The Foundation for Global Sports Development delivers and supports initiatives that promote fair play, education, and the benefits of abuse-free sport for youth.
White Law PLLC was founded to provide more personalized representation to clients facing legal dilemmas. Whether you have an issue that is complex or relatively straightforward, any legal matter can have a significant impact on your life. Our team of experienced lawyers based in Okemos, Michigan, strive to deliver outstanding legal services that exceed your expectations. We utilize our extensive legal knowledge and the latest in technology to bring you effective and proven solutions to your legal issues.
I was a victim of John Geddert and Larry Nassar. Survivors like me won’t rest until we know future gymnasts are protected.
I was a victim of John Geddert and Larry Nassar. Survivors like me won’t rest until we know future gymnasts are protected.For more than a decade, the two most important and formative men in my life were my gymnastics coach, John Geddert, and my athletic trainer-turned-doctor, Larry Nassar. Today, Geddert is dead by suicide and Nassar is spending the rest of his life in prison. Both abused me and hundreds of other little girls.
Monsters like John Geddert and Larry Nassar do not just appear out of nowhere. They were born and nurtured by USA Gymnastics (USAG) and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC). In my experience, it is a culture that places money and medals above the health, safety, and dignity of children.
Geddert and Nassar were elevated by USAG and the USOPC to the very pinnacle of the sport. Geddert was named coach of our 2012 London Olympic women’s team “The Fierce Five.” Larry Nassar attended those games as the team doctor and he sexually abused and molested every one of those five magnificent women.
This did not have to happen. Complaints involving abuse by both men were ignored or covered up for at least 20 years. In fact, a 2016 report from the Indianapolis Star found that USA Gymnastics kept complaint files on more than 50 coaches and “filed them in a drawer in its executive office.
I was 8 when Nassar got his start as a gymnastics trainer and a serial child molester in John Geddert’s gym. It was well known there that Nassar and Geddert were close friends and that any criticism of Nassar would be met with violent rage from Geddert. Predators thrive in that kind of culture of fear. Not only were we taught not to speak up, we were taught not to speak at all. We were only permitted to answer questions with a yes or no. The most common question Geddert asked was, “Do you understand, you idiot?”
But these are far from the only two high-profile coaches that were retained and promoted after being accused of sexually assaulting children. As the Indianapolis Star has reported, three coaches — Marvin Sharp, Don Peters, and William McCabe — were allowed to continue working with children even after abuse claims were made against them, making it possible for even more underage gymnasts to be assaulted by them.
Following each new scandal, the organizations’ response has been the same. Protect the brand. Lawyer up. Sidestep responsibility. Release a high-minded public relations statement professing unyielding devotion to athlete safety. Promise it will never happen again. Rinse and repeat.
Download View in BrowserThe Foundation for Global Sports Development delivers and supports initiatives that promote fair play, education, and the benefits of abuse-free sport for youth.
White Law PLLC was founded to provide more personalized representation to clients facing legal dilemmas. Whether you have an issue that is complex or relatively straightforward, any legal matter can have a significant impact on your life. Our team of experienced lawyers based in Okemos, Michigan, strive to deliver outstanding legal services that exceed your expectations. We utilize our extensive legal knowledge and the latest in technology to bring you effective and proven solutions to your legal issues.