How is USA Gymnastics still in business?

24 January 2018, 12:28 PM

agreed, Nina. In this day and age if somebody alerts you about a sexual abuse allegation against an “un-named physician” on your campus and you tell them to play it straight up and then never see or ask (!) about a follow-up report, you are an effing idiot with your fingers in your ears singing lalalala.

24 January 2018, 04:12 PM

wtg

quote:
LANSING, Mich. -- Larry Nassar was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison on Wednesday after seven days of impact statements from more than 150 girls and women who said he sexually abused them. The former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State doctor, who hung his head and cried periodically during the sentencing hearing, told the courtroom he would carry his victims' words with him "for the rest of my days."

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said Nassar's "decision to assault was precise, calculated, manipulative, devious, despicable."

"It is my honor and privilege to sentence you. You do not deserve to walk outside a prison ever again," she said. "You have done nothing to control those urges, and anywhere you walk, destruction will occur to those most vulnerable."

Aquilina added: "I just signed your death warrant."

Nassar, 54, received a 60-year federal prison sentence in December for child pornography charges.

Part of why she threw the book at him:

quote:
Though Nassar apologized during his statement, Aquilina read sections of a letter he submitted to the court last week in which he maintains that what he did was medical and not sexual in nature. He wrote that media reports sensationalized the stories about his abuse and that he was forced to admit that they were sexual in nature in order to get a plea deal.

"I was a good doctor," he wrote.

Aquilina asked if he wanted to withdraw his plea, and Nassar said he did not. She asked: "You are guilty, aren't you?" He paused before saying that he stood by his plea.

http://www.espn.com/olympics/g...rison-michigan-judge

24 January 2018, 05:52 PM

QuirtEvans

It is my understanding that (unless an Alford plea or a plea of nolo contendere is permitted) the defendant has to admit to the facts underlying the criminal charge. Just saying he pleads guilty isn't enough.

But that's a non-professional understanding, I've never practiced criminal law.

I didn't watch, so I have no idea if he admitted to the factual allegations underlying the crimes charged.

24 January 2018, 06:27 PM

wtg

quote:
After reading the letter, Aquilina looked Nassar in the eye and asked him if was guilty, since he couldn’t admit it to himself even after entering his plea. Nassar lingered for a few seconds of complete silence before stammering, “I’ve said my plea.”

24 January 2018, 08:48 PM

Piano*Dad

I'm guessing that MSU is in for a world of hurt.

24 January 2018, 09:31 PM

Piano*Dad

MSU president Simon resigns

24 January 2018, 10:19 PM

Nina

Yep, just saw that in my Chronicle newsfeed....

25 January 2018, 01:37 PM

QuirtEvans

Here's the latest statement from the US Olympic Committee. No, I didn't write it.

quote:
“All current USA Gymnastics directors must resign,” U.S. Olympic Committee Chief Executive Scott Blackmun said in an open letter on Wednesday.

The USOC decided not to decertify USA Gymnastics as a national governing body because such a move would hurt clubs and athletes who had no hand in the scandal, he said.

https://www.reuters.com/articl...ngaged%20User%20List

And what does USA Gymnastics say?

quote:
USA Gymnastics did not respond directly to the calls for mass resignations. In a statement on Wednesday, it said the sport “may be better served by moving forward with meaningful change within our organization, rather than decertification.”

25 January 2018, 02:06 PM

Cindysphinx

Puh.

Decertify if they won't resign.

25 January 2018, 04:25 PM

pianojuggler

quote:
Originally posted by well-tempered gardener:
quote:
"It is my honor and privilege to sentence you. You do not deserve to walk outside a prison ever again," she said. "You have done nothing to control those urges, and anywhere you walk, destruction will occur to those most vulnerable."

Aquilina added: "I just signed your death warrant."

Ummmm... if I were Nassar's lawyer, I would appeal the sentence all the way to The Supreme Court, arguing that Judge Aquilina was biased and did not even try to appear objective and impartial.

I'm not sayin' that he doesn't deserve every minute of his sentence.

25 January 2018, 04:41 PM

jodi

That bothered me too, pj. Curious what others think.

25 January 2018, 05:05 PM

wtg

I heard the sentencing and all I could think is whether what she said could be grounds for an appeal.

25 January 2018, 07:48 PM

QuirtEvans

quote:
Originally posted by jodi:
That bothered me too, pj. Curious what others think.

There are lots of articles agreeing with you. (Me as well.)

25 January 2018, 07:58 PM

QuirtEvans

quote:
Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
Puh.

Decertify if they won't resign.

Here was your original justification for that:

quote:
Here, the head of the organization has overstayed his term and has run it for 19 years.

These people are not leaving.

Except that he'd already left. Ten months before you made that statement. So had the Chairman, and the Vice Chairman, and the Treasurer, two months before you made that statement.

So, having been entirely wrong about whether senior management would leave, you've moved on to the rest of the board members.

Personally, I think they should resign. It doesn't look to me like they discharged their duties responsibly. My guess is that some or all of them probably will resign. But, that really has nothing to do with decertification. Even the New York Times opinion piece that you told me to read (even though I'd already read it) didn't recommend decertification as one of its five recommendations.

You took a position, and now you're going to defend it to the death, even as it makes less and less sense.

But, thank goodness, at least you finally seem to be saying that there's no need to decertify if all the remaining board members leave. Unless the next step in your analysis is that all the remaining employees and the janitors have to leave, too.