Disgraced USA gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar has just received his 175-year prison sentence for sexual abuse towards more than 150 victims spanning over a 20 year period.
Aside from treating United States National Champions and Olympians in the sport of gymnastics, he was also the doctor for the gymnastics team at Michigan State University, and he was not discriminatory with his victim's level of competition.
Countless women and girls had come forward to MSU's administration since 1998 with reports of Nassar's inappropriate and abusive behavior. With each complaint written up and filed away, never to be seen again, the victims had finally felt enough was enough, and banded together in a force so strong to finally take down Nassar one heartfelt testimony at a time; something U.S. Gymnastics, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and Michigan State University wouldn't do.
Not too long ago, the Pennsylvania State University had a similar scandal of its own, where a faculty member in relation to the university's football team was charged with molesting 10 boys in the school's locker room.
The university performed an internal investigation where the university's president, certain administrators, athletic director, and beloved head football coach were all fired due to allegations they had knowledge of these vile acts occurring and did nothing to stop them.
The NCAA stepped in as well, and stripped Penn State and head coach, Joe Paterno, of all their victories ranging from 1998 to 2011, imposed a four-year postseason ban on the team's playoff opportunities, reduced their scholarships for potential recruitments, slammed them with a 60 million dollar fine, and left them with embarrassment to the entire Penn State name.
Though I am a member of the Penn State community, I am not insinuating that any of these sanctions were not rightfully imposed and I'm not trying to be biased in any way. What I am trying to do is demonstrate the comparisons of how both schools had been affected by the enormity of such horrendous scandals.
Since Larry Nassar's more well-known, Olympian victims spoke publicly, since his "retirement" from USA Gymnastics, and since his firing from Michigan State, the university has refused to hold any kind of internal investigation to bring those who knew of Nassar's actions to justice and removal from power.
The NCAA has not stepped in to hold any kind of investigation of their own either. Michigan State Board of Trustees member, Joel Ferguson, continues to make light of the worst sexual assault scandal in United States sports history by only releasing a statement from the university that says there's more to worry about at Michigan State than "just this Larry Nassar thing."
It's appalling. It's disturbing. It's just plain wrong.
Do people think because this sexual predator was associated with gymnastics teams instead of such a high profile sport in American culture, such as football, that nobody takes the deeds that this man has done as serious?
I hope this is just me reporting very early along in the investigations, but aside from the jail time that Larry Nassar so rightfully deserved, I have yet to see justice really prevail in this case.
