WASHINGTON (DC)
USA Today
Christine Brennan, USA TODAY
April 18, 2018
WASHINGTON – It has now been more than 20 months since the USA Gymnastics sex abuse story broke right before the Rio Olympic Games in the summer of 2016. In that time, tangible results to combat the abuse of young American athletes have been few and far between.
To be sure, there has been progress. More than 150 gymnasts spoke out in January to ensure that former gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar will spend the rest of his life in jail. Other athletes in other sports, some inspired by the courage of the gymnasts, have turned the spotlight to athlete abuse in taekwondo, swimming and figure skating. Who knows what’s next, although logic tells us there will definitely be a next.
In February, President Trump signed the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act, which requires adults who interact with amateur athletes to report suspected abuse to law enforcement within 24 hours. And yet, ask those athletes who have suffered abuse if they think their sports are still rife with it, and you’ll often get an affirmative answer.
So, where do we stand in the midst of the most horrifying scandal in U.S. Olympic history?
In a second-floor conference room of the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, with four elite athletes telling their difficult stories to members of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security.
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