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Summary: Former Olympic athletes claim a USA Gymnastics doctor sexually abused them.
Forty former USA Gymnastics team members filed a lawsuit against the organization, claiming that a team doctor had sexually abused them when they were underage. The lawsuit said Dr. Lawrence Nassar abused the girls while they ranged from age nine to eighteen.
According to the lawsuit, Nassar would give the Olympians “pain treatments” where he would allegedly insert his ungloved hands into their vaginas. The plaintiffs’ attorney John Manley said that there was “no good reason” for him to ever perform this procedure.
Olympic bronze medalist Jamie Dantscher told talk show host Gayle King that she was coming forward now because she only recently realized that Nassar was abusing her. At the time, she had believed his behavior was medical treatment and hadn’t questioned it. Now, she wants to speak out so that Nassar cannot hurt other girls.
CBS’s Sixty Minutes also interviewed Dantscher as well as some of the other plaintiffs, who shared their horror stories about Dr. Nassar.
USA Gymnastics said that they had learned of Nassar’s behavior in 2015 and had immediately contacted the FBI for investigation. In response to the girls’ lawsuit, the organization has released the following statement:
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“Nothing is more important to USA Gymnastics than protecting young people,” the statement said. “Their health and well-being is our priority, and USA Gymnastics is committed to doing everything we can to promote a safe environment for athletes.”
Last year, Nassar was charged with criminal sexual conduct in an unrelated case.
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Source: Refinery 29
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