing on prevention and psychological support for victims, are also included in the agreement. Among these, a victim of these sexual assaults must be appointed to the board of directors of the American Gymnastics Federation, while a thorough review of the culture and practices within USA Gymnastics must be carried out in the short term.

“It’s not about money, it’s about change”

“We are committed to working with [les victimes] and with the entire gymnastics community, to ensure that we continue to prioritize the safety, health and well-being of our athletes and the community above all else,” USA Gymnastics President Li Li Leung said in a statement following the agreement.

Rachael Denhollander, the first woman to come forward to detail Nassar’s sexual abuse, said these non-financial arrangements were a central part of the mediation process. “It’s not about money, it’s about changeshe said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. This is an accurate assessment of what went wrong so it will be safer for the next generation. […] Now the hard work of reform and reconstruction can begin.”

Denhollander took the opportunity to look back over these five years, between the time when she first contacted the journalists of the Indianapolis Star and Monday, describing them as “a hell”. And tackle the slowness of the American authorities: “Having to push so long for the right things to happen, having to push so long for justice to be served… It should never have taken five years.”