by Abbey Probert
Michigan State University is facing serious backlash over a criminal case involving one of their own. In December of 2017, former doctor of Michigan State, Larry Nassar, pleaded guilty to child pornography charges in which he received a 60 year sentence. Nassar, is also the former USA women’s gymnastics doctor. In January, he was sentenced 40 to 175 years in prison for molestation charges.
Nassar, 54, is mainly known for his role as the USA gymnastics doctor. Rachael Denhollander was the first woman to publicly accuse Nassar of sexual assault and give her statements. When it came to her courtroom appearance, she was the last to read her testimony. As Denhollander read her statement, she said, “Larry meticulously groomed me for the purpose of exploiting me for his own sexual gain.” Nassar used his power and authority to molest over 150 women. Nassar stated that his abuse was simply a “misunderstanding.”
As more women come forward, the reputation of Michigan State and USA gymnastics, is rapidly declining. Many officials of both the university and organization are resigning after hearing the “searing” (USA Today) testimonies.
Michigan State president, Lou Anna Simon issued her resignation and wrote in her letter, “To the survivors, I can never say enough that I am so sorry that a trusted, renowned physician was really such an evil, evil person who inflicted such harm under the guise of medical treatment.” Three USA gymnast officials also issued their resignations after hearing the heart breaking statements.
Senior Ben Salazar said, “It’s terrible and anyone put in a position of power has a responsibility to look over and protect, teach, and improve the lives of their patients/students. When you betray that trust, you ruin their trust, the parent’s trust, and the trust of everyone around the world.”
One testimony that left people speechless was that of world renowned gymnast, Aly Raisman. She read her testimony in the courtroom and said, “Nassar “did not have a medical license in Texas, which is where we went to the ranch and trained,” “It’s a national team training center and the Olympic training center … so what does that say about USA Gymnastics and United States Olympic Committee? Whether they knew or didn’t know, that’s a big problem and we need to investigate how this happened.” (Huffington Post) Raisman is being praised for her braveness by millions around the world.
Nassar, was sentenced to his third and final prison term for molesting over 150 women. His final term, 40 to 125 years, was handed to him, along with a 60 year federal sentence for child pornography charges (CNN).