As they spoke, Nassar sat quietly, his head bowed, unable to maintain eye contact with any of them.
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Nassar, 54, was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison on Wednesday for sexually assaulting young girls under the guise of medical treatment, following a weeklong hearing that saw more than 150 accusers recount their stories in a MI courtroom.
“I am shocked and embarrassed at how insensitive some in the MSU family continue to be”, trustee Mitch Lyons said on Twitter.
“I think it is very important that we as coaches should develop a relationship, we are role models, before we are coaches, the athletes look up to us, we are their protectors, so they need to feel comfortable coming to us if they are afraid”, Lisa Holloway, owner of Richmond Twisters – a Richmond gym associated with USA Gymnastics, said.
The MSU Board of Trustees voted unanimously Friday afternoon to accept Simon’s resignation and appointed trustee Bill Beekman as acting president until an interim one is named.
“It takes some kind of sick perversion to not only assault a child but to do so with her parent in the room, to do so while a lineup of eager young gymnasts waited”, Povilaitis said. “We’ve been here 11 years – it has not happened previously”. She said in a statement that what happened at the school is “abhorrent” and “cannot happen ever again – there or anywhere”. But her parents did not believe her when she finally told them and made her apologize to Nassar.
Perhaps it’s what prompted her to decide that Nassar did not deserve the chance for rehabilitation, because, “Anywhere you walk, destruction will occur to those most vulnerable”.
Student body president Lorenzo Santavicca told the crowd to take it upon themselves to help change the culture.
“Victims were silenced, intimidated, told they were receiving medical treatment, and at times sent back to be further abused”.
“It shouldn’t turn into a situation where we blame parents”, DerOhannesian said.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has begun an investigation of sexual abuse in organized sports. “We have to be that example”.
“We agree with Dr. Simon that it is now time for change”, Board of Trustees Chairman Brian Breslin said in a statement.
To date, no reports have emerged stating that Hollis knew about the abuse before Nassar was arrested in 2016.
On Wednesday, longtime Michigan State president Lou Anna Simon submitted her resignation.
After an hour of speeches, the large crowd marched toward the university’s administration building.
“The governor hasn’t seen enough done for the survivors after everything they’ve gone through”, spokeswoman Anna Heaton said. “I’ve always been a Spartan, I always will be”.
McKayla Maroney, a gold medallist at the 2012 London Olympics, called Nassar a “monster human being”, while a former member of the US national team said his abuse led to depression and an eating disorder.
Earlier Lemke tweeted a picture of herself at the Rock.
Judge Aquilina also asked the court and public to respect the job of Nassar’s attorneys.
The names of more than 150 of Nassar’s victims were written on the stone.
He said he was “brought to tears” as he listened to Nassar’s victims during his sentencing on Tuesday. “I also recognize that what I am feeling pales in comparison to the pain, trauma and emotional destruction that all of you are feeling”.
Olympian Aly Raisman on Friday lashed out at USA Gymnastics and other groups for allegedly enabling former gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar to sexually molest female athletes, and said the organization needs to be held accountable for his actions.
Nassar was a Michigan State sports doctor from 1997 to 2016.
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In a recent filing, Michigan State asked a judge to dismiss the cases against the university on several technical grounds, not the merits of the allegations.
